NEW JERSEY—While legislators approved a public question for November 2020 to let New Jersey voters decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana, the debate begins anew over legal pot’s potential impacts—from social justice concerns including decriminalization of low-level pot possession arrests, to where future retail dispensaries may be located throughout the state.
Over the past two years, dozens of Bergen County towns have passed resolutions or ordinances to ban local retail marijuana shops.
Whether those measures are still valid will likely become clearer after voters decide whether to make pot legal.
Both legislative chambers approved a ballot question Dec. 16 by more than three-fifths, placing the question for a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana on next year’s general election ballot.
The measure passed 24–16 in the state Senate, and 49–24, with one abstention, in the Assembly.
To pass, 21 of 40 senators and 41 of 80 assembly members needed to approve legislation.
Had the ballot passed by a smaller majority, it would have been necessary for the state Senate and Assembly to vote again in 2020 to authorize a ballot question.
The on-again, off-again push for legislation to legalize marijuana, also known as cannabis, has been a priority for Gov. Phil Murphy since his election in late 2017, which he initially hoped to pass during his first 100 days in office.
That did not occur, and twice in 2019 efforts to pass legislation stalled when not enough Senate votes could be mustered, despite sufficient support in the Assembly.
Following the vote, Senate President Steve Sweeney, a legalization advocate, said he looked forward to finally legalizing marijuana and helping to end social injustice associated with current marijuana laws.
Legal pot ‘real life impact’
“Legalization is a significant step in public policy that will have a real-life impact on social justice, law enforcement and the lives of people in communities throughout New Jersey,” Sweeney said in a statement.
“With the public’s approval, we will be able to move forward to correct social and legal injustices that have had a discriminatory impact on communities of color at the same time marijuana is regulated and made safe and legal for adults.”
Much legislative attention was paid to social justice concerns in the failed legalization bills, but if the constitutional amendment question passes in November 2020, legislators will need to address those concerns again.
‘Do you approve’?
The November 2020 ballot question asks broadly: “Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form or marijuana called ‘cannabis?’”
The ballot question leaves many questions unanswered, say social justice advocates, including concerns such as decriminalization of low-level pot possession and expungement of previous low-level convictions.
Two bills addressing both issues have been introduced and may be presented to Gov. Murphy before the ballot question vote occurs, though social justice advocates worry about both being done right.
“Above anything else, racial and social justice provisions addressing the destruction wrought by the drug war must be at the forefront of any plan to legalize marijuana, and a constitutional amendment—while signaling welcome progress towards legalization—cannot provide that guarantee,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey in a statement.
36,000 ‘unnecessary’ arrests
“During the time it takes to get the question onto the ballot and to pass follow-up legislation to actually establish legalization, New Jersey will make 36,000 more unnecessary arrests per year—all for a substance most New Jerseyans believe should be legal,” Sinha said.
According to a New Jersey Democrats’ press release, marijuana possession-related arrests continue to increase yearly, with state law enforcement officers arresting over 24,000 individuals in 2012, which averaged about one arrest every 22 minutes.
“African Americans are nearly three times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white New Jerseyans, despite similar usage rates with white counterparts. […] The state spends approximately $127 million per year on cannabis possession enforcement costs,” noted the release.
According to the ACLU, in New Jersey an estimated 94 marijuana arrests are made every day.
Even a longtime advocate, Bill Caruso, managing director of Archer Public Affairs, told legislators that he was worried about “confusion around this constitutional amendment.”
“People don’t understand what they are voting on,” he told reporters. “There isn’t a tax rate because there can’t be, there is no racial and social justice set-aside…”
Also, state Sen. Ron Rice, (D-Newark), who led Democratic opposition to legalization due to a lack of emphasis on social justice concerns and minority business opportunities in a future lucrative marijuana market, said he believes people will vote against legalization when they realize how it could change communities and negatively impact lives.
‘Will vote against it’
“I don’t believe it should pass even though it may,” Rice told Pascack Press. “Once you really educate the public and once people really understand what impacts occur when you legalize recreational marijuana use, more people will vote against it,” said Rice.
Rice noted that many suburban communities have already taken positions to oppose legal marijuana retail shops in their towns and that may mean more impacts in urban areas.
“The average community, particularly urban areas that are growing and improving, does not really want this [marijuana shops] in their area,” said Rice.
Rice repeatedly told Pascack Press that he believes the ballot question to legalize marijuana, also known as cannabis, is confusing to the average citizen who may not fully realize the impacts of legalization.
Moreover, Rice said the debate over legalization—which now refers to recreational marijuana as “adult-use cannabis”—has left many New Jersey voters confused over what they’re actually voting on.
“I’m going to educate as many people as I can. I know most people I know are against recreational marijuana, people know there’s a harmful impact and it’s hurting us,” Rice said.
He said the state needs to pass a decriminalization bill immediately to eliminate the disproportionate impact on African Americans, who are arrested at three to four times the rate of white residents for marijuana possession.
He said referring to recreational marijuana use as adult-use cannabis “has kind of distorted public perceptions about the issue.”
He said “clear language” was needed to describe to voters what’s at stake by voting to legalize recreational marijuana.
Rice said that legalization will not provide any major tax revenues for New Jersey—with only normal state sales tax and a possible local 2% tax on sales—but instead impact minority communities while allowing well-heeled investors and entrepreneurs to dominate a legal recreational marijuana industry.
‘No one was surprised’
Michael Cerra, assistant executive director, New Jersey State League of Municipalities, a municipal advocacy organization, said “no one was surprised” that marijuana legalization wound up as a ballot question.
He said public officials statewide “are keeping their powder dry” until after the statewide public ballot is decided to determine next local steps, including whether to opt-out of four marijuana entities, including retail, wholesale, cultivation and distribution facilities.
“They deliberately kept it [the ballot question] general so the Legislature would have the ability to craft bills to structure the industry if it passes,” said Cerra.
He said the ballot question “leaves open a wide range of questions and issues…local control is still there, but let’s see how this whole thing [pro and con debate] plays out over the next 11 months,” he added.
He said he felt most state residents understood the terms “marijuana” and “cannabis” are similar, although the term “cannabis” is frequently used in association with medical uses, which could cause confusion among some voters.
Moreover, Cerra said the League plans to continue education efforts related to local impacts of statewide marijuana legalization.
Cerra said he expected “a significant amount of money to be pumped into the state” from pro-legalization interests throughout 2020 as advocates and opponents ratchet up lobbying efforts.
While the League has taken no position on legalization, Cerra said more education for public officials about likely local impacts will occur next year before the November election.
Cerra said it’s likely an up to 2% local tax may be applied to total sales from each of four marijuana-related enterprises.
In previous Pascack Press surveys and interviews, legalization was not supported by any police chief, municipality, public school district, or not-for-profit organization in Bergen County.
Police chiefs oppose legalization because many consider marijuana to be a “gateway” drug to heavier drug use, such as opioids and cocaine.
Moreover, risks to public safety and lack of an effective tool to assess marijuana levels in impaired drivers top their concerns.
One recent poll that surveyed 1,006 New Jersey adults between Oct. 12–19, 2018 found that 58% supported legalization while 37% did not.