Swordsmyth
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New Jersey could have been the 11th state to legalize marijuana in America. But politicians in favor of legal weed couldn't get the necessary support, so they canceled a vote on the measure in the state Legislature Monday afternoon, NJ Advance Media reports. Another vote is not expected to be scheduled until after the November elections.
The bill called for the legalization, taxation, and regulation of marijuana, and was said to be the most progressive marijuana legislation presented in the entire country. It was also connected to two other marijuana bills: one to expand the state's medical marijuana program, and another to quickly expunge as many as 200,000 marijuana convictions. NJ Advance Media reports that voting on these measures will also be delayed. With New Jersey's failure to get legalization passed, Vermont remains the only state to have successfully legalized weed through its legislation instead of a public referendum.
New Jersey's politicians have been batting around the issue for a year and a half. It's a fraught one. Despite a Democratic majority in the state legislature, and despite Governor Phil Murphy's 2017 campaign promise to legalize weed, a "yes" vote was far from guaranteed. As recently as last Thursday, Murphy told reporters, "We’re close-we’re not there yet," as he tried to drum up support. On Monday, it became clear he wouldn't get close enough to make a vote go his way.
Murphy and his supporters said legalization would bring a profitable cannabis industry to the state, increase tax revenue, and prevent a disproportional number of black and Latino New Jerseyans from being arrested on marijuana-related charges. But opponents of the bill, who sit on both sides of the aisle, warned that underage use would rise and crime would flourish, or said the bill didn't go far enough to right social injustices.
More at: https://news.yahoo.com/sorry-jersey-legal-weed-wait-165900382.html
The bill called for the legalization, taxation, and regulation of marijuana, and was said to be the most progressive marijuana legislation presented in the entire country. It was also connected to two other marijuana bills: one to expand the state's medical marijuana program, and another to quickly expunge as many as 200,000 marijuana convictions. NJ Advance Media reports that voting on these measures will also be delayed. With New Jersey's failure to get legalization passed, Vermont remains the only state to have successfully legalized weed through its legislation instead of a public referendum.
New Jersey's politicians have been batting around the issue for a year and a half. It's a fraught one. Despite a Democratic majority in the state legislature, and despite Governor Phil Murphy's 2017 campaign promise to legalize weed, a "yes" vote was far from guaranteed. As recently as last Thursday, Murphy told reporters, "We’re close-we’re not there yet," as he tried to drum up support. On Monday, it became clear he wouldn't get close enough to make a vote go his way.
Murphy and his supporters said legalization would bring a profitable cannabis industry to the state, increase tax revenue, and prevent a disproportional number of black and Latino New Jerseyans from being arrested on marijuana-related charges. But opponents of the bill, who sit on both sides of the aisle, warned that underage use would rise and crime would flourish, or said the bill didn't go far enough to right social injustices.
More at: https://news.yahoo.com/sorry-jersey-legal-weed-wait-165900382.html
