“Today marks another progressive step in our efforts to make New Jersey’s medical and adult-use cannabis market the best in the country. Our congratulations to the over 100 conditional and annual license awardees.

“We applaud the CRC for its deliberate approach to developing New Jersey’s newest industry. We recognize there is still much to do, however, we are getting there one step at a time. The combined efforts of the public and private sectors to ensure diversity, responsibility, and eventually profitability for New Jersey–based businesses is within our reach.”

About The New Jersey CannaBusiness Association

The NJCBA’s mission is to promote jobs and growth in a sustainable and responsible cannabis industry. Starting with the pioneers in the medical cannabis market to the emerging players in the adult-use space, the NJCBA’s focus is to make certain that decision-makers and regulators understand and respect the needs of the CannaBusiness community and that our community remain responsible corporate citizens. 

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TRENTON, NJ — The New Jersey CannaBusiness Association (NJCBA), the state’s premiere cannabis trade association, is hosting a unique forum for applicants to meet and establish cannabis business relationships. The event, “Cannabis Connection 2022,” will mix license holders with current applicants in both the traditional networking reception style but also in a round robin type format that will allow all participants equal time to get to know one another.

“We wanted to provide a setting where the conversations between attendees were structured in a way to add real value and not just about where you happened to take a seat,” said NJCBA President Edmund DeVeaux. “This will be an atmosphere unlike any other created in the cannabis space; a chance for everyone who attends to chat and learn with every individual.”

“Legalization is taking shape in New Jersey which means this event isn’t about advocacy, it’s about current and future license holders,” said NJCBA Founder Scott Rudder. “This will not be like other conferences where you sit all day and listen to speakers. ‘Cannabis Connection’ is about you and your business. It’s about your needs, your goals and meeting likeminded individuals within the industry.”

“Cannabis Connection 2022” will take place Thursday, October 27 from 1p.m. – 8 p.m. at Galloping Hill Golf Club, located at 3 Golf Drive in Kenilworth, New Jersey. “Making Cannabis Connections,” the round robin style meet and greet, will take place starting at 1pm with the main networking reception to begin at 6 p.m. Interested participants can register for the event at:

https://newjerseycannabusiness.com/events/cannabis-connection-2022

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In her Jan. 5 inaugural State of the State Address, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a $200 million social equity fund in the state’s $216.3 billion fiscal year budget, which has yet to be hammered out as the state missed its Friday deadline. New York lawmakers are expected to reconvene on Monday in Albany.

The $200 million fund to be backed by state and private dollars is intended to help entrepreneurs of color and other under-represented groups get into the business.

While the idea is short on details, Hochul and supporters say the fund is to get capital to those who need it most since cost of applying is a real barrier to entry.

It’s prompted some lawyers who represent smaller marijuana operators and wealthy investors to ask: Why not a social equity fund in New Jersey?

Jeff Brown, executive director of the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission, said he found New York’s idea “interesting,” but could not point to a similar big-dollar proposal to ensure diversity and inclusivity in the nascent industry in New Jersey.

“The CRC threaded equity and inclusivity through every part of the rules we wrote for the recreational cannabis market and we know that financing is an additional piece of ensuring the market is accessible,” Brown said in an email to NJ Cannabis Insider. “We have been working with other state agencies to identify access to capital, workforce development assistance, and business development resources for aspiring entrepreneurs and expect to have new initiatives in the future.”

The CRC last week approved 68 cultivators and manufacturers for conditional licenses as a social equity measure to give the smaller operations a piece of what is expected to be a multi-billion dollar industry alongside multi-state operators and well-heeled investors.

“These are the first businesses to get a foot forward in the state of New Jersey,” Brown said at the meeting. “I cannot stress that enough.”

That action was overshadowed by the board’s unexpected delay in approving eight medical marijuana dispensaries’ applications to also sell recreational weed this spring, which spurred Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, to announce he would hold oversight hearings over the CRC’s performance. The 68 smaller operators aren’t expected to be in a position to sell weed until late fall at the earliest.

