Payton Guion | NJ Advance Media

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The decision to legalize marijuana in New Jersey has been in the hands of state lawmakers for more than a year now, but if they don't make progress soon, that choice could go to voters this fall.

And that may not be such a good idea.

Despite recent progress on legalization, lawmakers are crafting a contingency plan that would mean letting New Jersey voters decide on whether the state should have legal weed.

But putting the question to voters may not be the smartest way for the state to proceed, and if voters approved legalization, it would set back the Legislature by several months. Legalization through a ballot question could make it harder for lawmakers to build legislation that would erase many weed convictions and encourage people most harmed by the current marijuana policies to become a part of the new industry.

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Andre Malok

Until last year, every state that had legalized marijuana had done so at the polls, with voters approving legal weed.

When Phil Murphy won the race for governor in 2017, it seemed possible that New Jersey would become the first state to legalize marijuana through the Legislature. But in January 2018, Vermont did just that.

New Jersey then seemed primed to become the second state to legislate legal weed. But delay after delay has led some lawmakers to wonder whether the state would be better letting the voters decide.

The concern is enough that state Sen. Nicholas Scutari said he and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney have discussed putting the issue on the November ballot. If approved by voters, that would amend the state constitution.

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How would people be able to vote on legal weed?

Ballot questions in New Jersey require the approval of the state Legislature. Lawmakers either have to approve putting the question on the ballot with a simple majority in two consecutive legislative sessions or by a supermajority in one session.

That means in order to get the legalization question in front of voters this year, 60 percent of the Legislature would have to approve it. That would give people the chance to vote on legal weed this November, but it would likely take more than a year after that to get an industry up and running, and that's if voters approve.

A Rutgers-Eagleton poll in October found 58 percent of N.J. residents support legalization, while 37 percent oppose it.

One of the reasons the Legislature is required to approve putting a question on the ballot is that it's not just proposing a law or a rule change. In New Jersey, ballot questions are asking voters to amend the state constitution.

And because a ballot question changes the constitution, the questions are typically required to be vague, leaving open room for interpretation and implementation.

So, if New Jersey voters were to decide on and approve legal weed, lawmakers would have to step back in.

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They'd still have to pass a bill

Basically what voters would be saying in approving legal weed through the polls is, "We think legal weed should be allowed in New Jersey, now go make a law."

There could be no more delay and extended debate on legalization. If a ballot question is approved, lawmakers would be compelled to pass a bill in a certain amount of time.

Of course, if voters reject legalization, it would likely end the debate for the time being.

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Some of the governor's most important ideas could be left out

Since lawmakers have been working on marijuana legislation for more than a year, their thinking has evolved. They've taken lessons from other states that have legalized marijuana and appropriated them for what makes sense in New Jersey.

Is the plan perfect now? Marijuana advocates say no, but they say it's miles better than it was this time last year.

That's the crux of the problem with a ballot question. If voters approve legalization, lawmakers are forced to pass a bill, with or without some of the provisions that have been added in the past 12 months.

Some of the items that could be left out include:

Clearing the records of people who have been convicted of low-level marijuana crimes.

Micro-licenses that could allow a more diverse market.

Reinvestment in communities harmed by the so-called War on Drugs.

Since lawmakers would have a mandate to pass a legalization bill, the debate would be focused on drafting a bill that will pass the Legislature rather than one that includes every idea that advocates favor. Think pragmatism over idealism.

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Lawmakers have quietly started making progress

Even though Scutari has said he and Sweeney discussed putting the marijuana question to voters, that option remains less likely than lawmakers getting together to hash out the details of legalization.

In the past few weeks, officials have started making inroads on two of the more divisive issues related to legal weed: taxation and regulation. Should the governor be able to reach a deal with legislative leaders on those issues, the state could see a renewed push toward legalization.

On Friday, NJ Advance Media reported that state leaders were as close as they've ever been on reaching a deal that would restart the legalization debate in the Legislature.

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Where we stand now

Since November, when both Senate and Assembly committees approved the legalization bill, we've been waiting for the full Legislature to take a vote. Sweeney has said he won't put it up for a vote in the Senate until he reaches an agreement with Murphy on the issues mentioned above.

It's still quite possible that lawmakers will hold a vote on marijuana in the coming months. But the closer it gets to June — when lawmakers must pass a budget — without legalization passing, the more likely it becomes that voters could see the question on the ballot in November.

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More on marijuana

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NJ Advance Media staff writer Susan K. Livio contributed to this story.

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Payton Guion may be reached at PGuion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaytonGuion. Find NJ.com on Facebook.