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Last year was big for cannabis in New Jersey, though not nearly as big as it could have been.

The state saw a substantial increase in the size of the medical marijuana program, both in terms of patients and potentially the number of dispensaries. But New Jersey still missed out on recreational marijuana, when this time last year legalization seemed a real possibility.

The next several weeks will be revelatory for the future of legal weed in the state. If lawmakers can sit down and hash out the finer details of legalization, it’s possible that Gov. Phil Murphy could sign a bill by February.

But if the chasm between the governor and legislative leaders on marijuana keeps growing and the “yes” votes don’t materialize, lawmakers could go deep into the year without legalizing weed. So where does New Jersey now stand on legal weed?

There was a lot of debate

From the time Murphy took office in January of 2018, the state seemed on the cusp on legalization. The governor had promised it in his campaign, his election gave Democrats control of all branches of state government, and state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, introduced a bill early last year to legalize the possession and personal use of marijuana, as well as create a regulated market.

As lawmakers and lobbyists took interest, different visions of legal weed began to emerge. Was it about social justice? Was it a cash cow? How quickly could it get done?

Then came the delays. The budget got in the way in June and lawmakers didn’t seriously return to legalization until the fall.

They did make some progress

By late November there was enough agreement on legal weed for the Scutari bill — heavily amended throughout the year — to pass legislative committees in both the state Senate and the Assembly. All it needed then was approval in the full chambers of the state Legislature and a signature from the governor.

But there were still a couple of hang-ups. The governor and legislative leaders couldn’t agree on how much tax to charge or on how to regulate the market, so the bill was never heard in the full legislature last year.

So, that’s where lawmakers pick up on legal weed in 2019.

What’s the biggest issue?

It’s no secret one of the largest sticking points in the negotiations over the marijuana legalization bill is who controls the potentially multi-billion-dollar market.

Murphy thinks it should be run by state government. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, want to turn it over to a five-member independent commission they and the governor approve.

The bill that passed the Senate and Assembly committees creates the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which would control every aspect of the cannabis market — from the medical program run by the Department of Health, to the licensing of providers and enforcement of rules.

“The latest version of the bill isn’t acceptable to the administration,” said a source inside the Murphy administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Despite the governor’s office shooting down the latest iteration of the commission, Scutari wrote an op-ed on NJ.com on Wednesday in favor of the five-person body, comparing it to the casino commission introduced in the state decades ago.

“Much like the casino industry of the 1970s, the new marijuana industry must be given unique and detailed attention,” Scutari wrote. “To promote public trust, private investment and market stability, we need to create a system of accountability, adaptability and full transparency."

Where does it go from here?

Legislative leaders are set to meet with Murphy on Thursday to discuss legal weed and other issues. If they can reach a compromise, it’s possible that the legislature could take up legalization by the end of the month.

But compromise remains a big if.

That has led some lobbyists and lawmakers to wonder if the state will be able to legalize marijuana through the legislature. Vermont is the only other state to do it that way, and lawmakers there didn’t create a commercial market.

More than a few people close to the legalization discussions have said they see a ballot question as an alternative, should legislation fail.

It’s still far too early to consider that as a likelihood, but here’s a quick reminder about ballot questions in New Jersey: Unlike other states, where questions can be put on a ballot with a grassroots effort that yields a certain number of signatures, the New Jersey Legislature must vote to put a question on a ballot, which would be asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment.

To get a question in front of voters this year, a 60 percent supermajority in the Legislature would have to approve it. If it passes with only a simple majority, the question couldn’t make the ballot until 2020, assuming it was approved again next year.

The concern for marijuana advocates is that if legalization is done by ballot question in New Jersey, it likely undoes much of the work done on the bill in 2018. If legalization is approved by New Jersey voters, legislators are required to make it law, with or without many of the provisions debated so far.

Again, a ballot question is not the most likely scenario, but the farther we go in 2019 without action from the Legislature, the more traction a ballot question could get. In his op-ed, Scutari repeated his call for the Legislature to take its time on legal weed.

“Legalization of marijuana is just around the corner,” Scutari wrote in his op-ed on NJ.com. “The impact of legalization will be felt in all corners of the state and it is up to us to ensure the maximum possible benefit for the public. Legalization is coming, but it must be done right.”

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

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.