At the meeting, Brown also noted that the New Jersey Economic Development Authority is working to help ensure a diverse pool of applicants.

“Additionally, we hope that municipal leaders, property owners, and others who stand to benefit from a thriving cannabis market will choose to invest in new businesses by not setting up financial obstacles for entrepreneurs,” said Brown.

The governor’s office acknowledged there was no social equity set-aside akin to New York’s proposal in Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed $48.9 billion budget, which would kick in on July 1.

“Our administration has always strived to eliminate barriers to entry for the adult-use recreational cannabis marketplace, through low fees, priority application review for licenses for micro-businesses, impact zone businesses, and social equity businesses, and the option to apply for a conditional license,” said Murphy spokesman Michael Zhadanovsky to NJ Cannabis Insider.

“The governor and the CRC are committed to working with advocates and stakeholders to ensure a marketplace that works for everyone. The administration is always open to hearing new ideas for equity in the marketplace,” added Zhadandovsky..

Murphy has said minor marijuana convictions did irreparable harm to Black and brown communities, whose members were sent to jail by the nation’s failed War on Drugs. The governor said the primary goal of the legalization of cannabis and its sale in a legit market is to fund restorative justice programs.

After signing the cannabis bill last year, Murphy touted that New Jersey’s cannabis market would be one of the most inclusive in the country, welcoming everyone from mom-and-pop operations to larger concerns, and giving preference to minority- and women-owned businesses.

New York’s social equity fund received a mixed response from those closely watching New Jersey’s yet-to-open adult market.

“We’re not an apples to apples comparison in the regards of financing mechanisms,” said attorney Beau Huch, a former top aide to state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, who worked on both the medical and recreational cannabis bills. “I do know New Jersey is broke.”

“We have no money to just give away and that’d be a heavy lift here even if we did,” added Huch.

Edmund DeVeaux, president of the trade group New Jersey CannaBusiness Association, said it can’t be just about money to ensure the success of minority and women-owned cannabis enterprises.

“In our evolving regulatory and legislative arenas, the state has provided not only prioritization for communities most impacted by unequitable treatment under the law, but those with previous cannabis convictions and small startup businesses also have access to various forms of assistance through state sources like the Economic Development Authority, Business Action Center, and New Jersey Re-entry Corporation,” DeVeaux said in an email to NJ Cannabis Insider.

“There has to be a recognition that future and current participants in the cannabis industry may have to hone certain skills to be successful in the long-term.”

But some in the Garden State say applicants need the financial assistance more at the front end of the application process.

New York expects to start issuing licenses to sell adult-use recreational cannabis sometime next year. Hochul’s $200 million social equity fund would be backed by state and private dollars to provide capital and startup support for disadvantaged applicants.

Hochul envisions allocating $50 million — money that New York would advance before collecting it from cannabis license fees and taxes — and look to private investors for the rest.

A private partner would manage the fund that could give both grants and loans to eligible businesses, which would include those owned by women or minorities, disabled veterans and people from communities that endured heavy weed law enforcement. Specifics are still in the works.

If that money is approved, New York may use some of it to help open cannabis businesses, including securing retail leases and furnishing stores.

Nadir Pearson of Clifton would love it if New Jersey adopts this idea. The 25-year old Black entrepreneur said he could use the financial help as he applies for a conditional manufacturing license. So far Pearson said he’s spent $13,000 on lawyers to review his conditional application. He expects another $35,000 in fees to convert to an annual license.

On top of that, Pearson is spending tens of thousands of dollars on a down payment on a 16,000-square-foot warehouse in South Jersey. He secured the site in February, but with the ongoing delays in launching New Jersey’s adult recreational market, Pearson said he’s paying $10,000 a month in rent for a property not yet generating any revenue.

