Here’s What’s Happening with Cannabis Legalization in New York and New Jersey
by Greg Miller
Executive Director, NICI
Legalizing recreational cannabis use in New York and New Jersey would be a huge win for cannabis investors. Here’s where the Big Apple and the Garden State stand on the issue…
Cannabis legalization was a key issue for voters in the 2018 U.S. elections: Michigan legalized recreational use and Utah and Missouri legalized medical cannabis. That’s a good start, but the news gets even better – and bigger – in 2019.
New York and New Jersey, two of the most populous U.S. states, could be the next to legalize recreational cannabis.
Governor Andrew Cuomo (NY-D) expects his state could raise about $300 million in annual revenue from legalization. Governor Phil Murphy (NJ-D) also believes New Jersey could generate a similar amount of revenue, according to Bloomberg.
And it’s clear that residents of each state want legalization.
According to a 2018 Quinnipiac University poll, 63% of New York voters favor legalizing cannabis. For New Jersey, a 2018 poll by Rutgers University‘s Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling found that 60% of New Jersey adults wanted legalization.
But if the majority of folks want this to happen, what’s the hold up?
Today, I wanted to give you an update on the legalization efforts in these two states.
The Big Apple and the Garden State could be huge cannabis markets, and companies expanding into New York and New Jersey could rake in massive profits…
New Jersey Pushes for Cannabis Legalization
New Jersey could be a big cannabis market, and state officials need to make sure they get legalization right.
They don’t want to end up like California, which expected $643 million in tax revenue from legal marijuana sales in 2018 but only hauled in $350 million. I’m going to have more details on that tomorrow in my Cannabis Profits Daily report.
To delve into the biggest issues a little further, the team at the National Institute for Cannabis Investors spoke with Juan Carlos Negrin, the President of the New Jersey Marijuana Retailers Association about where legalization stands in New Jersey. Here’s what he told us:
“There has been recent progress, but until the Governor’s (Phil Murphy) signature is on the bill, there is still work to be done on the legislation. The two biggest obstacles holding it up are oversight and pricing.