{"id":5163,"date":"2022-03-29T16:06:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T16:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CAIiEMU3OTTIULvuZOaX6VlDof4qGQgEKhAIACoHCAowx_7_CjCjposDMIvy5wU"},"modified":"2022-03-29T16:06:37","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T16:06:37","slug":"totally-unacceptable-nick-scutari-calls-for-hearings-into-nj-legal-weed-delays-asbury-park-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=5163","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Totally unacceptable&#8217;: Nick Scutari calls for hearings into NJ legal weed delays &#8211; Asbury Park Press"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el\" aria-label=\"Video - A pot shop in my town? Here's how some NJ residents feel about legal weed\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">TRENTON&nbsp;\u2013 Senate President Nick Scutari will form a special committee and conduct oversight hearings investigating what&#8217;s caused &#8220;totally unacceptable&#8221; delays in opening up legal weed sales in New Jersey.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Scutari, the main legislative sponsor for New Jersey marijuana legalization, announced the formation of the committee and hearings just five days after the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission tabled a vote on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.app.com\/story\/news\/local\/new-jersey\/marijuana\/2022\/03\/24\/nj-legal-weed-commission-balks-on-opening-up-recreational-sales\/7152931001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">allowing some existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling legal weed<\/a> to recreational customers over 21 years old.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The tabling of the vote left state government and cannabis industry officials slackjawed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;These delays are totally unacceptable,&#8221; Scutari said in a statement. \u201cWe need to get the legal marijuana market up and running in New Jersey. This has become a failure to follow through on the public mandate and to meet the expectations for new businesses and consumers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.app.com\/story\/news\/investigations\/data\/analysis\/2022\/03\/28\/nj-legal-weed-dispensaries-marijuana-opt-out-ordinances\/7090410001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Will your town allow NJ legal weed dispensaries? Check out our updated map.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">At its March 24 meeting, CRC Executive&nbsp;Director Jeff Brown said there was about a 100,000-pound supply gap between what the state&#8217;s medical marijuana operators have on hand and what would be necessary to&nbsp;satisfy the state&#8217;s 120,000 registered medical marijuana patients, as well as the expected glut of new, recreational customers, including those driving over state lines from New York, Pennsylvania or Delaware.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/totally-unacceptable-nick-scutari-calls-for-hearings-into-nj-legal-weed-delays-asbury-park-press.jpg\" data-gl-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/totally-unacceptable-nick-scutari-calls-for-hearings-into-nj-legal-weed-delays-asbury-park-press-1.jpg 2x\" alt=\"Senator Nicholas Scutari speaks to the press after cancelling the marijuana vote on Monday, March 25, 2019, in Trenton.\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">And that calculation used a conservative model, in which customers would only buy 4 ounces of pot per year, or 1 ounce of pot per year for those traveling from out of state, Brown said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;While the commission recognizes the desire of the public to get the personal use market up and running, it is a shared responsibility to do so,&#8221; Commissioner Krista Nash said at the meeting.&nbsp;&#8220;Our hope is that the guidance the commission provides here today will move the process along so we can get these (alternative treatment centers) open (for recreational customers) in a responsible manner that meets the needs of the patients and the personal use market.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In response, CRC Executive Director Jeff Brown highlighted that the CRC approved 68 conditional licenses for recreational marijuana growers and manufacturers on March 24 and noted that the commission &#8220;continues to work with the (alternative treatment centers)&nbsp; that have applied for expansion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;The goal is to help ATCs meet the criteria that ensures the needs of medicinal patients are met, and to ensure across all providers that there is not a strain on supply, that municipal compliance is satisfied, and that the market can open safely and so that equity is prioritized,&#8221; Brown said in a statement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Legalizing marijuana&nbsp;in New Jersey has been wrought with delays from the start. Gov. Phil Murphy&#8217;s 2017 campaign promised to legalize weed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.app.com\/story\/news\/new-jersey\/governor\/2018\/04\/25\/getting-more-done-than-he-thought-100-days-gov-phil-murphy-sees-lot-road\/532647002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">within his first 100 days in office<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But by 2019, it became clear Scutari would be unable&nbsp;to win over moderate Republicans and even some Democratic senators from urban areas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_ifg\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadInfogram\" data-v-id=\"f2b75e06-5e9a-4821-9678-9b6297bfb2e6\" aria-label=\"Embedded infographic - NJ medical marijuana patients\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>MORE:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.app.com\/story\/news\/local\/new-jersey\/marijuana\/2022\/01\/11\/nj-marijuana-legal-weed-sales-held-up-cannabis-regulatory-commission\/9158935002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">NJ medical marijuana dispensaries want to sell you legal weed. What&#8217;s the hold-up?<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Instead, the issue was punted to the November 2020 ballot. That referendum was supported by more than two-thirds of New Jersey voters, on a night where legal weed questions also won in Arizona, Montana and South Dakota.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But the process was delayed for nearly four months while legislative leaders and Gov. Phil Murphy&#8217;s office fought over language <a href=\"https:\/\/www.app.com\/story\/news\/2020\/11\/16\/new-jersey-marijuana-taxes-what-we-know\/6313443002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">involving the tax rate on cannabi<\/a>s, where those tax funds would go and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.app.com\/story\/news\/local\/new-jersey\/marijuana\/2021\/02\/19\/new-jersey-nj-marijuana-legalization-legal-weed-phil-murphy-underage-drinking\/4512113001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">how to handle underage marijuana users.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Since then, legislators in New York, Connecticut and Virginia have legalized marijuana, calling into doubt how much of a head start the Garden State would have on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.app.com\/story\/news\/local\/new-jersey\/marijuana\/2018\/05\/22\/weed-tourism-colorado-cannabis-tours-ibake-denver-new-jersey-visitors\/575667002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\"> collecting tax revenue from the millions of out-of-state marijuana tourists<\/a> that were once predicted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In a statement, Scutari said the hearings would include CRC officials, input from cannabis businesses waiting to be licensed and others involved in the legal marijuana market.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">No timetable for the formation of the committee or its oversight hearings was immediately announced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>Weed dispensaries:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.app.com\/story\/news\/local\/new-jersey\/marijuana\/2022\/03\/16\/nj-legal-weed-dispensary-application-phil-murphy\/7049880001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Wanna open a legal weed dispensary in NJ? Now&#8217;s your chance to apply for a license<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He&#8217;s won a few awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:mdavis@gannettnj.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">mdavis@gannettnj.com<\/a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/bymikedavis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">@byMikeDavis<\/a>&nbsp;on Twitter.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TRENTON&nbsp;\u2013 Senate President Nick Scutari will form a special committee and conduct oversight hearings investigating what&#8217;s caused &#8220;totally unacceptable&#8221; delays in opening up legal weed sales in New Jersey.&nbsp; Scutari, the main legislative sponsor for New Jersey marijuana legalization, announced the formation of the committee and hearings just five days after the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission tabled a vote on allowing some existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling legal weed to recreational customers over 21 years old.&nbsp; The tabling of the vote left state government and cannabis industry officials slackjawed.&nbsp; &#8220;These delays are totally unacceptable,&#8221; Scutari said in&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/totally-unacceptable-nick-scutari-calls-for-hearings-into-nj-legal-weed-delays-asbury-park-press.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5163","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=5163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}