“Legislators should be a little bit more cognizant of the economic impact that they’re going to be having when they put in these statutes.” Pearson said. “There’s a strong disconnect between understanding the actual business of cannabis and the intent of these laws.”

Like many entrepreneurs, Pearson has tapped personal funds, relatives and friends — to get his foot in the door. His mother, Onika Perez, and another business partner, Hope Wiseman – a cannabis operator in Maryland – are listed as majority owners on the application to snag one of the women-owned business licenses. He has a minority stake.

“Figuring out ways to alleviate some of these financial burdens needs to be a priority … wherever the state feels that it can be most strongly suited to provide financial assistance – it should,” said Pearson.

“If true equity was the standing point on which we wanted to create this industry, then they need to take a long hard look at that.”

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The state’s Senate and Assembly voted first to create a new and legal marijuana industry from scratch and called for new regulations to be written within six months.

Both houses also approved a bill that decriminalizes possession of up to 6 ounces of cannabis. That second bill is designed to stop arrests and expunge criminal records of low-level marijuana offenses.

The third bill, meanwhile, will reduce penalties for possessing psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, from a felony charge to a disorderly persons offense.

“This is a historic day, the culmination of years of work,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, on the vote to legalize marijuana for all adults. “The decriminalization bill is among the most progressive in the country.”

Gov. Phil Murphy, who campaigned on a platform to legalize marijuana, is expected sign the bills into law as soon as next week.

Voters on Nov. 3 overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana in the Garden State for all adults.

New Jersey is expected to save about $127 million per year on enforcement costs with the expected enactment of the new laws. None of the bills, however, addresses home cultivation of marijuana. Growing weed without a state-issued permit still can result in felony charges.

Though the bills passed with significant margins, some lawmakers in the Senate assailed the lack of measures in the bills to ensure greater social justice and reparations, while others said the measures were laden with too many regulations and taxes.

The session, held on a conference call because of the COVID-19 pandemic and several inches of snow on the ground, erupted at one point into a squall of insults and recriminations.

State Sen. Ronald L. Rice, D-Newark, who opposed the bill, angrily rebuked its sponsor, State Sen. Nick Scutari, D-Linden, for not including stronger social justice measures in the proposed law. The attack provoked a furious rebuttal from Scutari. As the two lawmakers yelled at each other over the phone lines, Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, threatened to mute both of the warring lawmakers.

“I’m the one who’s legalizing it so Black and brown people don’t get arrested and he’s hollering at me?” said Scutari, minutes after the historic vote. “He’s lucky I’m not Donald Trump. I’d have called him a loser.”

A study produced by the ACLU of New Jersey found Blacks and Latinos were over three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana crimes than white people, even though they consume cannabis at similar rates.

Scutari, who also serves as a full-time Linden County prosecutor, called passage of the legalization the “greatest achievement of a career’s worth of work.”

“People now have the opportunity to get jobs and go to college who might not have been able to because they’d been arrested for marijuana in their younger years,” Scutari said. “It’s a significant accomplishment for New Jersey and is likely the most significant piece of legislation we’ve passed in my lifetime.”

The “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act” provides the blueprint to create a new business sector. Some industry experts believe it will create thousands of jobs and generate $2 billion in revenues a year.

The law will limit the number of growers for the first two years to a total of 37. The state currently has 12 medical marijuana facilities in operation. The law will distribute tax revenues to the communities with the most drug arrests and prosecutions. The law will give businesses the right to drug-test employees suspected of being intoxicated on the job.

The existing medical marijuana retailers will be allowed to be the first to switch over and sell cannabis to adult recreational consumers.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission, under the Department of Treasury, will create and enforce statutes that will govern the state’s marijuana marketplace. Those regulations will be required to be done within the next six months.

“The bill leaves a lot of impactful decisions up to the CRC and sets up new licensing concepts that seek to address issues of systematic inequality,” said Ellie Siegel, CEO of Longview Strategic, a cannabis-industry consultancy. “Lawmakers are trying not to overburden the emerging industry with high costs and taxes, but until New Jersey gets plentiful products on shelves, the underground market will continue to dominate.”

