NJ marijuana legalization: Live coverage of first legal weed vote, hearings underway

TRENTON – It’s the next step toward bringing legal weed to New Jersey.

That’s what’s at stake today, when legislators are expected to vote on a bill package that notably includes New Jersey marijuana legalization.

If the marijuana legalization bill is approved by a joint session of the Senate and Assembly budget committees today, the next step would be floor votes in both chambers — which could come as soon as next month — followed by Gov. Phil Murphy signing it into law.

“We stand on the verge a major change here in New Jersey,” said Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Salem, who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee. “It’s been a long road but today we’re on the verge of something very significant, and it’s not something that’s been done haplessly or recklessly. As we go through this bill, there’s a great deal of thought reflected.”

The USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey will be live in Trenton covering the proceedings, so refresh this page or bookmark it for updates throughout the day.

The committee room where the bills will be heard was standing-room-only well before the scheduled 10 a.m. start time, packed with both marijuana legalization advocates — one man wearing a hat with cartoon marijuana leaves on it — and opponents, wearing buttons showing a marijuana leaf and the letters “NJ,” with a big no symbol through them.

The Senate and Assembly budget hearings kicked off with Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, who sponsored and has championed marijuana legalization in the Senate.

“It’s going to stimulate the economy of New Jersey like nothing ever has before — an entire new industry that people can actually start from the ground level up,” Scutari said. “We’re on the precipice of a historic event here, starting something and creating jobs like not other Legislature has done before. We have that opportunity.”

“We have to take our head out of the sand. We have to realize that what we tried to do simply isn’t working.”

Sen. Ronald Rice, D-Essex, has been a vocal opponent of legal weed since discussion around the issue first hit a fever pitch. He called the bill a “slap in the face to people of color” that failed to take into account any regular person living in an urban area.

“No one is actually going out to talk to the daycare and pre-school parents. The people (in the Statehouse) are the people who have been talking over and over and over again,” Rice said. “The endgame of the legalization of recreational marijuana is making more money for white investors.”

Check out the livestream below. Can’t see it? Check it out here!

WATCH NOW! Joint Committees hear testimony on bills to legalize recreational marijuana, expand medical marijuana. https://t.co/Vp2UWGiiBS

— NJTV News (@NJTVNews) November 26, 2018

Rice has worked alongside New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy, a state chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a national advocacy group protesting against marijuana legalization. Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy III, D-Rhode Island, also testified on the group’s behalf.

“How can it help us to have another drug on the market that’s going to be commercially promoted to get more people to use it,” said former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy III, D-Rhode Island, in an interview. “I just think it’s bad public policy. I’m a father of five children and I don’t want this stuff actively promoted. It’s the new big tobacco.”

Here’s what you need to know going into the New Jersey legal weed committee hearings today:

What’s in the bills?

There are four marijuana bills up for discussion before the budget committees on Monday.

DIVE IN: An in-depth look at the marijuana bills up for a vote

All eyes will be on bill S-2703, which would make it perfectly legal to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and consume it at home or in specifically-designated areas. It establishes a 12 percent tax rate on marijuana purchases, but municipalities could also impose a 2 percent tax of their own.

The bill also calls for an electronic expungement filing system for marijuana crimes that would now be considered legal.

A combined medical marijuana expansion bill would increase the monthly medical marijuana cap from 2 to 3 ounces per patient, legalize edible forms of medical marijuana for adults and jump start the permitting process for new medical marijuana dispensaries, manufacturers and cultivators.

LOCAL: Brick vote on medical marijuana delayed til 2019

A third bill, S-3205, focuses solely on expungements. If signed into law, it would make more crimes eligible for expungement — including controlled dangerous substances — and cut the wait time down to five years. It also includes a “clean slate” process that will wipe away all offenses at once for anyone who has a clean record for 10 years after their last offense. Many more serious crimes would not be eligible.

Pastor Jethro James makes a point during the Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Asbury Park Press Executive Editor Hollis Towns addresses the audience at the start of the Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Amol Sinha of the American Civil Liberties Union makes a point about the laws during the Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Asbury Park Press reporter Mike Davis talks to the audience at the start of the Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Audience members asks a question and gives an opinion. Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Audience members listen as both speakers and attendees ask and answer questions. Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Asbury Park Press Executive Editor Hollis Towns smiles as he listens to some of the questions at Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Panelist Nick Bucci makes a statement during the Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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Panelistâ€™s Mike Davis, Nick Bucci, and Amol Sinha. Let's Talk Marijuana program at the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park on October 24, 2018 presented by USA Today Network, New Jersey.

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What makes NJ stand out?

If the marijuana legalization bill is signed into law as written, the Garden State would have one of the lowest tax rates in the United States — second only to recently legalized Michigan, where voters approved a ballot measure that called for a 10 percent tax rate.

Dispensaries would also be allowed to open separate “consumption areas” where marijuana customers can consume the product, as long as the municipality approves them. This has been an area of concern in other legal weed states, where marijuana users are only allowed to consume the drug at home.

HIGH HOPES: The cannabis clubs and marijuana buses that make legal weed NJ’s next tourist trap

And New Jersey would be just the fourth state with legal weed delivery services, allowing dispensaries to invest in secure fleets of delivery vehicles or hire independent vendors.

The rules are strict, so this wouldn’t be the Lyft or DoorDash of marijuana.

Angela Colandrea of Sayreville plans to enter the cannabis business with a delivery service called, ‘Weed on the Way’ Staff video by Bob Karp

What actually happens in a committee hearing?

First, the committee will hear from a litany of people who will offer a few minutes of testimony — usually reading a written statement — in support or opposition of the legal weed, medical marijuana and expungement bills.

Those testimonies may be followed up with questions or comments from legislators.

After everyone’s been heard — or the committee chairs rule they’ve heard enough — it will be time for a vote. Most legislators will offer a few minutes of reasoning before casting their vote, so we’ll know exactly why they’re voting for or against legal weed.

What’s left to figure out?

There are two main sticking points, largely between the Legislature and Murphy’s office.

While legislators in favor of legal weed have agreed to 12 percent tax rate, Murphy’s administration expected a 25 percent tax rate in its initial 2018-19 state budget. It’s not clear if the governor would support a bill that includes a tax rate less than half the one his administration planned for.

MORE: Murphy, lawmakers hashing out marijuana legalization bills

The second issue is the creation of a Cannabis Regulatory Commission. According to the legal weed bill, this five-member panel would oversee cannabis in New Jersey, from sales to licenses to violations and regulations.

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Raven Guillmette, store manager, measures out a strain

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Bud tender Summer Barker measures out marijuana flower

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Store manager Raven Guillmette measures out marijuana

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Mesa Organics offers various forms of cannabis including

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The Coffee Joint is the first legal 'social consumption

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According to Politico, Murphy’s office is against the creation of such a panel because it would take “power away from the (governor’s office) so they can control the industry.”

“I don’t think we’re on the same page with the administration,” Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said last week, adding that the two sides are “98 percent” there. “We’ve talked about this for too long, and we’re ready to start the process.”

What’s the status of marijuana legalization and what will it mean for your community? Join our Facebook group, Let’s Talk About Marijuana at fb.com/groups/WeedNJ to discuss what’s going on in your town, the world of cannabis and with the social justice issues at the center of it all.

Mike Davis; @byMikeDavis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com

Nicholas Pugliese; pugliese@northjersey.com

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