On Nov. 3, 2020, New Jersey voters approved Public Question 1, the Marijuana Legalization Amendment, by a 2-1 vote. Gov. Murphy hailed the outcome as “a huge step forward for racial and social justice and our economy.” Some characterized the amendment, the Asbury Park Press reported, as “a once-in-a-generation criminal justice reform in New Jersey, where police officers are tougher on marijuana crimes than any other state and Black people are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for possession than white people, despite similar usage rates.” However, enabling legislation was required to establish a regulatory framework as determined by the Legislature and Cannabis Regulatory Commission, a panel which oversees the state’s medical marijuana market, now including recreational marijuana

The Legislature acted swiftly. As reported by the New Jersey Law Journal, “[t]he Assembly and Senate approved A-21/S-21, the massive, 216-page ‘New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act,’ and the marijuana decriminalization bill, on Dec. 17. However, the process stalled over disagreements between the governor and the Legislative Black and Latino Caucuses concerning penalties imposed on underage use of recreational cannabis. Sen. Ron Rice (D-Essex), leader of the Legislative Black Caucus, opposes such penalties as antithetical to the criminal justice goal of ending the disparate treatment of African American minors arrested for marijuana possession and use.

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