With a bill to legalize marijuana in New Jersey possibly coming within days, opponents are making a last-ditch push to derail one of the top priorities of Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders.
Opponents' strategy is to push decriminalization as an alternative to creating a full legal market for anyone over 21 to buy marijuana, while leaning on lawmakers — particularly Democrats representing urban parts of New Jersey — with calls and emails from constituents.
Murphy, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin all favor full legalization over decriminalization, which would remove criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana without creating stores for adults to buy the drug and a system of taxing and regulating sales.
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