CMMNJ Monthly Zoom Meeting Agenda for December 8, 2020 at 7 pm
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87864549142?pwd=VTJGNzY0WUs4cDlaY3pJcE80dmEyQT09
Meeting ID: 878 6454 9142; Passcode: 025471
Agenda:
Legalize Marijuana in New Jersey: Final Election Results, Question 1:
YES - 2,737,674 (67%)
NO - 1,343,603 (32%)
(As of 11/25/20 with 6,348 of 6,348 Precincts Reporting - 100%)
Marijuana legalization won in all 21 counties in New Jersey, with approval rates from 75% in Camden County to 60% in Ocean County. The Constitutional Amendment takes effect on 1/1/21. Per the ballot question’s Interpretive Statement: The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (will) oversee the new adult cannabis market…The scope of the commission’s new authority (will) be detailed in laws enacted by the Legislature.
Legislation to enact this amendment has stalled. Legislative issues:
1. Enabling legislation (S21/A21)
⦁ Tax Revenues:
⦁ Senate wants 70% of tax revenue to go to community programs while 30% funds DREs and the CRC; all the new grower fees will support community programs.
⦁ Assembly wants only the new grower fees to go to community programs.
⦁ Licenses:
⦁ Senate (and Gov. Murphy) want to eliminate the cap on the number of grower licenses.
⦁ Assembly wants to cap the grow licenses at 37 for the first two years.
⦁ Workplace issues (Drug Tests):
⦁ Senate: employer may order blood tests/DRE eval. on suspicion of impairment at work
⦁ Assembly: employer needs a “rational basis/reasonable suspicion” for blood test/DRE eval.
2. Decriminalization (S2535/A1897)
⦁ Senate passed S2535 on 11/16 (29-4) with no penalties for up to 6 ounces.
⦁ Assembly did not vote on A1897 on 11/16 as penalties for psilocybin were downgraded.
⦁ Assembly passed a version of A1897 in June that had a $50 fine for two ounces.
⦁ NJ AG said prosecutors must stop low-level cases statewide, but,
⦁ Possession arrests (105/day) continue in NJ.
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) submitted recommendations for the implementation of New Jersey’s adult-use cannabis program to the Assembly Appropriations Committee Hearing, on 11/12/20 RE: A21, Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, & Marketplace Modernization Act. See: http://cmmnj.blogspot.com/2020/11/cmmnjs-adult-use-cannabis.html
National News: On Election Day, November 3rd, 2020, the following states legalized marijuana for adults: Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota, along with New Jersey. South Dakota also legalized medical marijuana, as did Mississippi. Oregon decriminalized all drugs.
The US House of Representatives is scheduled to take the first-ever vote on marijuana legalization in the first week of December 2020! The MORE Act (Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019) will remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, decriminalizing it at the federal level. It will allow marijuana businesses access to banking services. And it will enact social justice measures to help the communities most impacted by the drug war, like expungement of past convictions and equity measures for the legal marijuana industry. If you're a US voter, please write your member of Congress using the Stop the Drug War online action alert. When you're done, please call them too -- use the Congressional Switchboard main number, (202) 224-3121, then ask to be transferred.
NJ Medical Marijuana Program: The Apothecarium in Phillipsburg, NJ became the 13th Alternative Treatment Center in the state when it opened in November.
A three-judge appellate court vacated the 2018 decision to award six licenses for new medical marijuana companies and remanded it to the health department to come up with a new rating system.
The Appellate court continues to halt the progress of 196 applications for 24 additional NJ medical marijuana licenses. Court hearing soon?
Home delivery is still not happening.
Patients Out of Time has created a coalition of organizations and individuals to demand the end of federal cannabis prohibition with their resolution to De-Schedule Cannabis. Please share.
Home cultivation for patients--sign the petition: Let Patients Grow NJ
Upcoming Events:
Delaware cannabis legalization panel, Wed., December 16 from 7pm-9pm. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3024202020
ArcView Town Hall: all things New Jersey Cannabis Landscape, 16 Dec 2020 @ 4:00pm.
Recent Events: The Steven Kadonsky Story
Thanksgiving Giveaway: donated food, clothing and personal hygiene items to the homeless and poor of Trenton sponsored by Sativa Cross, CMMNJ, & UFCW at Trenton State House, 11/26/20.
For marijuana advocate Ken Wolski, legalization of drug was long overdue
NJ Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 11/9/20; Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee Hearing, 11/09/20; Assembly Appropriations Committee, 11/12/20.
Treasury report: Checking: $5289; PayPal: $3324. Make a tax-deductible donation via PayPal to info@cmmnj.org, or send a check to: CMMNJ, 219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618.
Hemp wristbands also available.
More info: Ken Wolski, RN, MPA (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com
Facebook: Friends of CMMNJ: https://www.facebook.com/groups/62462971150/
Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey: http://www.cmmnj.org
Twitter: @CMM_NJ
CMMNJ blog: https://cmmnj.blogspot.com/
CMMNJ’s free, public meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 7 – 9 PM.
CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.
PUBLIC QUESTION #1: CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA
Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called “cannabis”?
Only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannabis. The State commission created to oversee the State’s medical cannabis program would also oversee the new, personal use cannabis market.
Cannabis products would be subject to the State sales tax. If authorized by the Legislature, a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products.
INTERPRETIVE STATEMENT
This amendment would legalize a controlled form of marijuana called “cannabis.” Only persons at least 21 years of age could use cannabis products legally.
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission would oversee the new adult cannabis market. This commission was created in 2019 to oversee the State’s medical cannabis program. The scope of the commission’s new authority would be detailed in laws enacted by the Legislature.
All retail sales of cannabis products in the new adult cannabis market would be subject to the State’s sales tax. If authorized by the Legislature, a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products.
More info at: SCR183/ACR840
