TRENTON -- Minutes after being chosen Monday as the next speaker of the New Jersey Assembly, Craig Coughlin declined to commit to a key goal of Gov.-elect and fellow Democrat Phil Murphy: legalizing marijuana.

Coughlin, D-Middlesex, said during a news conference that he has "not indicated" whether or not he supports legal pot.

"I want to make sure it makes sense," said Coughlin, a member of the Assembly since 2010 . "As with any bill -- particularly any bill that would create something new -- I think the devil is really in the details. And I think we need to understand it in its totality."

"Even if we're going to do it, I want to make sure the bill is the right bill," he added.

After eight years of frequent battles with Republican Gov. Chris Christie, Democrats will control the governor's seat and both houses of the state Legislature once Murphy is sworn in Jan. 16.

Assembly Democrats voted Monday to make Coughlin its new leader come Jan. 9, when he will be sworn in to replace current Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Hudson.

Coughlin acknowledged the Democratic Party will now have great power to enact things it couldn't since Christie has been in power.

But marijuana wasn't the only part of Murphy's campaign platform that Coughlin didn't firmly embrace Monday.

Coughlin said he and his caucus have not yet had a chance to discuss Murphy's vows to institute a "millionaire's tax" on wealthy residents -- though he did say that idea appears to go alone with his mission of "doing what's right and best for the working middle-class people of New Jersey."

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said passing the millionaire's tax would be the first priority of the upper house of the Legislature in the first few months of Murphy's administration. Sweeney has also pledged to pass legal marijuana in his chamber.

But for any of these bills to reach Murphy's desk, they would also have to pass the Assembly, the Legislature's lower house.

Coughlin didn't close the door to any of these ideas. Instead, he said he simply wants Assembly leaders to fully examine all proposals.

"The hallmark that I would like to see this Assembly have it to be thoughtful," Coughlin said. "Have people at the end of the day say, 'They really thought about this stuff. They paid attention to it.'"

Murphy said Monday he plans to meet with both Coughlin and Sweeney in the coming days to discuss marijuana and more.

Murphy also noted that he felt he had a mandate to legalize pot based on his 13-point win last Tuesday over Republican Kim Guadagno.

"We got a pretty resounding victory last week based on what everyone knew was our agenda," Murphy said after an event in Newark. "That's on it."

"I'm looking forward to comparing notes and getting to work," he added.

Christie has been staunchly opposed to legalizing recreational marijuana, calling it a "gateway drug."

But Murphy, who won last Tuesday's election and will succeed Christie in January, has promised to legalize and tax marijuana. He says it's needed to make the criminal justice system more fair and that it will bring in more than $300 million a year in tax revenue.

Murphy plans to raise $1.3 billion from marijuana taxes, the millionaire's tax, and the closing of corporate tax loopholes to boost spending on education, transportation, and public-worker pensions.

Coughlin was asked whether he believes legalizing marijuana is right at a time when the U.S. is battling an opioid addiction epidemic. Scholars disagree on whether marijuana leads to opioid use. Some say it helps treat opioid addiction.

"There are gonna be arguments on both sides of what the effect of legalizing marijuana is," Coughlin said. "I think in order to determine whether that's right and best in the state of New Jersey, we need to hear those arguments, right? I think that's why we have committee hearings."

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01.

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