This post was originally published on this site.
New Jersey could make possessing cannabis a crime again under new legislation advanced by the leaders of the state Senate that would target those who buy weed from those who are not licensed by the state.
The measure would carry penalties of up to six months in jail.
The move is led by the original architect of the law that legalized cannabis, Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union. It is co-sponsored by the state Senate’s Republican leader Anthony Bucco, R-Morris.
“We have a legalized regulated market for a reason,” Scutari said during an interview Tuesday, saying consumers can buy weed in dispensaries across the state. New Jersey has more than 120 dispensaries, but only 30% of the towns allow them.
It is already illegal to sell cannabis without a license, but people are allowed to possess up to six ounces of weed.
The bill S-4154, would make it a disorderly persons offense for consumers to buy weed that is not licensed by the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission. It states that this offense carries punishment of up to six months in jail and fines of up to $1,000.
The three-page bill does not specify whether the punishment would be based the amount of cannabis.
New Jersey launched sales of cannabis for recreational weed in April 2022. The industry surpassed the billion dollar mark for the first time last year.
In his state budget speech on Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy spoke of how much money the cannabis market made while also mentioning cannabis legalization’s social justice objectives. He also praised Scutari for creating the cannabis law.
“In just five years, cannabis has gone from destroying lives — in the form of excessive criminal sentences — to helping save lives,“ Murphy said. ”And by way: this simply would not have been possible without the leadership of Senate President Nick Scutari.”
Scutari’s new cannabis bill would have a disproportionate impact on the diverse populations Murphy trumpeted in his speech, said Rev. Charles Boyer of Salvation and Social Justice, an organization that played a role in putting in criminal justice reforms into the cannabis law.
“We are definitely not in favor of any re-criminalization,” Boyer said. “Absolutely not.”
The governor’s office declined comment on Scutari’s bill. Senate Republicans did not respond to a request for comment.
Some Senate Democrats oppose the bill, noting that the state still bans home cultivation for cannabis, or “home grow.” It is allowed in most states that legalized weed.
“I think we need to accomplish home grow first,” said State Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, who has sponsored legislation that would allow home cultivation of cannabis. “I think continuing to criminalize makes it a lot harder.”
Medical cannabis patients have lobbied for home grow, citing the high prices in New Jersey and their inability to access consistent strains that can meet their medical needs.
Criminal defense lawyers expressed skepticism about the bill.
The part of the bill that mentions “knowingly” buying cannabis means prosecutors would have to prove someone knew ahead of time the cannabis was unlicensed — which could be a steep hill to climb, said criminal defense attorney Michael Hoffman, who also handles cannabis expungement cases.
Another concern, Hoffman said, was the proposed law’s potential to circumvent aspects of the cannabis legislation that prevent police from using the smell of cannabis to conduct searches.
Since smell is subjective and difficult to refute in court, criminal lawyers successfully pushed for a provision in the original cannabis legalization bill that banned police from using it to conduct traffic stops or pull people over. That received pushback from law enforcement.
“This could give them a reason — if they smell it — to confirm whether it’s legally obtained, if they find it on your person, or see it in plain view,” Hoffman said. “At that point you get into a longer more difficult interaction with law enforcement.”
Hoffman also suggested that law enforcement could use the pretense of checking whether or not cannabis comes from a licensed or unlicensed source to do the same type of stop and frisk policies the original legislation was meant to prevent.
Gopal said the bill went against the intent of legalization and that the industry was “still falling short of criminal justice reform.”
“Legalization is still too corporate and I understand people did it for profit,” he said. “Companies came in, municipalities got revenue, but I don’t believe we’ve accomplished the criminal justice piece of it.”
Jelani Gibson may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @jelanigibson1 and on LinkedIn.