New Jersey is the 13th state to legalize marijuana.
Governor Phil Murphy signed a few laws into effect today (February 22). Take a look:
New Jersey’s broken & indefensible marijuana laws are no more.
Today, I signed historic legislation to:
✅Legalize adult-use cannabis
✅Decriminalize marijuana possession in small amounts
✅Limit the use of previous marijuana convictions
✅Create a regulated cannabis marketplace pic.twitter.com/Y2pCKSgcn5— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) February 22, 2021
In NJ, anyone over 21 can have up to six ounces of weed on them without any penalties. The law also allows for the purchase and sale of legal weed at state-licensed dispensaries. It could be up to a year before recreational sales begin, APP reports. It also says distribution of up to 1 ounce will be penalized with a written warning on a subject’s first offense. Marijuana offenses will be criminal in some cases if there’s drug distribution and growing cannabis plants without a license.
In a press conference, Gov. Murphy said,
“New Jersey’s broken, indefensible marijuana laws — which permanently stained the records of many residents and short-circuited their futures, disproportionately hurt communities of color and failed the meaning of justice at every level, social or otherwise — are no more,”
He continued, “In their place are laws that will usher in a new industry, based on equity, which will reinvest dollars into communities — laws which promote both public health by promoting safe cannabis products and public safety by allowing law enforcement to focus their resources.”