Eventually, the state will issue “micro-permits” intended to provide opportunities for hundreds, if not thousands, of small businesses to participate in the industry.

“We don’t know yet how those micro-permits are going to break,” said Chris Goldstein, an organizer for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “Right now the industry is set up to be run like a state-sponsored cartel. As soon as wholesale is available, the micro-permittees could purchase and sell it. That could be a while.”

The marijuana legislation was designed to eliminate the black market and replace it with a legal marketplace. But State Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, D-Newark, doesn’t want to see “traditional” neighborhood weed dealers left behind.

“We’re going to pivot to make sure everyone has a pathway to participation,” said Ruiz, who also sponsored the decriminalization bill. That law provides expungement for most cannabis crimes. She believes that even Ed Forchion, the Garden State’s most notorious underground dealer, might find a place in the legal regime.

“We can’t launch a new economic frontier without being inclusive of those that the War on Drugs has hurt the most,” Ruiz said. “That’s why we went a long way to ensure funding returns to the communities that were hardest hit.”

Advocates, experts, and community leaders generally applauded the bills, though some voiced reservations.

“While our work to repair the damage done by the drug war is far from over, today is a moment for celebration,” said the Rev. Charles F. Boyer, pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Woodbury. “Through this (legalization) bill, 70% of the sales tax revenue as well as an excise tax will be directly used to fund programming in communities most impacted by New Jersey’s drug war.”

One industry insider, who did not want to be identified, said limitations placed on weed businesses were “more restrictive than those on casinos and nuclear power plants.”

State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, decried the lack of a home-growing provision and lambasted the “overtaxation, overregulation and over-complication” spelled out in the 247-page legalization bill.

“To be blunt, I had no choice but to vote no,” said O’Scanlon. “The fact that the tax structure prescribes — unconstitutionally — an excise tax (which is prohibited under the referendum) that can amount to a 60% tax rate, is a recipe for the perpetuation of the illicit market.”

Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration adviser who co-founded Smart Approaches to Marijuana, was also pointed. “New Jersey’s marijuana market will not benefit people of color and other disenfranchised communities,” he said. “Instead, it will continue the trend of the marijuana industry enriching mostly white men while expanding substance use disorders and predatory marketing in vulnerable communities.”

The founder of the CannaBusiness Association said there will be time and opportunity to fine-tune the regulations. Scott Rudder would have preferred to see lower barriers to entry for aspiring marijuana entrepreneurs.

“There’s nobody who’s walking away saying this is 100% right,” said Rudder, a former Republican assemblyman from Medford. “Every major stakeholder — whether on the social justice, industry or patient side — is a little frustrated. But that’s what happens when you’re trying to end 83 years of cannabis prohibition.”

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The new law goes into effect Jan. 1.  But before recreational tokers can light up, a bill regulating the budding industry must pass and dispensaries must solve a major weed shortage problem that could take months, elected officials and advocates told The Post.

“Ideally the medical dispensaries would be ready to go [recreational] in January but they don’t have enough product yet … We’re setting up a whole new industry,” said state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, who championed the approved legalization and is drafting the second bill. “I hope [growers] are in facilities right now tilling soil.”

Along with the new measure — which legalized the recreational use of pot for people 21 and older Tuesday — another bill must pass through the state legislature laying out regulations for cannabis businesses. It could be adopted as soon as the end of November, according to Scutari.

After that, the state’s 12 medical dispensaries can be licensed to start selling weed recreationally in “just months,” if they can show they have enough cannabis to supply existing patients, Scutari said.

Opening yet-to-be established pot shops will come last, and won’t likely get the green light until mid-or-late 2021, he said.

Axel Owen, of the pro-marijuana legalization group NJ CAN 2020, said the lack of pot could cause dispensaries major growing pains.

