NJ Near Possible Deal On Marijuana Legalization

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey lawmakers are close to a deal that will officially legalize marijuana, putting the state on a path toward marijuana sales perhaps sometime in the near future, sources told Patch.

Lawmakers are rallying around new legislation that may earn the approval of the Murphy administration. This proposed legislation would create civil penalties and warnings for underage users of the drug – a chief concern of Gov. Phil Murphy who has said that the state Legislature's initial plan didn't restrict underage adults and children for using the drug.

The new legislation, however, would effectively end searches of underage people who are under suspicion of using or possessing the drug. Smelling the drug's odor would also not be a valid reason to investigate.

The Murphy administration did not discuss the potential deal with Patch, but Murphy said this weekend he's had a "good back and forth" and that he's hopeful that any issues can be resolved soon.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin also extended the deadline to make a deal to Thursday, allowing the Senate to "complete its discussions and conclude negotiations with the Assembly and governor on revisions to the cannabis legislation."

“Voters overwhelmingly support the legalization of cannabis and we are taking every step necessary to assure legalization and decriminalization become law," Coughlin said.

“Significant progress has been made and we are hopeful that concerns raised will be able to be addressed. I remain optimistic an agreement will be reached and that fair and responsible legislation will be advanced which will facilitate A-21 and A-1897 becoming law," he added.

The new legislation would address the concerns of some lawmakers who believed that the Murphy administration wanted to bring a "stop-and-frisk" approach to dealing with alleged underage users of the drug.

Under the newly proposed legislation, any person between 18 and 21 years of age who knowingly possesses or consumes marijuana, hashish, or any cannabis item would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $50.

Any person who is under 18 years of age, and who knowingly possesses or consumes a cannabis item in any school, public place or motor vehicle shall be subject to a variety of consequences. They include:

• For a first violation, a written warning would be issued by a law enforcement officer to the underage person. The written warning shall include the person’s name, address and date of birth and details of the probable cause.
• For a second violation, a written warning is issued to the underage person and also provided to the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody.
• The written notification would include a referral to a public or private agency or organization used to fund community, mentoring or substance-abuse services.
• For a third or subsequent violation, a civil penalty of up to $50 or the performance of community service in lieu of payment could be imposed.
• Since a person under the legal age to purchase cannabis items "is not capable of giving lawful consent to a search," a law enforcement officer could not request one.
• The odor of marijuana, hashish, cannabis or any cannabis item would not constitute reasonable suspicion to initiate an investigation.
• The unconcealed possession of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish or cannabis item observed in plain sight would not constitute probable cause to initiate a search of a person or that person’s personal property
• A person under the legal age to purchase cannabis items would not be subject to arrest, and would not be subject to detention or otherwise be taken into custody by a law enforcement officer
• Any money from civil fines will help find substance use and community service programs

Also, anyone who distributes marijuana to underage people could be subject to a $250 fine for their first offense, at least $500 for the second and $1,000 for each subsequent violation.

Murphy was expected to sign the legislation, which could have led to a marijuana marketplace in about six months for people 21 and older. But he has so far declined to sign the bill, even though he had signaled his support for it.

Lawmakers pulled bill last month that would have addressed the Murphy administration's objections to legal issues in the legislation, A-21.

Voters already approved a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana, which went into effect on Jan. 1. The legislation is now needed to officially create the framework for legalizing the personal use of the drug, decriminalize the substance and remove it from the Schedule I drug list.

Until the legislation is passed, it's still not technically legal to use the drug in New Jersey. Read more: NJ Marijuana Enters Weird, Legal Limbo – Is It OK To Smoke Yet?

Talks collapsed last month over Murphy's efforts to make sure there were penalties for underage, under-21 users.

The Murphy administration and state legislative leaders came up with a compromise that addressed those penalties, but lawmakers ultimately abandoned it last month.

Lawmakers pulled their support because a new "cleanup bill" would impose penalties that were considered too harsh on minors charged with possession of the drug.

Democratic Sen. Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, told Politico that removing the penalties for underage offenders was the Legislature’s original intent. Sen. Ron Rice, D-Essex, told Politico that the cleanup bill's provisions would merely lead to another form of “stop-and-frisk.”

Murphy, addressing the matter during a news conference last month, said he's "still optimistic we're going to figure something out" on legalizing marijuana, but he also said "we've got to somehow thread the needle" to address everybody's concerns.

Murphy said the last thing he wants is "more kids getting tangled up in the criminal justice system. None of us want that. Period."

But he also said: "This was never about legalizing marijuana for our kids."

"That was never what this was about. That's not what the voters voted on in the referendum. That's not what we've felt strongly and passionate about," he said.

The specific regulatory process has not been finalized, and some state officials have said that it could take anywhere from 6 months to a year for the drug to be sold in stores. Any delay in legislation will likely delay the selling of the drug in New Jersey.

With reporting from Eric Kiefer and Tom Davis.