{"id":2128,"date":"2021-11-01T19:52:02","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T19:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=183309"},"modified":"2021-11-01T19:52:02","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T19:52:02","slug":"new-jersey-faces-one-more-cannabis-legalization-vote-on-tuesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2128","title":{"rendered":"New Jersey faces one more cannabis legalization vote on Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>New Jersey faces one more cannabis legalization vote on Tuesday &#8211; Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.1.2 (Yoast SEO v17.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>The Nov. 2 vote in New Jersey could have a profound effect on the expected opening of the state\u2019s legal adult-use cannabis industry next year. <\/p>\n<p>One candidate for governor\u2014incumbent Phil Murphy, a Democrat\u2014has overseen the passage of legalization and the forward, if imperfect, progress toward the opening of the state\u2019s retail market. The other candidate\u2014Republican Jack Ciattarelli\u2014is openly hostile to cannabis and wants to repeal legalization because he wants cops to arrest more weed smokers.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a pretty stark contrast.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-good-problems-to-have\">Good problems to have<\/h2>\n<p>For most New Jersey residents, there are still problems with legal cannabis in the Garden State: It took too long to happen, too many towns have banned retail sales, home grow isn\u2019t allowed, there\u2019s not enough support for equity businesses, and it\u2019s still going to be months before the first adult-use stores open to the public.<\/p>\n<p>Way back in 2017, Phil Murphy ran for governor promising to pass cannabis legalization \u201cin his first 100 days.\u201d He got elected, then spent the next three years trying to push a bill through the state legislature, without success. New Jersey Republicans largely opposed legalization, while Murphy\u2019s fellow Democrats engaged in endless negotiations over different aspects of competing plans.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, in Nov. 2020, the question was put before state voters in the form of a ballot referendum. That measure passed by a massive margin (67% yes to 33% no), making legal cannabis officially more popular in New Jersey than any statewide political candidate in recent memory.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/heres-whats-legal-under-new-jerseys-updated-marijuana-laws\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what\u2019s legal under New Jersey\u2019s updated marijuana laws<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-building-an-equitable-industry-takes-time\">Building an equitable industry takes time<\/h2>\n<p>Building a regulated cannabis industry from scratch may be taking longer than advocates would like, but many of the social justice benefits of legalization that Gov. Murphy originally ran on have already come online. In Feb. 2021, he signed three separate reform bills, including one decriminalizing up to six ounces of cannabis for adults 21 and older. Another bill decriminalized cannabis for those under 21 caught for the first time, replacing criminal penalties with a written warning.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Murphy also appointed former ACLU lawyer Dianna Houenou as chair of New Jersey\u2019s Cannabis Regulatory Commission, with a mandate to oversee the state\u2019s emerging industry in a way that\u2019s \u201cequitable, fair, and inclusive of all communities.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Over 362,000 cannabis cases have since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marijuanamoment.net\/new-jersey-has-expunged-a-third-of-a-million-marijuana-convictions-since-july\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">been expunged<\/a> in New Jersey. <\/p>\n<p>The continued prohibition on homegrow is a problem for many cannabis enthusiasts and reform advocates. But in a recent appearance on his <em>NJ News 12<\/em> call-in segment, \u201cAsk Governor Murphy,\u201d the state\u2019s chief executive said that he\u2019s now <a href=\"https:\/\/headynj.com\/murphy-open-to-cannabis-home-cultivation-as-support-builds-slowly-for-medical-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201copen-minded\u201d<\/a> about signing a bill allowing home cultivation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI support adult-use [cannabis legalization] purely because of social justice,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s actually happening as we speak. And the industry is being built with equity first and foremost as its objective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course, that could all change if Tuesday\u2019s election swings against Murphy.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-ciattarelli-would-reverse-legalization\">Ciattarelli would \u201creverse\u201d legalization<\/h2>\n<p>Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor in Tuesday\u2019s election, also has a legalization plan: Total re-criminalization. As <a href=\"https:\/\/nj1015.com\/repeal-legal-pot-allow-home-grow-views-differ-at-gop-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">he explained<\/a> in a televised debate in May:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u201c<em>I did not support the [legalization] ballot referendum. It\u2019s been approved by the people of New Jersey, which means the only way to remove it would be to put it back on the ballot. As governor, my first term, if this rollout of recreational marijuana as legalized now is a failure, I will advocate for it to go back on the ballot. We can reverse that decision.