Exciting news! Yesterday, Gov. Murphy signed three bills into law that officially enact legalization in New Jersey!

Gov. Murphy’s signature ends a three-year campaign to regulate and tax cannabis in the Garden State. As you likely recall, in November 2020, New Jerseyans overwhelmingly approved a ballot referendum supporting cannabis legalization. The following month, the legislature responded with the passage of A.21/S.21 and S.2535. However, both measures stalled due to concerns surrounding penalties for underage use.

Late last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced A.5342, which addresses penalties for underage use. Today, both chambers voted to approve the bill, and Gov. Murphy immediately signed all three bills into law. You can check out a summary of the bills here.

Effective immediately, adults can now legally possess up to six ounces of cannabis or 170 grams of concentrate.

Although Gov. Murphy’s signature means the end of arrests and prosecution for cannabis in New Jersey, it will likely take a few months before residents are able to purchase cannabis from retailers, as the recently formed Cannabis Regulatory Commission will develop rules for adult-use licenses.

We’d like to extend sincere thanks to all of you who helped push to make cannabis reform in New Jersey a reality.

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Ask Gov. Murphy to sign S.21/A.21 and A.1897/4269 immediately!

Exciting news! Today, both the N.J. Senate and Assembly voted to advance two bills that would legalize possession of up to six ounces of cannabis and create the regulatory structure for adult-use sales. The Assembly passed S.21/A.21, “The NJ Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act,” in a 49-24 vote with six abstentions. The Senate passed the measure in a 23-17 vote with no abstentions.

You may recall that a constitutional amendment legalizing cannabis, which was approved by around two-thirds of New Jersey voters on Election Day, takes effect January 1. But it only allows for legalization of a regulated market, which means possession of cannabis remains illegal until Gov. Phil Murphy signs the enabling legislation.

Under the negotiated version of S.21/A.21, the number of cultivation licenses would be capped at 37 for the first 24 months after the bill’s enactment. Facilities with 2,500 square feet or less and fewer than 1,000 plants are not included in the cap. The sales tax revenue would be divided up, with 70 percent going to social justice programs and 100 percent of cultivation excise fees going to a social equity fund that would be directed to social justice reforms in communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. The remaining 30 percent of sales tax revenue would be used to support the work of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission and for enforcement personnel training and equipment for drug recognition experts.

The excise fee, which could be imposed by the newly formed Cannabis Regulatory Commission nine months after the first recreational cannabis sales, is structured to rise as the average price of cannabis falls.

Also today, the Assembly passed an amended version of A.1897/4269. Under the amended bill, up to six ounces of cannabis and 170 grams of hashish could be possessed legally with no associated criminal or civil penalties. Additionally, the bill removes penalties for use or possession for people currently on parole or probation. The bill also eliminates the odor of cannabis as a basis to initiate a search of a person and removes cannabis-related offenses from consideration in pretrial release and detention. The Senate passed the measure last month in a 29-4 vote with no abstentions. Today, the Assembly passed the measure in a 64-12 vote with one abstention.

Both bills now head to Gov. Murphy for his signature.

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Ask your state lawmakers to support expanding patient access to medical cannabis!

Good news! On Thursday, the New Jersey Assembly and Senate are scheduled to vote on twin bills to allow healthcare practitioners to authorize medical cannabis using telemedicine. The bills — Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt’s A. 1635 and Sen. Declan O’Scanlon’s S. 619 — are particularly important in these times of COVID, when many are concerned about any unnecessary in-person interactions.

Both bills are scheduled for a vote this Thursday, September 24 at 10:30 a.m. Please email your state legislators today to ask them to support A.1635 and S.619. Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration took crucial steps to preserve safe access to medical cannabis during COVID by issuing a waiver that allowed home delivery of medical cannabis. That waiver implemented one of the key provisions contained in Jake Honig’s Law that was signed into law in 2019 and expanded on measures Gov. Murphy’s administration took at the onset of the pandemic to ensure patient access.

Lastly, as you may know, legalization is on the ballot in New Jersey this November — as Public Question 1. The deadline to register to vote is October 13. New Jersey is mailing all registered voters their ballots. Completed ballots can be deposited in secure drop boxes, mailed in, dropped off at one's county Board of Elections office, or dropped off at one’s polling place on Election Day. For those who prefer to vote in person, polling places will be open on Tuesday, November 3 between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Please spread the word so that others can make their voices heard for sensible and humane cannabis policies!

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Exciting news! Yesterday, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration took another important step to preserve safe access to medical cannabis during COVID by issuing a waiver that would allow home delivery of medical cannabis to patients and designated caregivers. The waiver implements one of the key provisions contained in Jake Honig’s Law that was signed into law in 2019.

At the onset of the COVID public health emergency, Gov. Murphy’s administration issued waivers providing for curbside pick-up, remote consultations, and expedited employee on-boarding.

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Ask Gov. Murphy to ensure safe access for medical cannabis patients.

On March 21, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration took an important step to preserve safe access to medical marijuana by declaring New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program an essential service. Later that month, his administration issued waivers providing for curbside pick-up, remote consultations, and expedited employee on-boarding. While MPP applauds Gov. Murphy’s decisive emergency action, there is still a need for additional pathways to medical marijuana that comport with social distancing guidelines.

Heeding the advice of COVID-19 experts that the elderly and immunocompromised use a delivery service if possible, several states have authorized home delivery through executive order, including Louisiana and neighboring Delaware. Prior to COVID-19, 18 states already allowed for home delivery of medical cannabis.

In 2019, the New Jersey Legislature authorized home delivery in a bill that made improvements to the state’s medical marijuana program. Unfortunately, the Murphy administration has yet to issue regulations for the delivery provisions of the statute.

