Essex County Democrat Says NJ Legal Weed Is Colossal Blunder – Belleville, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A panel of lawmakers and community activists convened in Newark this week to discuss “legalization and the cannabis industry.” While the panel was pro-legalization, the idea of legalizing weed in New Jersey later drew a sharply worded statement of caution from State Senator Ronald Rice (District 28), a veteran Democratic party member who represents several Essex County towns.

Namely, it’s a “colossal blunder,” according to the senator.

The eight-member panel that met at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Newark on Tuesday included Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, state Assemblyman Jamel Holley and Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, U.S. Congressman Donald Payne Jr., marijuana entrepreneur Virgil Grant, criminal defense lawyer Ray Hamlin, New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association Hugh O’Beirne and ACLU Policy Counsel Dianna Houenou, according to TAP Into.

During the meeting, Baraka told one attendee that said creating a seed fund to help people apply for dispensary applications in the city would “make sense.”

In addition, Newark Community Economic Development Corporation CEO Aisha Glover said that the group is working on a program for locals who are interested in getting involved in the cannabis industry, TAP Into reported. (Read the full article here)

Speaking at Tuesday’s panel, Holley and McKnight said that they wouldn’t support a marijuana legalization bill in New Jersey without a “social equity” component such as expedited criminal expungement or a community reinvestment fund.

According to a 2017 report from the ACLU of New Jersey, a serious racial disparity exists in marijuana arrest data throughout the state.

Despite similar usage rates of marijuana, black New Jerseyans were arrested at a rate three-times higher than whites between 2000 and 2013, which amounts to “needless criminalization of black communities,” the ACLU stated.

However, on Wednesday evening, Rice – who represents Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Irvington, Newark and Nutley in the state senate – issued a statement in response to Tuesday’s forum, saying that New Jersey is on the verge of making a “colossal blunder” that will undermine years of social progress.

Rice said that the public discussion on marijuana legalization is being hijacked in the name of “social justice,” and that the realities of legalization will mean dire consequences for urban areas with large minority populations. (Read his full statement below)

No members of Tuesday’s panel criticized the senator, who wasn’t present at the forum, TAP Into reported.

Rice said that many of New Jersey’s richer suburban neighborhoods are choosing to opt out of the legal marijuana rush, a stance that raises flashbacks to the infamously anti-cannabis policies of former Republican Governor Chris Christie, who called the idea of legalizing weed “stupid.”

“People aren’t going to scream when the first head shop opens in Newark or Paterson or Camden or Trenton,” Christie said at a 2017 forum on substance abuse in Princeton, eliciting a chuckle from his audience. “But man, I can’t wait for the first one to open in Short Hills.” (Story continues below video)

Rice’s full statement follows below.

“Most of the public conversations about legalizing recreational marijuana in New Jersey have centered on how profits will be made and who will pocket the lion’s share of those profits. Under the guise of concern for the social justice disparities caused by marijuana use, opinions are being tossed around without a comprehensive understanding of this very complex issue.

“I’ve studied the realities of legalization and know the negative impact on communities and the dire consequences clearly evident in urban, minority areas where marijuana retail stores are most commonly situated. Many of New Jersey’s more affluent shore and suburban communities have already passed ordinances and resolutions to protect themselves from legalization.

“At the very time that cities such as Newark, Perth Amboy, New Brunswick, Camden and Jersey City are finally beginning to see a renaissance – with investors investing and working middle class families and businesses moving in – we are on the verge of a colossal blunder that will undermine our progress.

“New Jersey is not Colorado. It is the most densely populated state in the country: the fourth smallest by area and the 11th most populous, with nine million people. The effect of legalization could be catastrophic. Its proponents don’t publicize its impact on health, public safety, auto accidents, insurance, workers compensation, business liability, workplace safety, increased addiction and drug trafficking. No one mentions that in Colorado, black people are still arrested three times more frequently for marijuana violations than whites are. Or that decriminalization is the most effective way to combat the social justice disparity.

“Obviously, this is an issue that requires public education and must be put on a statewide referendum for a public vote prior to legislation.

“Toward that end, I invite every municipality in the state to reach out to my office in Newark and arrange for a town hall discussion. I will present the complexities of marijuana legislation to your homeowners, parents, senior citizens, business owners, school officials, faith leaders and everyone interested in knowing the full spectrum of information necessary for responsible decision-making.”

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