deraneyesq — 8 years ago
May 16th, 2017 – Update on Cannabis Decriminalization in the State of New Jersey
The Majority of States and the District of Columbia in the United States of America currently have legislation legalizing marijuana in some form or fashion.
In the follow Thirty-One (31) states, they have legalized Medical Usage of Marijuana, including: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. It should be noted that Each State varies as to the Possession, Sale, Transportation, and Cultivation and it’s status as legalized.
In the following Eight (8) States, they have legalized Recreational AND Medical Usage of Marijuana, including: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The District of Columbia has also done so, however, as you are aware, it technically is not a State.
In my home state New Jersey, one legislator, State Senator Nicholas Scutari (D) introduced legislation Monday that would allow for Recreational usage of Marijuana in Small Amounts for Adults 21 years old and above. Senator Scutari’s legislation proposal comes following a fact-finding trip to Colorado where he saw the programs working well, creating jobs, generating tax revenue, and living in harmony. Senator Scutari based his legislation on his understanding of ineffective and wasteful marijuana enforcement policies and in an effort to find a “responsible way of treating this drug and a more humane way of treating our residents.” The legislation provides for, among many other things, the following: licensure of marijuana cultivation, manufacturing, wholesale, and retail facilities; establishment of the Division of Marijuana Enforcement within the Dept. of Law and Public Safety; establish new tax rates on the recreational and removing it from medical; strict security / labeling requirements, and tracking systems.
The legislation is considered unlikely to be considered until after Republican Governor Christopher Christie leaves office in January as he has been a very vocal opposition to legislation of the sort while citing it would create a slippery slope for legalization of other controlled dangerous substances. For more information, click here.
