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The state attorney general's office will soon announce that it will not seek to extend a statewide adjournment of marijuana possession cases in municipal court when an order expires on Sept. 4th, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

Instead, the attorney general's office will issue guidance to New Jersey's local, municipal and county prosecutors informing them that while marijuana possession remains illegal, they may exercise discretion and decide not to prosecute some simple possession cases.

The decision comes a month after the attorney general sent out a letter on July 24 asking municipal prosecutors to adjourn cases until Sept. 4 or later. Grewal said at that time that his office would issue a directive sometime in August clarifying the appropriate use of prosecutorial discretion in marijuana-related cases in municipal courts.

"This was an argument of 'may not' vs. 'shall not' (prosecute)," said Reed Gusciora, the mayor of Trenton, former municipal prosecutor and, until last year, the Assembly's prime sponsor of a recreational marijuana bill.

"And while I was pushing for 'shall not,' this is a victory, of sorts, in that it will give prosecutors discretion without making a blanket policy. "

The forthcoming guidance is expected to have a larger impact in smaller, more rural areas, where prosecutors have often been often unwilling to downgrade charges absent a directive from the top law enforcement official in the state.

Marijuana possession is normally charged as a disorderly persons offense.

The attorney general convened a working group on marijuana prosecutions in response to action taken by Jersey City mayor Steve Fulop, and his chief prosecutor, Jake Hudnut, to try to essentially decriminalize marijuana in July.

Grewal, Hudnut and Gusciora were all part of the group, which also included several representatives from police departments, civil rights groups, county prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal at first Grewal swatted their move as legal overreach, but then moved to freeze prosecution of all marijuana cases in municipal courts last month.

"The working group is headed in an exciting direction," Hudnut said. "Jersey City is proud that our efforts lead to a policy that will have a positive impact statewide, from Cape May county to Sussex County and everywhere in between."

Gov. Phil Murphy has been pushing the Legislature to legalize adult recreational use of cannabis, and Senate President Steve Sweeney recently said he expected he would have the votes needed to do so in a bill that's expected some time in mid-September.

Asked if he thought the reason the attorney general's working group wasn't seeking an extension of the adjournment was the anticipated passage of a recreational marijuana bill, Gusciora chuckled and answered, "Guilty as charged."

A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, Sharon Lauchaire, emailed a statement to NJ Advance Media late Thursday morning.

"The Attorney General created the working group so that people with different views and perspectives could talk candidly amongst themselves and try to develop consensus about the best policy outcome for New Jersey, consistent with existing law. That process doesn't work if the group's internal deliberations are shared publicly before the group has had a chance to finish its efforts. We look forward to sharing the final product as soon as it is ready."

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.