TRENTON — The state Legislature has yet to produce a pair of bills to legalize recreational marijuana and expand the state’s medical cannabis program, but Senate President Steve Sweeney says he has the votes lined up to pass both measures by the end of September.
“There’s some people that will never support it and there are some people who are just hedging their bets because there’s not a bill to look at,” Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said during a wide-ranging sit-down interview with POLITICO.
Still, the Senate president said he‘s certain he and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) will secure the necessary votes in their respective chambers to pass both measures.
“I’m confident we‘ll get to 21 and 41,” Sweeney said, referring to the minimum number of votes needed for passage in the Senate and Assembly, respectively. “I‘m not going to get to 28, but I’m confident I’ll get to 21 votes and the speaker will find 41.
Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