We urge Gov. Murphy’s administration to immediately promulgate regulations for home delivery to medical marijuana patients. As New Jersey amplifies its focus on limiting the spread of the virus, it is increasingly vital to offer medical cannabis patients the option of home delivery.

Please join us by writing Gov. Murphy in support of home delivery. You can go the extra mile by spreading the word to others, calling his office at 609-292-6000, or making an appeal on Twitter.

We wish you and your loved ones well during these difficult times.

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New law sets the stage for automatic expungement

On Monday, in addition to referring legalization to voters, the New Jersey Legislature passed a reworked bill to expunge or seal thousands of past convictions, including marijuana charges. Just two days later, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill into law.

This new law removes a scarlet letter that has derailed countless lives. Marijuana convictions can make it difficult to get housing, jobs, professional licensing, and to further one’s education. With 62% of New Jersey voters supporting legalization, it is particularly nonsensical to haunt individuals for life for using cannabis.

S.4151 includes several improvements Gov. Murphy requested when he conditionally vetoed a prior version, along with a few tweaks from the legislature.

Among other changes, the new law will:

• Require the courts to implement an automatic sealing process for most marijuana offenses;
• Set up a task force to make recommendations on the automatic sealing process;
• Allow individuals who have completed their sentences for lower-level marijuana offenses to apply for and be granted expungement while awaiting automatic sealing;
• Remove fees for expungement; and
• Allocate $15 million for implementation.

For more details, check out this article.

This is an important step forward to improving New Jersey’s marijuana policies. But, more action is needed to bring justice to the Garden State’s marijuana laws. New Jersey can save 30,000 individuals the trauma of arrests between now and Election Day by decriminalizing marijuana in the lame duck session. Let lawmakers know you want them to stop the arrests.

Thank you for raising your voice for sensible, humane marijuana policies!

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Today, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act into law. The bill is named after a pediatric cancer patient who passed away last year. Towards the end of Jake's fight, he relied on medical marijuana to ease the symptoms of the terrible disease. His family has since become advocates for medical marijuana reforms and helped spearhead this new law.

The new law will expand patient access to medical marijuana, by allowing more qualifying conditions and increasing the amount a patient can purchase in a month. It also creates a five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission to govern the medical marijuana program. A summary of the changes can be found here.

While the legislature didn't manage to pass legalization this session, it's only matter of time. Support for changing marijuana laws is growing every day. Just last week, New Jersey state senators held a press conference calling for decriminalization and expungement reform. Together, we can bring about marijuana policy reform in New Jersey.

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If you live in New Jersey, ask your lawmakers if they support the legalization bill.

Yesterday, Gov. Phil Murphy and leaders in the legislature decided not to hold a vote on their marijuana legalization bill. It was determined that they did not have enough votes to pass the bill, and they chose to table the bill until they do.

While this is a disappointing setback, let's make sure it is only a temporary one. As Gov. Murphy said, "Justice may be delayed, but justice will not be denied."

Please take a second to email your lawmakers to ask them if they support the legalization bill.

If they don't support the bill, please consider reaching out further and asking for a meeting. If lawmakers don't hear from their constituents, they won't change their minds. If you are interested in setting up a meeting with your lawmaker, please email me at dboyer@mpp.org, and I can help facilitate that and arm you with the best resources in support of ending marijuana prohibition.

So please, email your lawmakers and then spread the word by forwarding this email to friends and family members.

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If you live in New Jersey, click here to email your lawmakers today.

As you may have heard, Gov. Phil Murphy and Senate President Stephen Sweeney announced they have finally come to an agreement regarding the details of marijuana legalization in New Jersey. If leaders in the legislature believe they have the votes to pass the bill, they plan to hold a vote on March 25.

Click here to email your lawmakers in support of making marijuana legal.

The votes aren't there yet for the bill to pass. It's time to change that: Lawmakers need to hear from constituents who support replacing marijuana prohibition with sensible regulation.

The legalization bill would:

• Allow adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana;
• Set up a process for expungement for individuals convicted of low-level marijuana offenses;
• Establish a $42 tax per ounce on sales from cultivators; and
• Incentivize towns to allow marijuana businesses through local taxes.

The bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations and Senate Judiciary Committees this Monday, March 18, where they will also hear bills on medical marijuana expansion.

Please email your elected officials to let them know you support ending marijuana prohibition. Then, forward this email to your friends and family. Together we can bring sensible marijuana laws to New Jersey.

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Ask the governor and Senate president to compromise on the details and bring legalization up for a vote!

As you may have heard, the New Jersey Legislature will not be voting on marijuana legalization before the year’s end. While there is political will to pass legalization in New Jersey, lawmakers couldn’t agree on the details — including a tax rate — this year.

If you're a New Jersey residernt, please call Gov. Phil Murphy at 609-292-6000 and Senate President Stephen Sweeney at 856-251-9801 and ask that they come to a compromise and bring legalization up for a vote early next year. Marijuana prohibition has cost New Jersey millions of dollars and ruined thousands of lives. It’s time for it to end.

In better news, New Jersey regulators recently doubled the number of medical marijuana dispensaries (“ATCs”) from six to a total of 12. Patients will soon have more access to purchase the medicine that they need.

But it’s important that New Jersey legalizes marijuana to further improve access to this life-saving plant. New Jersey’s medical cannabis law remains among the most restrictive in the nation, and it leaves behind most pain patients. Please, reach out to the governor and Senate president and ask that they work out the details to swiftly end marijuana prohibition. Then, spread the word to others in New Jersey who can raise their voices for humane marijuana policies.

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