“The reality is our medical market has been growing steadily and we have to make sure that we still have a way for people to get their medicine,” he said. “Supply is a big problem.”

The cannabis industry bill will address issues including the number of dispensary licenses issued, taxes and the role wholesaler cannabis growers can play in the market.

It’s important to pass it quickly in order to hammer out the best way to grow more ganja, Owen said.

“The biggest hurdle is making sure that the legislature moves quickly. They’ve gotta figure this out fast, ” he said, adding he’s optimistic about the timeline. “I’m hearing they might even meet within a week of today.”

Cannabis business owners echoed that sense of urgency.

“The past few years that got us to legalization are just as important as the next few are — and especially the next couple of weeks,” said Scott Rudder, president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association, told NJ.com.

He said 2018 legislation sponsored by Scutari is a “great place to start” with some tweaks to adjust to the current state of the marijuana industry.

New Jersey currently offers weed licenses to three kinds of medical cannabis businesses — dispensaries, manufacturers and cultivators. People who want to open dispensaries must pay a $20,000 application fee, $18,000 of which can be reimbursed if their license is denied.

Marijuana legalization advocates also stressed that New Jersey cops should stop making arrests for marijuana possession during the period before the law goes effect on Jan. 1.

“The one thing we’d like to see happen the most quickly is for marijuana to be decriminalized and for police not to continue arrest people,” Owen said. “That needs to be done as soon as humanly possible.”

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State Sen. Nick Scutari, D-Union, could introduce legislation to establish a regulated cannabis industry and a companion measure to decriminalize possession of pot as early as Thursday afternoon.

He said the bill to give the go-ahead for the creation of a marijuana industry will take time to enact after it’s passed, perhaps 18 months or so, but the decriminalization legislation would have an immediate effect “to cease criminal prosecutions from all of those previous and hopefully not subsequent charges of marijuana possession in New Jersey.”

On Wednesday, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issued a statement on the constitutional amendment legalizing pot, pointing out this does not mean unregulated marijuana is now legal.

Grewal also noted all current criminal laws relating to marijuana continue to apply, so Garden State residents should not “inadvertently engage in criminal conduct relating to marijuana” until the Legislature acts to change the law.

Scutari’s proposed measure would do just that.

He said the legislation to establish a regulated pot industry is “basically done,” because it closely mirrors the bill that was never voted on last year when it became apparent there wasn’t enough support for it to be passed in the Senate.

Scutari pointed out his marijuana measure will propose different steps to ensure minority business interests are included in the plan.

“We’re taking every step that we can, constitutionally possible, to give those affected groups the best opportunity to be involved in a legal cannabis industry,” he said.

The legislation will call for “scoring initiatives for people that reside geographically in the most disparately affected areas, and we’ve also included in there micro-business licensing, which won’t cost a fortune.”

ACLU of New Jersey Executive Director Amol Sinha told New Jersey 101.5 earlier this week that creating an inclusive, racially just and equitable cannabis industry is essential. He said we must make sure this new industry is “just not reserved for millionaires backed by mega corporations.”

Scutari said the fact that about 70 New Jersey towns have already gone on record opposing the production or sale of marijuana in their municipalities is fine.

“They don’t want to do it, they don’t have to,” he said. “But there’s many, many more towns that are going to reap the benefits of a 2% local excise tax from all sales.”

He also noted even if a town prohibits the sale of marijuana, once the industry begins operations, residents of the town will have the legal right to smoke or eat a marijuana product in their own home.

“They’ll be the ones (the towns with bans) that look ridiculous when certain towns are reaping profits across the street and they have some kind of, I don’t know, morality calling or something like that,” he said.

Scott Rudder, the president of the New Jersey Cannabusiness Association, said now that recreational pot has been approved by the voters and legislators are set to move forward, the state needs to make sure it doesn’t over-regulate and over-tax the dispensaries.

