New Jersey: Bill introduced to legalize cannabis

Republican Assembly Member Michael Carrol has introduced a bill to legalize recreational cannabis in New Jersey and regulate it like tobacco, with sales locations in grocery stores and gas stations.

This bill would legalize cannabis for anyone over the age of 19 (the legal age to purchase cigarettes in New Jersey) and impose penalties on retailers who sell cannabis to underage customers. It does not include any limits on the amount of cannabis an individual may possess, and would expunge past cannabis-related offenses from offenders’ criminal records.

«The whole point here is for the government to stop treating cannabis use as a crime and instead treat it as a social issue,» Caroll said. to Politico. «To me, this isn’t a big deal. It’s already everywhere. Anyone who thinks this will somehow increase the availability of cannabis has never been 19.».

If Michael Carrol’s bill becomes law, New Jersey would adopt one of the most liberal cannabis laws in the United States. But making cannabis available in grocery stores could create complications with federal policy, which still prohibits cannabis. As a result, stores might no longer be allowed to deduct cannabis-related expenses from their tax calculations and could find themselves unable to maintain a bank account.

New Jersey lawmakers hope these issues will be addressed at the federal level, particularly by easing federal restrictions on cannabis.

Another obstacle could be Governor Chris Christie, who, throughout his term in office, has blocked bills aimed at decriminalizing or legalizing cannabis.

On the medical front, however, the governor legalized cannabis use in mid-September for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, often veterans of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Medical cannabis is also authorized there to treat multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and terminal cancer. It is also approved for epilepsy and glaucoma if these conditions do not respond to conventional treatments.

Another bill was also introduced last week to regulate cannabis in the same way as beer, thereby making its sale legal in grocery stores and liquor stores to anyone over the age of 21.