Legal Marijuana Measure Passes In New Jersey

The constitutional amendment allows the possession and use of the substance.

“It is overwhelmingly a step toward, at long last, social justice,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said in anticipation of the passage.

“When I came into office, the widest white/non-white gap of persons incarcerated in America and the overwhelming reason was low-end drug crimes,” he added. “We will finally wrestle this to the ground. It’s taken longer than I wanted, but I believe we’ll get there when we have the results from today.”

The measure in New Jersey continues a seismic chain in social attitudes toward the drug.

“The passage of this ballot measure positions New Jersey to take the lead in the Northeast and will push neighboring states, like New York and Pennsylvania, to take action on marijuana legalization,” Steve Hawkins, head of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement.

Voters in Arizona, Montana and South Dakota also weighed in on pot legalization measures Tuesday, according to Vox.

Eleven states and Washington, DC previously made recreational pot legal.

New Jersey lawmakers will need to pass legislation regulating pot, which will be taxable under the amendment.

“Now that legalization has come to New Jersey, we must focus on enacting legislation which outlines how cannabis will be regulated, marketed and sold,” said New Jersey CannaBusiness Association President Scott Rudder.

“My hope is that this next step will mean removing potential restrictions that could keep the industry from reaching its full potential,” he added. “But we will take that argument up tomorrow. For now, we will enjoy this moment for all that it is worth.”

• Top Feature Photo: Heather Randazzo, an employee at Compassionate Care Foundation’s medical marijuana dispensary, trims leaves off marijuana plants in the company’s grow house in Egg Harbor Township, NJ – Julio Cortez