NEWARK — A group of activists gathered in New Jersey's largest city today to announce a new coalition that will advocate for the legalization, taxation, and regulation of marijuana in the state. A string of speakers today officially launched "New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform" during a press conference in Newark.

The coalition — which is made up of members like the ACLU-New Jersey, NAACP State Conference of New Jersey, and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition — argued that legalizing the drug would increase revenue to the state, lighten enforcement burdens on police departments and prosecutors, and streamline usage.

"It is time to take marijuana out of our parks, and off of our street corners, and put it behind the counter," ACLU Executive Director Udi Ofer said during the conference. "It is time to stop turning otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals."

The group cited statistics claiming that New Jersey police officers make about 21,000 marijuana-related arrests each year, and argued that the time spent processing these arrests could be focused on other "more serious" crimes.

"As a municipal prosecutor, I have had to waste countless taxpayer dollars and hours of police officers' time to prosecute New Jerseyeans," said Jon-Henry Barr, the President of the N.J. Municipal Prosecutors Association. "The savings that will be realized will dwarf any drawbacks."

The arrests, the group said, disproportionately target black residents.

"The war on marijuana has failed, and this failure (has) had a devastating impact on black families," NAACP-NJ President Richard Smith said at the conference. "We will work to ensure that a portion of the revenue generated (by the legalization of marijuana)...will be reinvested into our communities that have been most impacted by the enforcement."

Coalition members said they are not advocating for a particular bill or law, and that they plan to examine how legalization efforts in other states play out when formulating the exact law that would go into effect in New Jersey. Usage would be restricted, they said, to adults over 21. Using marijuana while driving would also remain illegal.

The quantity of marijuana each adult would be allowed to have would also likely be limited, the group said.

Dr. David Nathan, a psychiatrist and Rutgers professor, argued that "restricting the points of access to marijuana" would also work to eventually decrease the ease with which minors can acquire the drug.

"Currently, the criminal consequences of marijuana use are far worse than the medical consequences," Nathan said in a statement. "We should use revenues from marijuana taxation to educate young people about the actual harms caused by its recreational use."

New Jersey passed a medical marijuana law in 2009, and the first dispensary in the state opened in 2012. Participation in the program thus far has been relatively low.

Gov. Chris Christie has said that he will not support the legalization of recreational marijuana, arguing that it gives the wrong message to the state's children. Members of the coalition today said they did not feel that the governor's position was a deterrent to their cause.

"This is not necessarily a direct appeal to the governor," former N.J. Assembly Executive Director William Caruso said at the conference. "(Our focus is) this movement, and getting the message out to the people."

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.