Rudder said current regulations for medical cannabis dispensaries involve a competitive process that limits their numbers, and moving forward this system should not be used.

He said avoiding over-regulation and over-taxing the recreational cannabis industry will help to promote competition and lower the price of pot, which will encourage more people to buy from dispensaries and “make sure we’re separating people from the drug dealers, and helping to create a job focused environment in our state.”

“If we lower the barrier of entry so we just treat this like every other business, I think we’re going to see a thriving industry in New Jersey,” he said.

Scutari noted it may take until next summer for recreational dispensaries to begin selling pot but established operations that sell medical marijuana will have a golden opportunity.

“There’s a sliver of an opportunity for our licensed cannabis dealers if they can step up their game and produce enough product,” he said.

The post NJ lawmakers could move quickly to set up a legal pot industry appeared first on NJCBA.

Their victories confirm Democrats’ firm control of the state’s presidential electors and the party’s lock on Senate seats.

Biden defeated Republican President Donald Trump, while Booker won against Rik Mehta, a business executive with a law degree and a doctorate in pharmacy, who staunchly supported the president.

Gov. Phil Murphy told WABC he was pleased with the news that Biden was projected to win the state.

“Thrilled, what I expected but nonetheless thrilled,” Murphy said. “Also Cory Booker race had been called to reelect him to the U.S. Senate. Those are two nice starts for Jersey tonight.”

NJ Legal Weed Ballot Question

New Jersey has voted to legalize marijuana, the Associated Press projects.

When Governor Phil Murphy was elected in 2017, he vowed to deliver on a campaign trail promise to legalize cannabis. At the time, he told the New Jersey Star-Ledger that legalization could be a $300 million boon to state coffers but that the biggest reasons for legalization would be for social justice purposes — overhauling old drug laws that disproportionately criminalized people of color.

However, legislative efforts to legalize failed to drum up enough support. Lawmakers ultimately decided to go another route and put the measure before voters.

Public Question No. 1 would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older. The program will be regulated by the same commission that oversees New Jersey’s medical cannabis businesses, and the recreational cannabis products would be subject to the state sales tax (currently 6.625%).

By initial estimates, New Jersey’s recreational cannabis market could be hefty. Marijuana Business Daily pegs annual sales between $850 million and $950 million by 2024 — but a successful initiative carries greater significance outside of New Jersey’s borders. The passage of recreational cannabis in New Jersey could accelerate legislative efforts in neighboring New York and Pennsylvania.

New Jersey’s ballot question on legalizing recreational marijuana has led to more than $2 million in campaign fundraising, mostly by groups in favor of cannabis, the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission said Thursday.

The campaign already ranks in the top 10 costliest ballot questions in state history, according to the commission.

By far, most of the fundraising is benefitting groups that support legalization. The two groups that have raised the most are NJ Can 2020 and Building Stronger Communities Action Fund.

NJ Can 2020 is a social welfare group consisting of a coalition of organizations, including the ACLU of New Jersey, the Latino Action Network, Drug Police Action and the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association among others.

The action fund’s main donor is the Scotts Company, which makes Miracle-Gro.
All but some $10,000 has been raised by groups that support legalization, according to the commission.

Legalizing marijuana was a prominent campaign promise of Murphy’s and was one of the biggest looming issues before New Jersey became a hotspot of the coronavirus outbreak that struck the state in March.

The state’s medical marijuana commission will be in charge of setting up a recreational-use market. Along with an age restriction, cannabis would be subject to the state’s 6.625% sales tax.

The amendment also authorizes the Legislature to enact a law letting towns and cities collect a tax on cannabis.

It’s unclear, though, how soon after the amendment passes that marijuana could hit the market. Lawmakers are wrestling with whether to enact legislation before the public weighs in in order to speed up when the market can open.

New Jersey, in particular, could prove a linchpin in the populous Northeast, leading New York and Pennsylvania toward broad legalization, he said.

