What's the deal with legal weed in NJ? It's caught up in the state budget standoff

James Nash | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Senator Scutari talks about marijuana legislation Senator Scutari talks about marijuana legislation

New Jersey's halting progress toward legal marijuana has been set back once again, with prospects for a bill to allow adults to use the drug fading in advance of a June 30 deadline.



Gov. Phil Murphy has championed legalizing marijuana for anyone 21 and older, and he included $80 million in expected tax revenue from both medical and non-medical sales in his proposed budget for the year beginning July 1. But lawmakers left out the $60 million in taxes from non-medical marijuana in their own budget amid signs that the legal marijuana bill has lost momentum.



Even lawmakers who support the general concept of legal weed are squabbling over details, such as the maximum number of marijuana retailers, the tax rate and whether people would be allowed to smoke marijuana at lounges similar to how people drink alcohol at bars.



Even Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, the sponsor of the main legal weed bill, acknowledged that it's unlikely to pass before June 30.



"It's not impossible, but I don't want to rush it now that we're on the precipice of passage," Scutari said. "There's no need to do it in the next nine days."

Momentum slowed

Legislative momentum on legal weed has slowed as lawmakers have clashed over elements of the state budget. Murphy's own relationship with legislative leaders has been strained by budget disputes, limiting the governor's effectiveness as an advocate for legalization. Murphy hasn't taken part in recent conversations around marijuana legislation.

MORE: Lodi joins other New Jersey towns in ban of legal weed sales

MORE: New Jersey's legal weed market expected to be worth $850 million

Bill Caruso, a lawyer and lobbyist who co-founded the pro-legalization New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, said it's still possible that lawmakers could pass a legal weed bill as part of the frenzy of budget negotiations this month.

"This is all very fluid right now," Caruso said. "When things get pulled into the budget process, anything can happen."

Story continues after video

James Nash talks about marijuana legislation James Nash talks about marijuana legislation

Earlier this year, lawmakers held a series of workshops around New Jersey to debate the pros and cons of marijuana, and Scutari incorporated feedback from the sessions in his revised bill. For example, the new version includes provisions to ensure that entrepreneurs who live in low-income areas with disproportionate numbers of marijuana-related arrests are at the front of the line for marijuana business permits. It would allow 218 medical and non-medical marijuana dispensaries.



Even though New Jersey has just six medical dispensaries, Scutari suggested that they could begin to sell to non-medical users almost as soon as lawmakers pass a legal weed bill and Murphy signs it. Dismissing the idea that the six locations would be overrun with pot buyers, Scutari said patients would have priority to purchase the drug.