The majority of NJ voters across the political spectrum said they’d support legal cannabis, but probably wouldn’t use it.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy suggested earlier this month that legalizing recreational marijuana would be “an incredibly smart thing to do.” According to a new poll, New Jersey residents across the political spectrum agree, with almost 7 out of every 10 registered voters saying they support a November ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis.

Despite it being a crazy year, Americans can't lose sight of the fact that Election Day is a little over three months away. At stake are 435 seats in the House of Representatives, roughly a third of all seats in the Senate, and, of course, the Oval Office.

But it's an equally important election at the state level. No matter what happens federally, it's unlikely that marijuana's scheduling will be changed anytime soon. This means state-level cannabis legalizations will continue to play a major role in growing the U.S. pot industry.

Breonna Taylor was a 36-year-old Black emergency medical worker who was killed in March while police in Louisville, Kentucky carried out a no-knock warrant as part of a narcotics investigation.

“Breonna Taylor died as a result of the war on drugs,” said Josh Alb as he shouted to demonstrators on the steps of Newark City Hall on Friday. “The police went into her house for a no-knock warrant for drugs that were never there. This is one of the biggest pieces missing from the conversation surrounding her.”

Phil Murphy emphasized the social justice benefits, as well as the financial ones, to legalizing adult-use marijuana in New Jersey.

Add New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to the growing list of state lawmakers positioning marijuana legalization as a quick fix to struggling economies. Murphy also emphasized the social justice benefit legalizing would induce, calling the act “an incredibly smart thing to do.”

New Jersey medical cannabis companies are developing delivery plans in order to better serve their customers who can’t easily get to dispensaries themselves as the state gears up for the next phase in medical legalization. 

In light of the impending November 2020 ballot question, in which New Jersey residents will be asked to vote on the legalization of adult-use cannabis, it is imperative now more than ever that legalization is enacted through the meticulous lens of social equity.

Meticulous in the sense that social equity programs must be more than an afterthought, more than an addendum to a bill and more than simple promises to act.

Social equity provisions must be statutorily enacted to ensure a stable foundation that will hold strong as New Jersey’s nascent cannabis industry continues to evolve.

The unethical choices the tobacco industry made decades ago marketing its addictive and harmful products to kids and the lax government oversight that allowed it to happen are playing out again in California’s legal weed industry, according to

The New Jersey sales tax on medical marijuana will be cut to 4% on July 1, down from 6.625%, the first step in a three-year plan to phase out state taxes on medicinal cannabis purchases.

On July 1, 2021, the state sales tax will be reduced even more — to 2%. In 2022, it will be completely erased.

That doesn’t mean medical weed will be completely tax-free: Municipalities are still permitted to levy a 2% “transfer tax” on purchases within their borders, though no town has instituted such a tax yet.

The sales tax phaseout was a key part of last year’s Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, which also legalized medical marijuana edibles, raised the monthly allowance to 3 ounces per patient and required them to re-certify just once a year.

Medical cannabis dispensaries can begin delivering products to their patients at home, a long-awaited move that intends to ease patient access and allow them to stay away from dispensaries to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The state Department of Health announced Thursday it has issued a waiver that allows for home delivery.

“The Department continues to prioritize patient access during this unprecedented pandemic,” Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said in a statement. “This new waiver will allow [alternative treatment centers], once they have submitted a plan to the Department for approval, to deliver across the state.”

New Jersey lawmakers advanced a bill this week that would decriminalize marijuana possession of up to two ounces, a major step toward stopping weed arrests in the state.

The state Assembly voted by a 63-10 margin, with five abstentions, to pass the bill, which would replace arrests for possession of two ounces of marijuana with a $50 fine. It also lessens jail time and fines for larger amounts along a sliding scale.