Legislature, Murphy close to final deal on marijuana; voting sessions scheduled
The Murphy administration and legislative leaders are close to a deal on new legislation that would resolve disputes that have held up New Jersey’s plans to legalize cannabis for adult use and decriminalize possession, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks.
The Senate and Assembly have scheduled voting sessions for Jan. 11, a target day for when the sources say lawmakers can pass a “clean-up” bill that clarifies the penalties for underage possession of cannabis and marijuana. Soon thereafter, Gov. Phil Murphy would sign the legalization enabling the bill, NJ A21 (20R), the decriminalization bill, NJ A1897 (20R), and a third bill to resolve the issues relating to underage possession, the sources said.
The governor has refused to sign the legislation because he wants there to be civil penalties for those under the age of 21 who are caught with the drug.
The delay comes even though New Jersey voters in November overwhelmingly endorsed legalizing cannabis through a constitutional amendment, which took effect Jan.1.
The details: The legalization and decriminalization bills make a distinction between marijuana and cannabis, even though they’re the same plant. Cannabis is the term for the legalized drug and marijuana refers to products sold through the unregulated market, according to four people familiar with the discussion.
The decriminalization bill on Murphy’s desk eliminates all penalties for possession of up to 6 ounces of marijuana, including for those under 21 — the legal age to purchase it under the bill. But the enabling legislation includes provisions that would charge those under 21 with a petty disorderly persons offense if they’re caught with less than 1 ounce of cannabis — i.e. drugs that were obtained through a regulated dispensary.
Under the legalization bill, those aged 18 to 20 would face fines starting at $250 for possession of 1 ounce of cannabis — New Jersey eliminated criminal fines for juvenile offenders early last year — and at least $500 for more than an ounce.
Why it matters: Murphy‘s concerns over the discrepancy — which some legislative sources say was an intentional policy to reduce the public’s interactions with law enforcement over small amounts of the drug — weren’t publicly identified until after the bills landed on his desk. The administration is seeking new legislation that would set civil, but not criminal, penalties for underage residents caught with small amounts of both cannabis and marijuana.
Recreational sales can’t occur until Murphy signs the enabling legislation. And while state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has instructed prosecutors to suspend or move to dismiss pending marijuana-related cases, absent a decriminalization law, residents will likely continue to be arrested for possession.
Nothing’s easy: Some hope to keep the changes sought by the clean-up bill narrow, but plans to reopen debate around marijuana-related policies also create an avenue by which some groups can lobby for additional changes to the wide-ranging enabling bill.
Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), one of only two Democrats to vote against the enabling legislation last month, said he’s seeking changes that would clarify protections for employees who use cannabis outside of work as well as provisions that would address liability concerns for employers.
“I still believe we’re going to have issues at one point and time. We’re going to have to do a clean-up bill on the employee and employer protections at one point in time because there’s a lot of uncertainty out there, in both the public and private sector,” Sarlo said in an interview Monday morning. “I’m going to take a shot at including it now, most likely this request will not be successful, I understand that, but I’m going to continue to bring this issue to the forefront.”