While the debate over New Jersey marijuana legalization has largely become a question of "will they or won't they," law enforcement officials are preparing for the most likely scenario.

What if "they" don't legalize weed ... but a neighboring state does?

Marijuana legalization efforts in the Mid-Atlantic states are at various junctures, with both New Jersey and New York seemingly headed in that direction. While New Jersey hasn't changed its marijuana laws, the drug has been decriminalized in New York after state legislators failed to pass a legal weed bill this summer.

But every race has a loser, leading to the likely scenario in which one state will legalize the drug for recreational use while the states around it maintain the status quo.

If New Jersey legalized weed, it would completely upend the "equation" that New Jersey police officers have been trained to recognize and enforce against, said State Troopers Fraternal Association President Wayne Blanchard.

"This is something we're always been worried about in New Jersey because it changes the entire dynamic, from 'drugs in, cash out' to 'cash in, drugs out,'" said Blanchard, whose union represents New Jersey State Police officers.

Instead of pot dealers bringing marijuana into New Jersey and selling it here, Blanchard imagines dealers using the legal weed market as their supplier, purchasing the drug legally in New Jersey and selling it elsewhere.

"It's something we have to prepare for. If smuggling techniques change, the law enforcement has to change," he said.

Legal weed opponents have long pointed to the black market as a reason why marijuana should remain an illegal drug in New Jersey. In March, black market marijuana dealers told the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey that, rather than putting them out of business, legal weed would make them even more successful.

In a scenario where one state legalizes weed but its neighbors haven't, it opens up the likelihood of a "full stream of illegal products" crossing state lines, said Sayreville Police Chief John Zebrowski.

The result? Expect to see more police cars on major highways that cross between states, like the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and Interstate 80, Zebrowski said.

"You'll see an increase in detection efforts on those highways that cross into other states," said Zebrowksi, a vice president with the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. "I think you'll see an enhanced interdiction effort at those borders."

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Police officers monitoring major highways for drug activity is nothing new. The same is true for patrols along the state borders. For example, there's usually an increased police presence in towns along the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border in the lead-up to Independence Day, as New Jerseyans cross the border to purchase fireworks that are legal in Pennsylvania but illegal in New Jersey.

And in Pennsylvania, police have been known to be on the lookout for Keystone State citizens who shopped for big-ticket items in Delaware to dodge state sales taxes.

But a large-scale policy change such as marijuana legalization could "stretch" police departments, especially in the small towns on the New Jersey-New York border, Zebrowski said. That will inevitably lead to cost increases — including overtime — as police add a new focus area into their routine, he added.

"There has to be a lot of collaboration with law enforcement in New York particularly in some of the smaller towns whose resources are already stretched," Zebrowski said.

Of the four states in the Mid-Atlantic region, only New York borders states — Massachusetts and Vermont — that have already legalized weed. But in the years since marijuana became legal, it hasn't led to any "operational changes," New York State Police spokesman Beau Duffy said in an email.

"Our troopers continue to enforce New York's drug laws as they always have," Duffy said.

Instead, the State Police have made changes behind-the-scenes to prepare for the possibility of marijuana legalization in New York. The last two classes of police dogs to graduate from the New York police academy weren't trained in marijuana detection.

They can be trained in specifically identifying weed at a later date if the marijuana legalization efforts peter out, Duffy said.

Blanchard said similar discussions about police dogs are ongoing throughout the state. "What's more cost-prohibitive — retraining the exiting K-9's or purchasing new K-9's?"

Both Gov. Phil Murphy and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, have said they'd like to take "one last shot" at legalizing weed in New Jersey in the post-Election Day lame duck legislative session. If there still isn't enough support to legalize marijuana legislatively, it will likely become a ballot initiative in 2020.

Last month, marijuana was officially decriminalized in New York. Legislators had attempted to legalize the drug but, as in New Jersey, couldn't find enough support among lawmakers. They're expected to take the issue up in the next legislative session.

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Mike Davis writes about the seemingly never-ending push to legalize marijuana in New Jersey, including the effects it would have on the economy, the black market and regular people. No, he can't tell you where to buy illegal drugs. Contact him at 732-643-4223, mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.