Mike Davis | Asbury Park Press

It seems like just yesterday that Gov. Phil Murphy was inaugurated and pledged to legalize marijuana in New Jersey within his first 100 days in office.

Nearly 13 months later, marijuana is just as illegal as it was then.

Doug Hood

Over the last year, New Jersey elected officials have struggled to get on the same page when it comes to legal weed. That 100-day deadline was quickly kicked to various dates over the summer and the fall, all of which came and went.

But with more states in the Northeast starting to look at the process of legalizing weed, let's take a look at the latest steps and setbacks on the road toward New Jersey marijuana legalization.

MARIJUANA MAILBAG: Do you have questions about the marijuana legalization — the timeline, the process, the industry, etc.? Email Mike Davis with your questions for a recurring marijuana legalization mailbag.

When is NJ going to legalize marijuana?

After compromising on legislation to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour, Gov. Phil Murphy's administration is back on the same page — or at least a similar one — with Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

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The newfound collaboration has cannabis entrepreneurs and advocates hopeful that a legal weed law could be enacted before the spring.

"We have the governor, the senate president and the assembly speaker in 100 percent agreement that we should end cannabis prohibition and establish an industry. And they’re in 95 percent agreement on how to do it," said New Jersey Cannabusiness Association President Scott Rudder, a former assemblyman. "I feel very confident that we're going to get this done in the coming weeks."

According to multiple reports, Murphy and Sweeney reached the framework of a deal on Friday that would tax marijuana at a flat rate of $42 per ounce, no matter the price of cannabis.

That means marijuana users will pay the same tax rate no matter what: $42 for an ounce, $21 for a half-ounce, $10.50 for a quarter-ounce or $5.25 for an eighth-ounce.

The most recent version of the marijuana legalization bill came with a 12 percent tax rate, the lowest in the country.

The deal will also give Murphy de facto control of the proposed Cannabis Regulatory Commission, by allowing the governor to appoint three commissioners — including the chair — without getting legislative approval.

The Senate President and Assembly Speaker would also each appoint a commissioner.

Each would be paid full-time salaries of $125,000 to $161,000.

Murphy's office wanted the administration to have total control of the cannabis industry, with the New Jersey legal weed regulations and licenses handled in-house, likely as an arm of the Attorney General's Office. Earlier versions of the marijuana legalization bill called for a similar system.

View | 20 Photos

New Jersey politicians talk marijuana in Trenton

That's all?

Not quite. Once Murphy, Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin can hammer out the final details, then they'll have to convince their legislative colleagues to get on board.

While a Rutgers University-Eagleton poll reported last year that 58 percent of New Jerseyans favored marijuana legalization, it's not clear whether the legal weed bill has the votes to pass in the Senate or Assembly.

Before we go any further: 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.

But we can only do so with your help. So consider a digital subscription — for a limited time, get a three-month subscription for just $1!

How close is New York to legalizing weed?

Although New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last Monday reiterated his plans to legalize marijuana within the first 100 days of his new term — before April 10 — the Empire State is still behind New Jersey.

The debate that's already been raging in New Jersey is starting to heat up in Albany. Last Monday, representatives from Smart Approaches to Marijuana — one of the most prominent marijuana legalization opponents in the country — held a press conference calling on Cuomo to "slow this train down."

Think of it this way: If New Jersey is on the road toward legalizing marijuana, New York is still on the entrance ramp.

So New Jersey may have a monopoly on legal weed?

This is a probably a good time to bring up two states: Pennsylvania and Connecticut. They're important in similar ways, in the grand scheme of legal weed.

Pennsylvania Rep. Jake Wheatley, a Democrat, last week introduced a bill that would legalize the sale and adult use of marijuana, calling for a 35 percent to 37 percent tax rate — including the standard 6 percent sales tax — that the state estimates could bring in over $580 million in tax revenue.

In December, Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, tweeted that it was "time for Pennsylvania to take a serious and honest look at recreational marijuana."

The main issue faced by the Keystone State is a political one: Republicans have a majority in both chambers of the Pennsylvania state Legislature. And while legalizing weed has become a more bipartisan issue in some states, it's still a cause championed mostly by Democrats.

"(New York and Pennsylvania) are going through the same growing pains we did,” Rudder said. “We completed our listening tour years ago, and New York still has to catch up."

Ryan Ross and Thomas P. Costello, Asbury Park Press

In Connecticut, a huge contingent of Democrats in the House introduced a marijuana legalization bill that would allow its existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling the drug recreationally. The proposed legislation doesn't include a specific tax rate.

Unlike Pennsylvania, Democrats in Connecticut control both the Governor's Office and both legislative chambers. Forty Democrats signed onto the legal weed bill, which represents over 26 percent of the entire House.

Are you a legal weed supporter? Are you against it? Are you simply interested in the debate? Continue the discussion in "Let's Talk About Marijuana," our Facebook group dedicated to fostering discussion about marijuana legalization.

Why is it important to win the legal weed race?

Most legislators in New Jersey have said the main reason to legalize weed is to stop the continued arrest of African Americans for marijuana possession at a rate three times higher than white people, despite similar usage rates. Watch a video at the top of the page for a look at who's most likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.

But there are other considerations.

“It’s about attracting businesses to set up shop here in New Jersey, instead of another location, and it’s an opportunity to boost tourism and bring people here that will invest in New Jersey’s small businesses,” Rudder said. "We’re still in a position to be the first in the region — but more importantly, we’re looking forward to having smart, comprehensive legislation.

“Certainly there’s an advantage to being first in the region, but what’s more important to us is to make sure we do this right,” he said.

In other states with adult use marijuana, the first state to legalize often becomes a destination for weed users within a few hours' drive.

In addition to its own 9 million residents, New Jersey is surrounded by millions more in New York and Pennsylvania who — cannabis entrepreneurs and state officials hope — would flock to New Jersey for the chance to buy legal weed.

TOURIST TRAP: Legal weed could be the next big tourism industry for New Jersey

But if Pennsylvania beats New Jersey to the punch, that consumer traffic stays put. And if Connecticut legalizes weed before New Jersey, millions of New Yorkers — many of whom live closer to New Jersey — head there instead.

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Legal weed: Go inside iBake Denver and Colorado Cannabis Tour

Is the federal government going to go after New Jersey if we have legal weed?

The Trump administration has flip-flopped on its attitude toward states with legalized marijuana — both medical and recreational — almost from the start.

But if William Barr is confirmed as the permanent United States Attorney General, cannabis regulators will likely breathe a sigh of relief.

During his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr said he would "not go after companies that have relied on the Cole memorandum." That memo, written during the Obama administration, directed federal prosecutors not to intervene with marijuana programs in states that had legalized the drug.

"To the extent that people are complying with the state laws in distribution and production and so forth, we’re not going to go after that," Barr said.

That's a noticeable change from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a staunch legal weed opponent who last year recalled the Cole memorandum.