Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media

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A bill that would legalize marijuana in New Jersey, while also setting up an industry of pot growers and retailers, has been finalized and given to lawmakers ahead of a potential vote later this month.

The plan, obtained Wednesday by NJ Advance Media, lays out the foundation of the commercial marijuana industry and includes several social justice provisions aimed at helping people who have been negatively impacted by marijuana prohibition.

Sources close to the bill expect it to go to the Legislature on Thursday.

Gov. Phil Murphy, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin announced on Tuesday that they had reached a deal to send this new bill back to the Legislature, with plans to hold a vote on March 25.

This bill, unlike the several previous iterations, is considered the culmination of more than a year of debate and negotiation, and it represents New Jersey's best chance so far to legalize marijuana through the Legislature.

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Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The basics

If lawmakers pass the legal weed bill, it would allow the possession and personal use of up to an ounce of marijuana for people in New Jersey, along with setting up a taxable industry of weed growers, processors, wholesalers and retailers.

People would only be allowed to smoke in private residences or in sanctioned marijuana consumption lounges, according to the bill.

The governor and legislative leaders would choose the people who would serve on the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which would be tasked with making the finer rules of the industry as well as oversight.

The regulatory commission would accept applications and issue licenses for marijuana businesses, but municipalities would be able to ban such businesses, as more than 60 towns have already done.

The bill allows people with low-level marijuana convictions to wipe away their records, since their crimes would no longer be illegal. It also requires the commission to issue a portion of marijuana business licenses to women- and minority-owned businesses.

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Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Where would you be able to buy weed?

Once the industry gets up and running, which would be about a year after the bill passes, there would be pot shops all across the state. The bill doesn’t set a limit on the number of marijuana businesses that could be licensed; it only says that the number of businesses should meet demand.

Towns in the state are free to ban pot shops and growers, but residents in those towns would still be able to go buy weed elsewhere and bring it back in town for their own private consumption.

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Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

How much would you pay in taxes?

In this version of the bill, lawmakers overhauled the taxation of marijuana.

Rather than an additional sales tax imposed at the cash register, officials revealed that they would be charging a $42 tax on each ounce of marijuana grown in the state. The tax would be imposed on growers, but would be passed down to consumers.

Municipalities would also be able to claim some of the revenue, according to the statement from lawmakers. Towns that have pot shops would be able to impose a 3 percent tax on items sold, while towns that have growers could charge a 2 percent tax and towns with wholesalers could charge a 1 percent tax.

Towns that ban businesses would not get any tax revenue from marijuana.

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Aristede Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The bill isn't a sure thing to pass

Legislators seem to think the bill could pass this month.

Murphy on Tuesday said he thinks retail sales could begin as early as next winter, while Kevin McArdle, a spokesman for Assembly Democrats, said the votes for legalization will be there on March 25.

But that optimism belies the fact that there is still a lot of convincing and whipping to be done in the Legislature before legalization has a chance to pass.

Previous reporting shows that the Assembly is at least three votes shy of being able to pass legalization, while the Senate is six votes short.

Now that the bill is out, lawmakers who have been on the fence will have to make up their minds.

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Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

You could get your weed delivered or smoke at the dispensary

Don't feel like driving to a pot shop? No problem.

Don't want to go home to smoke? Don't worry.

The bill allows marijuana retailers to deliver to consumers, as long as they have a certified employee making the deliveries. The process would be heavily regulated and every dispensary may not deliver.

Pot shops would also be allowed to have a space onsite for consumers to use their products, as long as they get state and local approval. New Jersey would be one of the first states to allow consumption lounges.

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Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

But you can't grow weed at home

It's been clear for a long time now, but legalization in New Jersey will not include allowing people to grow their own plants at home.

Lawmakers have long been opposed to home-grow, worried that it would add to the black market and be hard to regulate.

Proponents often compare growing marijuana to the popular hobby of home-brewing beer, but it won't be allowed should the bill pass, at least not at first.

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Will the expungements be enough for some lawmakers?

One of the most contentious parts of the bill — and one that had several lawmakers questioning whether they could support legalization — is the expungement language.

If possession and use of marijuana become legal, what do you do with the hundreds of thousands of people in New Jersey who have low-level marijuana convictions? The overwhelming answer from lawmakers has been to let people erase them from their records.

Murphy made expungements and social justice the main planks of his legalization platform, and the bill allows people with low-level marijuana convictions to apply for easier expungements. It also requires the state Judiciary to establish an electronic system to help with future expungements.

These are some of the provisions undecided lawmakers have been pushing for, but it's not clear this will be enough to guarantee the passage of legalization.

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Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

So, when could you buy weed?

If the bill passes, it gives regulators about six months to set up the full rules and regulations of the industry. It then gives another six months for the commission to start allowing pot sales.

It will likely take longer for the industry to get fully up and running, but the existing medical marijuana dispensaries could start selling to the public earlier, as long as they have enough marijuana for patients.

With all that in mind, it's possible that if the bill passes later this month, people could legally buy marijuana in New Jersey before the end of the year. But those sales would be limited since there are only six medical marijuana facilities currently operating, though an additional six medical dispensaries have been approved.

For the full industry, with recreational growers and pot shops, another year or 18 months is likely.

But the bill has to pass before any of this means anything.

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More marijuana links

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

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