Other House races

-Democrat Tom Malinowski is projected to win reelection to the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.

-Democrat Andy Kim is projected to win reelection to the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District.

-Democrat Frank Pallone wins reelection to U.S. House in New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District.

-Democrat Josh Gottheimer is projected to win reelection to the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District.

-Republican Christopher Smith is projected to win reelection to the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District.

-Democrat Donald Norcross is projected to win reelection to the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 1st Congressional District.

-Democrat Bill Pascrell is projected to win reelection to the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District.

-Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman is projected to win reelection to the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.

-Democrat Mikie Sherrill is projected to win reelection to the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.

2nd District: Jeff Van Drew vs. Amy Kennedy

The race for New Jersey’s 2nd congressional district seat is still too close to call.

Incumbent Rep. Jeff Van Drew is leading Democrat Amy Kennedy 51% to 48% with 75% precincts reporting.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew is counted as a Republican after announcing in December 2019 he was leaving the Democratic Party. The New Jersey congressman who switched from Democrat to Republican says he deserted his former party when it “moved from liberal to radical.”

Van Drew claimed at the Republican National Convention that Democratic nominee Joe Biden isn’t in control of his own candidacy and “is being told what to do by the radicals running my former party.”

Van Drew broke with his party and voted against impeaching President Donald Trump – a move that bolstered GOP attempts to depict Democrats as divided on the matter. Last year, he switched parties to become a Republican in the November election, promising Trump his “undying support.”

Trump, reveling in the decision, promised to return the favor and announced that he is endorsing Van Drew for re-election, calling him “a tremendous asset for the party.”

Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy, the spouse of former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, defeated Brigid Harrison and others in southern New Jersey’s 2nd District Democratic primary. Kennedy won with the backing of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and had aired ads on broadcast TV.

Voting in NJ

Ahead of Election night, WABC spoke with state officials about how the early election was going in New Jersey.

“We’re taking it one day at a time,” Bergen County Board of Elections Chair Jamie Sheehan-Willis said. “Right now, things seem to be running smoothly. If there is an issue, we will address it at that time, and we’re confident we will get this done.”

It takes a coach like Sheehan-Willis and an army of poll workers, seniors, and college students all part of the counting process run with no partisan bickering.

“The board is made of three Democrats and three Republicans, and we work hand in hand,” Bergen Board of Elections Commissioner Richard Miller said. “We work with each other. We don’t work against each other.”

Find information on how to vote in New Jersey

“Because it’s a two-page ballot, we’re going to a million sheets of paper,” said Mike Dvorak, with Election Systems & Software. “So we’ve grown roughly tenfold.”

In addition to the president, voters were asked to elect a U.S. senator and their U.S. House representative. New Jersey also has three ballot questions: legalizing recreational marijuana, delaying the legislative redistricting if the Census is delayed, and giving a property tax break for veterans who served during peacetime.

The post 2020 New Jersey election results by county, electoral college votes go to Biden appeared first on NJCBA.

“Tonight is a remarkable, historic night for New Jersey. On the question of whether they support ending the long failed war on cannabis, of making social justice a priority and of ensuring we create thousands of new jobs, the voters have overwhelmingly said YES!

“Legalization is the result of years of hard work from a diverse group of individuals and communities. Senator Nick Scutari’s idea that used to generate snickers in the halls of Trenton when he first talked about it has finally become a reality. Congratulations to everyone whose hard work has resulted in this moment.

“Now that legalization has come to New Jersey, we must focus on enacting legislation which outlines how cannabis will be regulated, marketed and sold. My hope is that this next step will mean removing potential restrictions that could keep the industry from reaching its full potential. But we will take that argument up tomorrow. For now, we will enjoy this moment for all that it is worth.”

The post NJCBA President Scott Rudder on NJ Voters Approving Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization appeared first on NJCBA.