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Just six months after New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved legalization, Ciattarelli was already trash-talking the state\u2019s implementation. His major complaint? Ending cannabis prohibition makes it harder for the police to arrest people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have basically handcuffed our local police,\u201d he said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t what the people of New Jersey signed up for. We only made the job of local police harder with the bill that Democrats have passed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ciatterelli\u2019s logic presumes that 67% of voters somehow didn\u2019t understand that legalizing cannabis means the police can no longer arrest you for it. He also doesn\u2019t recognize that\u2019s a feature, not a bug.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-ciatterelli-s-long-terrible-record-on-cannabis\">Ciatterelli\u2019s long, terrible record on cannabis<\/h2>\n<p>Jack Ciatterelli\u2019s opposition to cannabis isn\u2019t limited to concerns about curtailing the power of the police, or even to adult-use consumers.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, while serving as state legislator, he <a href=\"http:\/\/www.apple.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted against<\/a> a bill that added Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for New Jersey\u2019s medical cannabis program\u2014even with a bunch of pointless hoops for patients to jump through, <a href=\"https:\/\/static.votesmart.org\/static\/billtext\/57457.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">as explained<\/a> in the bill.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>To qualify for medical marijuana, the patient\u2019s PTSD symptoms would have to be resistant to conventional medical therapy, which generally combines psychotherapy with antidepressants and anti- anxiety medications. To be authorized for use of medical marijuana, the patient would have to meet the other requirements of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act as well, including obtaining certification of the patient\u2019s condition from a physician with whom the patient has a bona fide physician-patient relationship.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So according to Jack Ciatterelli, if a US combat veteran returns home with PTSD, attempts to treat it with psychotherapy and (dangerous, addictive) pharmaceutical drugs, that doesn\u2019t work, and they&nbsp; then get a positive recommendation from their physician to try cannabis\u2014even then, that veteran, and anyone else suffering with PTSD in New Jersey, should be cut off from the state\u2019s legal supply, and subject to arrest even for simple possession.<\/p>\n<p>A year before the PTSD vote, Ciatterelli tried to kill a bill that removed some of the medical program\u2019s most onerous restrictions, like limits on THC levels for cannabis, and a provision requiring pediatric patients get three different doctor\u2019s recommendations to qualify.<\/p>\n<p>He also voted against allowing any minors to access medical cannabis at all, including those suffering with severe seizure disorder, cancer, and other life-threatening ailments. While Ciatterelli now claims that he supports decriminalization, in 2012 he voted against a bill to reduce penalties for possession of 15 grams or less of cannabis.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-ciatterelli-could-delay-store-openings-for-years\">Ciatterelli could delay store openings for years<\/h2>\n<p>As Ciatterelli himself has noted, the only way to undue the legalization laws already on the books is with another public vote. Which means that if he wins the governor race, he\u2019ll immediately begin a public campaign to push for a repeal vote.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that overturning a 67-37 margin just a few years after the will of the people was so forcefully expressed is a pretty absurd notion. But that\u2019s consistent with the rest of Ciatterelli\u2019s positions on the issue. <\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more dangerous is that short of overturning New Jersey\u2019s cannabis laws entirely, he could simply delay, obstruct and sabotage them from within, including via the Governor\u2019s oversight of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.<\/p>\n<p>But only if New Jersey voters give him the job.<\/p>\n<p>Current polls show Gov. Murphy in the lead, but the race is tightening as Tuesday approaches. Only time will tell who comes out on top, and thus dictates the future of New Jersey cannabis. But one thing we do know for sure is that if Jack Ciatterelli loses, you won\u2019t catch him cursing about it in public.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n[embedded content]\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/new-jersey-faces-one-more-cannabis-legalization-vote-on-tuesday.jpg\" alt=\"David Bienenstock's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>David Bienenstock<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Veteran cannabis journalist David Bienenstock is the author of &#8220;How to Smoke Pot (Properly): A Highbrow Guide to Getting High&#8221; (2016 &#8211; Penguin\/Random House), and the co-host and co-creator of the podcast &#8220;Great Moments in Weed History with Abdullah and Bean.&#8221; Follow him on Twitter @pot_handbook.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/david-bienenstock\">View David Bienenstock&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-11-01 14:00:08 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Jersey faces one more cannabis legalization vote on Tuesday &#8211; Leafly Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The Nov. 2 vote in New Jersey could have a profound effect on the expected opening of the state\u2019s legal adult-use cannabis industry next year. One candidate for governor\u2014incumbent Phil Murphy, a Democrat\u2014has overseen the passage of legalization and the forward,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/new-jersey-faces-one-more-cannabis-legalization-vote-on-tuesday.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}