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Kevin Smith Promotes Recreational Cannabis in New Jersey

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Filmmaker and actor Kevin Smith is calling upon voters in New Jersey (his home state) to legalize recreational cannabis.

On October 1, Smith Tweeted the following message: “NEW JERSEY! It’s time to VOTE! But I’m not here to influence your choice of President—I’m here to beg you to VOTE YES when you see State Public Question Number 1: Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana. Silent Bob says ‘Only you can make the Garden State truly green!’” he wrote on Twitter in an attempt to spread awareness about the initiative.

Smith is no stranger to drug policy reform—earlier this year in March, he asked California officials to allow signature gathering digitally for cannabis initiatives during the pandemic.

NJ CAN 2020 is the official advocacy group behind the ballot initiative. “Legalizing, taxing, and regulating cannabis will address the ongoing, tremendous harms caused by cannabis prohibition laws, which have disproportionately harmed communities of color,” says the organization on its website. “In New Jersey, Black people are arrested for cannabis-related offenses at a rate 3.5 times higher than white people, despite similar rates of use. As New Jersey works to legalize cannabis for adult use, it is imperative that we do so while centering racial and social justice.” In a statement made to Marijuana Moment, the organization praised Smith’s promotion of the initiative. “We are honored to have the support of one of our hometown heroes, Kevin Smith, and we look forward to celebrating with him when we #TurnthePage on November 3rd.”

Even Governor Phil Murphy is on board with recreational cannabis legalization. In July, he stated that legalizing cannabis is “an incredibly smart thing to do” for the economy, and for the state in general. “We’re not inventing marijuana. It exists,” Murphy said. “It’s a job creator. It’s a tax revenue raiser. It checks a lot of boxes. I hope we’ll get there sooner than later.”

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