New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy: Yes, I smoked weed 'literally once or twice'

At 12:47 Thursday afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted that he's used marijuana "once or twice." That admission came a day after he faced questions probing his personal preference for the drug he wants to legalize.

Seventy minutes earlier, Murphy's office issued a news release with the cost of a new union contract. That came after several days of questions about the cost, and less than 24 hours after Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive, said he didn't know exactly what the taxpayer tab would be for an agreement he praised earlier in the week as "reasonable and responsible."

Like that, Murphy answered days of questions during the time most people were out to lunch.

Murphy had been pressed on the two issues during a week in which he sought to build off a first 100 days of notable legislative achievements — and at a time when he must still convince fellow Democrats to sign off on about $1.6 billion in new taxes for his $37.4 billion budget.

He sang the praises of Newark on a stage in front of the chief executive of Audible, whose parent company, Amazon, is considering the city for its second headquarters. And he signed a paid sick leave bill that had stalled in the Legislature for years.

But Murphy drew extra attention for what he and his administration didn't do: directly answer questions upfront on marijuana and the union contract.

No matter what answer he gave on marijuana, Murphy would have made headlines. He had campaigned on promising to legalize it for adult use and is now aiming for sales to begin in January. But amid all the questions of whether he has the support to pass a legalization bill, Murphy seemed to be caught off guard Wednesday when a reporter asked whether he had used marijuana in the past or if he plans to if and when it's legalized in New Jersey.

Without giving a direct answer, Murphy said he's "never been a marijuana guy," kissed his fingers and waved goodbye to the reporters huddled around him.

Murphy was no less clear at an executive order signing Thursday when asked by The Record and NorthJersey.com's Charles Stile whether he would smoke marijuana if it's legalized.

"Ah, Jesus, Charlie," Murphy said, and waiving his arm, added, "We'll deal with that some other time."

Some other time came about two hours later on social media.

"Here’s the deal: I’ve tried marijuana literally once or twice many years ago, and I don’t have any desire to partake again," Murphy wrote on Twitter. "But this effort isn’t about me — this is about social justice."

Murphy went on in a thread about New Jersey having the largest incarceration gap in the nation between blacks and whites, and that "legalizing marijuana is critical to reducing that disparity."

Just before putting that to rest, Murphy's office announced that a new contract for about 35,000 Communications Workers of America employees is projected to cost $148.9 million.

The administration faced questions on that cost since Tuesday, when the union ratified the contract and Murphy praised it.

“After three long years, this contract represents a reasonable and responsible agreement between the state of New Jersey and our CWA workers,” he said in a statement. “Moving forward, we have established a solid foundation for future negotiations that considers fairness for our middle class and working families.”

But Murphy's office only said that the cost was accounted for in the budget, without getting into specifics. When asked for more details Wednesday, Murphy said: "I don't know the exact number, but our folks are working on the program details."

His office clarified later Wednesday that because of the process of going through each employee's details it was "extremely difficult to give an accurate answer of what the contract will cost." But the administration worked to come up with a projection, according to an aide, and Murphy's office released it Thursday.

The final cost of the contract may be different, according to the office, but Republican critics quickly seized on the nearly $150 million cost to taxpayers at a time when Murphy's budget proposes maintaining a cut to the Homestead Benefit program for seniors and low-income residents.

“This is a real gut punch for taxpayers, seniors and disabled homeowners and is evidence of the governor’s priorities," Assemblyman Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, said in a statement.

Sen. Mike Doherty, R-Warren, said: “The $150 million that Governor Murphy is cutting from Homestead Rebates is going straight to union paychecks. It’s crystal clear. I wouldn’t be surprised to see taxpayers with pitchforks outside the governor’s office when they find out.”

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