[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF PASCACK PRESS
HACKENSACK—New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal asked municipal prosecutors statewide July 24 to adjourn all marijuana-related municipal court cases until Sept. 4 to give his office time to develop “appropriate guidance” for such cases moving forward.
The move follows Grewal’s rebuke of an attempt by Jersey City’s municipal prosecutor to decriminalize marijuana-related offenses in that Hudson County city.
New Jersey American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Amol Sinha issued a statement shortly after, praising the adjournments as “a step forward for New Jersey that should bring us closer to reforming our marijuana laws and ultimately righting the wrongs of unjust marijuana enforcement.”
Gov. Phil Murphy, who campaigned in part on a call to legalize marijuana, elevated Grewal from Bergen County prosecutor to state’s top cop in January.
During his time as prosecutor, Grewal made combatting the heroin epidemic a primary law enforcement initiative encompassing criminal enforcement, treatment, and education.
According to Pascack Joint Municipal Court—which serves Montvale, Park Ridge, and Woodcliff Lake—marijuana-related cases represented 52.5 percent of all cases planned for August and September, totaling 41 of 78 scheduled court appearances.
The court schedules cases six weeks in advance and holds three regular sessions per month. Revenue from marijuana-related fines is returned to the state.
According to 2016 FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, Bergen County was the top county statewide for marijuana-related arrests, totaling 3,681 marijuana possession arrests.
In 2016, pot possession arrests increased 30 percent statewide, jumping to 32,263 arrests from 24,866 in 2015. In 2016, marijuana possession arrests statewide amounted to 7.4 percent of 430,818 total arrests for all crimes.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]
‘Additional guidance’
“The issuance and subsequent rescission of [Jersey City’s] decriminalization memorandum made clear that some municipal prosecutors would benefit from additional guidance about the scope of their discretionary authority, particularly with regard to marijuana offenses,” Grewal wrote on July 24.
In his letter to municipal and county prosecutors, Grewal said he was forming a working group of criminal justice stakeholders— including the Hudson County prosecutor and the chief municipal prosecutor of the City of Jersey City—to study the issue and advise him on possible solutions.
Grewal said he would issue a statewide directive by Aug. 31 on prosecutorial discretion related to marijuana offenses in municipal courts.
“In the interim, I ask that all municipal prosecutors in New Jersey seek an adjournment until Sept. 4, 2018, or later, of any matter involving a marijuana-related offense pending in municipal court,” wrote Grewal.
“Please note that this request shall not be construed in any way to create any substantive right that may be enforced by any third party,” he added.
Marijuana momentum?
Grewal’s move appears to be another step toward legalization, which the Bergen County repeatedly has argued against, citing a lack of field tests for marijuana impairment and New Jersey’s epidemic of opioid abuse.
Momentum for legalization appears to be growing as efforts to expand medical marijuana and adult-use marijuana move along in both legislative chambers.
Murphy had projected $60 million in state tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales in the 2018 state budget, then removed it.
Some had predicted marijuana legalization by June 30—the end of New Jersey’s fiscal year—although legislative momentum appeared to stall over who would be allowed to open up retail shops and the total number of dispensaries to be permitted statewide.
Murphy’s efforts to legalize marijuana began during his 2017 campaign, where he and State Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver called for legalization and Republican opponents Kim Guadagno and running mate (and Woodcliff Lake mayor) Carlos Rendo called for decriminalization.
Murphy has long cited the disproportionate impact that marijuana prosecutions have on African Americans versus whites, despite similar usage rates.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]
Policework is business as usual
Bergen County Police Chiefs Association President Joseph Madden, Park Ridge’s police chief, said Grewal’s move will not affect daily police operations. He called Grewal’s words “gospel” in law enforcement and said “We will continue enforcing the laws as we always do.”
He reiterated the chiefs association position opposing legalization of marijuana in the Garden State.
‘Slow the pace’
According to the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police in a statement, “Our position is that the prudent approach, at this time, is to slow the pace and engage in these discussions. It is possible to peel back the layers and find consensus on the societal issues that were the original driving force for this issue.”
The group added that “alternatives to arrest and incarceration must be included in the discussion,” saying “the negative consequences related to the adoption of such legislation far outweigh any perceived benefits.”
“Coming at a time when our communities are struggling with the effects of the opioid and heroin epidemic, the members of the [association] believe the legalization of recreational marijuana will further burden our public health care system, increase organized criminal activity, and affect the welfare of our most vulnerable—our youth and adolescent population,” it adds.
Some towns oppose pot sales
Lately, more area municipalities are moving to pass ordinances either banning or restricting marijuana-related businesses, anticipating legalization.
The Township of Washington on July 2 passed an emergency measure that forbids the sale of recreational and medicinal marijuana (and blocks so-called “head shops”) in its retail zone.
In June, Woodcliff Lake banned the retail sale of recreational and medical marijuana. Its ordinance prohibits distributing, cultivating, growing and facilitating the sale or use of marijuana.
In a June Northern Valley Press report, Rendo pointed out that states where cannabis is legal—including California and Colorado—have seen the drug’s ill effects and took in less revenue than expected.
“Look, the police are against it, drug counselors are against it, it just opens the door for more drug use. And people loitering around put an extra burden on police and emergency services,” Rendo added.
More than a dozen Bergen County municipalities have banned marijuana sales, including Mahwah, Hasbrouck Heights, Garfield and Carlstadt.
Montvale plans to reintroduce an ordinance to ban retail sales, and Tenafly and Englewood councils are considering similar action.
Fort Lee is being targeted by potential medical marijuana operators as a prime location for a marijuana dispensary, according to recent media reports.
Fort Lee, as a gateway community to New Jersey upon crossing the George Washington Bridge from New York City, provides access to approximately 25 state highways, with over 100,000 vehicles passing through daily.
Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich reportedly met with three potential medical dispensary applicants and has invited them to present to the council.
What about medical marijuana?
Murphy is hoping to double the number of medical marijuana dispensaries from six to 12 to better serve the state’s 25,000 medical marijuana patients.
According to the state, approximately 700 of 28,000 physicians statewide are participating in the state’s medical marijuana program.
Approximately 10,000 patients have signed up since January, with 6,300 diagnosed with conditions recently covered by the state’s expanded medical marijuana program including anxiety, migraines, Tourette’s syndrome, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
ACLU: ‘Righting the wrongs’
According to New Jersey American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Amol Sinha a single marijuana conviction “can have devastating consequences, including fines, incarceration, job loss, and effects on housing and immigration status, which affect not just the individual, but their families and communities.”
“As the state Legislature charts a course towards legalization of marijuana for adult use, it only makes sense that municipalities would begin attempting to undo the harms of prohibition that have ravaged communities—particularly communities of color – throughout the state,” Sinha said.
He added, “We must pump the brakes on marijuana arrests and prosecutions, and engage in a serious critical examination of how we handle the tens of thousands of marijuana arrests we make each year. By directing prosecutors to pause adjudication of marijuana cases, this letter starts that process.”
He said the ACLU looks forward to partnering with Grewal’s working group “toward a directive that advances racial justice and serves to drastically reduce the number of marijuana prosecutions in anticipation of legalization.”
Requests to the Bergen County Municipal Court Administrators Association for comment on possible impacts of marijuana case adjournments were not returned by press time.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]