New Jersey Legislature Stalls Legalized Marijuana Vote

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Yesterday, the New Jersey Legislature was scheduled to vote on a bill to legalize adult-use marijuana.  Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, held the bill once it was determined that the Senate did not have the twenty-one votes needed to pass the Senate.  The General Assembly likewise canceled its scheduled vote although it was widely reported that there were sufficient votes in the Assembly for passage.  The Senate President at an afternoon press conference said that “legalization of adult-use marijuana will get passed in the State of New Jersey one way or another” and that the bill will be re-posted for a vote as soon as possible.  The bill, if enacted, would have made New Jersey only the second state after Vermont to legalize adult-use marijuana through the state legislature.  The nine other states that have legalized recreational marijuana have done so through a ballot initiative.