After a failed legislative push in 2019, an amendment to the state constitution, and a winter of discord between Democratic legislators, New Jersey finally legalized marijuana on Monday. Governor Phil Murphy signed three bills that decriminalize cannabis use and implement the sale and taxation of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. Here are the answers to your questions about what that means.
Can I smoke weed right now in New Jersey without getting arrested?
Yes, according to one of the new laws. Possession of up to six ounces of marijuana is completely decriminalized. In most private places where smoking cigarettes are permitted, like homes, smoking weed is now allowed. But wherever alcohol is forbidden, like public streets and transit, the consumption of cannabis is still forbidden. And legal purchases are still not possible.
When can I buy?
Murphy said in six months, though experts say it could take more than a year. Existing medical marijuana dispensaries get the first crack at recreational sale, but operators need to prove that they have enough supply to cover their medical patients before they can open up for everyone else. A dearth of available cannabis is a concern for the industry.
Can I grow it?
No. Unlike other states that legalized marijuana, there’s no provision in the law that allows recreational or medical users to grow their own plant at home.
What happens to underage consumers?
Questions about the fate of those under the legal age of 21 was the thorniest issue that delayed the final approval of legal marijuana. In the end, members of the Legislative Black Caucus who were concerned that marijuana would still be used as a pretense to overpolice communities of color secured a reduction in penalties. Those caught with the drug would face a written warning on the first offense, parental notification on the second offense, and possible counseling for subsequent offenses.
This angered Republicans like Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi, who said the language of the new law means someone who sells an ounce of marijuana to an 8-year-old would face nothing more than a ticket. “This bill is just going to drag all of our youth, regardless of color, into the gutter,” she said.
What are the racial justice provisions of the new law?
The ACLU of New Jersey found that Black New Jerseyans were 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white residents, even though they don’t actually use more of the drug, and this legislation goes to extraordinary lengths to rectify the harm done by that disparity.
An excise fee on growers—plus 70% of the revenue from a sales tax—goes to communities disproportionately impacted by the government’s decades-long war on drugs. These so-called Impact Zones are communities of color that have suffered from divestment. Marijuana money for the Impact Zones will be used for a variety of social equity programs for educational support, economic development, and legal aid. There are also incentives in the law to award marijuana retail licenses to individuals who live in the Impact Zones.
The law also doesn’t allow police officers to use the smell of marijuana as a reason to stop and search someone, which is the pretense that’s entangled scores of Black men in the criminal justice system. Amol Sinha of the ACLU in New Jersey said this provision “is going to change the face of policing as we know it.”
But the state’s biggest police union called this a “trap,” because officers who violate the provision could be punished.
What about those with prior marijuana convictions and charges?
Thousands of people have been arrested for marijuana possessions since January 1st, when a constitutional amendment legalizing weed went into effect. All pending marijuana charges are now to be thrown out, and a system is being put into place for vacating prior marijuana convictions so records can be wiped clean.
Can I cross the Hudson River to buy marijuana?
It’s still technically illegal to cross state lines with marijuana due to federal law. But New Yorkers will be able to go there and buy it -- then stay there and smoke it. The new law also allows the opening of lounges where marijuana could be consumed, a la coffee shops in Amsterdam, and even in-state delivery.
Listen to Matt Katz's report on WNYC:
