TRENTON, N.J. _ After more than a year of debate and numerous hearings, New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney announced Wednesday that the state's legal weed bill is dead. He said the question of whether the state should legalize marijuana for recreational use would be put on the ballot.
Sen. Nicholas Scutari, the bill's co-sponsor and chief advocate, said last week that the measure was short only two votes in the Senate and that it had enough support in the Assembly to pass. He also said a referendum on the issue likely would be in the form of a constitutional amendment so that it would be binding.
"Adult use marijuana will be legalized in New Jersey but it won't happen now," Sweeney, a Democrat from Gloucester County, said in a press release. "It would have been best to move the adult use and medical expansion bills at the same time, but it is wrong to hold the medical and expungements bills hostage. We want to move forward to help transform the state's medical marijuana program and to achieve the progressive reforms for social justice."
The legalization bill had been strategically linked with the more popular medical marijuana expansion bill and expungement, with Sweeney saying in recent weeks that he would not separate them. Sweeney had to abruptly pull the vote on the three bills March 25 after announcing he did not have enough support.
At the time, Sweeney, Gov. Phil Murphy and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, all Democrats, said they would work together to bring the bill package back for a vote as soon as possible after winning a few more "Yes" votes. But the bills ran into difficulty as opponents became more vocal and supporters divided over how best to proceed.
A political rivalry between Murphy and Sweeney also didn't help, and Murphy set a deadline of the end of May to get the package passed or he would move forward administratively to expand and improve the medical marijuana program.
Patient advocates also began saying the medical bill was "being held hostage" to the troubled legalization proposal and urged quick action to address the problems with the medical marijuana bill.
"It would have been best to move the adult use and medical expansion bills at the same time, but it is wrong to hold the medical and expungements bills hostage," Sweeney said in his statement Wednesday. "We want to move forward to help transform the state's medical marijuana program and to achieve the progressive reforms for social justice."
In a statement issued after the announcement, New Jersey CannaBusiness Association President Scott Rudder said he was "clearly disappointed that adult-use legalization has been put on the back burner." But he said that the association is glad "medical cannabis reform is moving forward and patients will finally have greater access and be able to participate in a more affordable program."
