TRENTON - The bill to legalize marijuana in New Jersey will be up for discussion in legislative hearings on Monday, a crucial step that could lead to a legal weed vote as soon as the end of the month.

The Assembly Appropriations and Senate Judiciary Committees will hear bills on marijuana legalization, medical marijuana expansion and expungement reform. The Assembly committee convenes at 10 a.m., while the Senate committee is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

The bill package was already cleared by a joint budget committee in November. On Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy and top legislative leaders announced an agreement on new amendments to the legal weed bill, including an overhaul of the proposed tax system, regulatory control and adding marijuana distribution as as charge eligible for expungement.

MORE: Murphy, Sweeney, Coughlin announce legal weed agreement

"I don't think any of us think it's a no-brainer, and I don't blame folks for not automatically getting there," Murphy said during a Wednesday radio appearance on WNYC. "But we're not inventing marijuana. It exists. It's in our communities. Our kids are exposed to it. The social injustices of the past exist.

"So if we can undo those social injustices, get the business out of the hands of the bad guys, protect our kids, regulate and tax it — and by the way generate some revenue and create a lot of jobs — that feels like the right combination," he said. "And if we don't do it, there's no good alternative to me."

Keep the conversation going in "Let's Talk About Marijuana," our Facebook group dedicated to...you guessed it, talking about marijuana.

If the bills clear both committees, they could be headed for a floor vote as soon as next Monday, March 25. But legislative leaders in either chamber have said the bills would only be put up for a vote if they're assured to pass — and support is still unclear.

"If we post that bill for a vote on March 25, it will pass," said Kevin McArdle, a spokesman for the Assembly Democrats. "If we post it, it will pass."

RELATED: What's in, what's out of new NJ legal weed bill?

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said Thursday that the bill "wasn't far away" from getting the 21 votes required to pass in the Senate. Senators received a copy of the bill on Thursday, and Sweeney said Democratic leaders would begin "talking to the Republicans pretty soon."

At least a few Republican "yes" votes are key, as they will replace the "no" votes expected by some prominent Democrats.

"It's got to get done on March 25 or it's not getting done until fall," Sweeney said. "Trying to move a marijuana bill during a budget break is not healthy."

Bills, bills, bills

The marijuana legalization bill — titled the Cannabis Regulatory and Expungement Aid Modernization Act — would legalize the drug for adult use, allowing anyone to have up to one ounce of marijuana on them. Legal weed would be levied a flat tax of $42 per ounce, imposed on cannabis cultivators and passed onto consumers.

The bill would also create a new, independent Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which would license and oversee marijuana dispensaries, in addition to the state's medical marijuana program — which Murphy on Thursday announced is now utilized by nearly 43,000 registered patients.

BUT...: Why is the Jersey Shore a medical marijuana desert?

Jake Honig's Law would greatly expand that medical marijuana program, increasing the amount of medical marijuana eligible for purchase and phasing out sales taxes on such purchases by 2024.

It would also legalize the purchase of edible forms of medical marijuana. Under the current law, "tablets, capsules, drops or syrups" — not brownies, for example — are legal for use by children only.

A third bill would ease the restrictions on the state's process for expunging charges from their criminal records by lowering the mandatory wait time and creating a "clean slate" program allowing people with a clean record for 10 years to have all eligible offenses erased.

MORE: Marijuana legalization could clear your criminal record

Marijuana-related expungement changes — including a "virtual expungement process" to prevent past offenses from hampering educational, housing or job opportunities — are included in the legal weed bill.

The Asbury Park Press and USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey will continue diving into the New Jersey marijuana legalization debate, with regular updates, mailbags, a discussion group and live events.

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Mike Davis; @byMikeDavis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com