“This is such an incredibly short-sighted, poorly thought out decision. We know the war on cannabis has been a total failure. We know it has disproportionately impacted minority communities and needlessly ruined the lives of many for no good reason. We know that many of the myths about cannabis – some of which the chairs clearly buy into – have been disproven.

“Legalization is as much a Republican issue as it is a Democratic issue. It will reduce government spending while creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in revenue for the state. It will close the book on failed policies of the past that disproportionately harmed the same communities Republicans must reach out to if they ever expect to be relevant again in New Jersey. Republican and Democratic-led states across the country have realized all this and acted on it. In fact, the entire country of Canada has legalized cannabis. New Jersey, hopefully, will be next and when it is, the chairs will see then what they apparently fail to understand now: that they are planting their feet firmly on the wrong side of history.”

The post NJCBA President Scott Rudder on GOP chairs anti-legalization resolution: They are planting their feet firmly on the wrong side of history appeared first on NJCBA.

As New Jersey vape shop owners decried lawmakers’ efforts to ban the sale of flavored e-liquid, they often repeated the same claim: Our products aren’t causing the mysterious lung illness associated with vaping.

A new study from the Yale School of Public Health may vindicate them. Researchers found states with higher e-cigarette use and legal marijuana sales actually had fewer cases of vaping illness, EVALI, than their stricter counterparts.

“If e-cigarette or marijuana use per se drove this outbreak, areas with more engagement in those behaviors should show a higher EVALI prevalence,” Abigail Friedman, the study’s author, said in a statement. “This study finds the opposite result. Alongside geographic clusters of high EVALI prevalence states, these findings are more consistent with locally available e-liquids or additives driving the EVALI outbreak than a widely used, nationally-available product.”(By Amanda Hoover | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Decriminalization bill sponsor demands a vote. Will Sweeney budge?

Outraged by the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25 and energized by the wave of rallies in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, state Democratic Sens. Ronald Rice and Teresa Ruiz introduced legislation that would no longer treat the possession and distribution of up to a pound of marijuana as a crime.

Then…nothing. The bill, introduced June 4 has not been scheduled for a hearing — and that fall under the purview of Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari, D-Union.

On Tuesday, Rice issued a blistering statement that accused the lawmakers and his fellow Democratic colleagues of deliberate foot-dragging. (By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

GOP lawmaker says incremental progress better than no progress.

When it returns from its August recess, the House of Representatives will vote on removing the federal ban on cannabis has resurrected the argument over the best way to allow states to continue to legalize the drug.

One bill (the More Act) would remove the federal ban on marijuana and leave it to the states to decide whether to legalize the drug. It also will take steps to help communities disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs.

But only one Republican, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is a sponsor of that bill.

Meanwhile, the States Act, which simply prevents the federal government from enforcing its marijuana ban in states with legal cannabis, has 19 GOP co-sponsors in the House (including Gaetz) and five in the Republican-controlled Senate. Republican members argue that the more narrowly focused States Act has a better chance of becoming law.

Gaetz told NJ Cannabis Insider there wasn’t enough support among Republicans for a broader bill that included the social justice aspect.

“The reality is Democrats are demanding so much in reparations that we may lose the broad support in the Senate to make incremental progress,” Gaetz said. (By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Just in time for Labor Day: Legal cannabis brings jobs, jobs, and more jobs (Opinion)

Cannabis-related job creation is outpacing just about every industry.  For those states that legalized adult-use, for example, cannabis jobs saw a 62% increase from 2018 to 2019.

Here in the Garden State, the current total market value of the cannabis industry is $120 million, which supports 2,356 legal cannabis jobs. This reflects a relatively small, patients-only market.

However, with the expansion of the medicinal cannabis industry with 24 new licenses (currently delayed due to lawsuits) and the expected passage of adult-use in November, New Jersey will see a dramatic increase in jobs and revenue over the next several years.

This is a critical point to make considering the economic uncertainty New Jersey is facing as a result of COVID-related job loss and business closures.

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