New Jersey Voters to Decide on Cannabis Legalization in 2020 Election

After a cannabis legalization bill stalled in the New Jersey Legislature earlier this year, lawmakers have decided to kick the issue over to voters.

Legislators introduced a resolution Nov. 18 that would place an adult-use legalization question on the November 2020 ballot, according to a Politico report.

The resolution came just hours after Scutari held a press conference with Assemblyman Jamel Holley and cannabis advocates to demand action on the stalled adult-use bill in the legislature, Politico reported.

“We made further attempts to generate additional support in the Senate to get this done legislatively, but we recognize that the votes just aren’t there,” Senate President Steve Sweeney and Sen. Nicholas Scutari said in a joint statement. “We respect the positions taken by legislators on what is an issue of conscience.”

If voters approve the legalization measure in the 2020 election, it would take effect Jan. 1, 2021, according to an app.com report.

Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy, who campaigned on cannabis legalization, met with the governors of New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania last month in an effort to coordinate the states’ cannabis policies.