TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey has legalized both medical and recreational marijuana, but logjams by the Democrat-controlled legislature and the administration of Phil Murphy have thus far slowed the process of implementation to a snail’s pace.
Now, Democrat Senate President Nick Scutari announced that he will form a special legislative committee to review the delays with legal marijuana sales in New Jersey.
Senator Scutari, in a statement today said he wants to get explanations on the repeated hold-ups in expanding medical dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana and in the opening of retail facilities for adult-use cannabis. He also wants to know what can be done to meet the demands and reduce the costs of medical marijuana.
“These delays are totally unacceptable,” said Senator Scutari, the architect of both the medical and recreational cannabis laws. “We need to get the legal marijuana market up and running in New Jersey. This has become a failure to follow through on the public mandate and to meet the expectations for new businesses and consumers.”
New Jersey voters approved adult-use recreational marijuana in 2020 and the implementing legislation was enacted more than a year ago.
Scaturi said the Cannabis Regulatory Commission missed its deadline for allowing the Alternative Treatment Centers to sell to the recreational market. The licensing of growers, distributors and retailers to serve the adult-use market has been plagued with repeated delays.