Lawmakers eye November committee vote on marijuana

November 19, 2018
By Daniel J. Munoz, November 15, 2018 at 8:04 AM

(DANIEL J. MUNOZ)

 

The state’s top Democrats are aiming to pass a bill out of committee later this month that would legalize adult-use marijuana, but it remains unclear when the Legislature would vote on such a bill.

Appearing Wednesday at the annual New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said they want the vote out of committee by the end of the month.

“If we don’t have an agreement on a piece of legislation, then we’re not going to put a bill on [Gov. Phil Murphy’s] desk,” said Sweeney, D-3rd District.

“We put together a bill [and] we’re going to look to get that placed in a committee this month,” added Coughlin, D-19th District. “We’ll work hard to see whether we can get that passed. We certainly have the votes to get that out of committee.”

There currently are three bills pending in the Senate on marijuana: one to expand the state’s existing medical marijuana program; one to legalize, tax and regulate adult-use cannabis; and another to handle expungement and other social justice aspects.

There are no Assembly versions of the bills.

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