Three mayors—Newark's Ras Baraka, Jersey City's Steve Fulop and Ravinder Bhalla of Hoboken—jointly released a letter Thursday urging legislators to strengthen social justice and equity measures in adult-use cannabis bills making their way through Trenton.
“While we all support the Legislature’s push toward legalization here in New Jersey and we think it’s long overdue [but] we still believe it falls very short from what it needs to be in order to have support of the city of Newark and other cities as well,” Baraka said at a press conference at Newark City Hall.
To get Newark’s approval, marijuana convictions for possession and distribution of any quantity should be expunged, and anyone presently incarcerated for marijuana-only convictions should be released from jail, he said.
Top Image: © erllre | Adobe Stock
