Two assemblymen in New Jersey,
one Democrat and one Republican, have introduced a bill in the
state legislature that would put the question of whether to
legalize possession of marijuana under an ounce. The Daily
Chronic
explains:
In order to get on the ballot, the bill needs to be
passed by the State Assembly and Senate and signed by Governor
Chris Christie.If Assembly Bill 2842 passes the legislature, voters in New Jersey
would be asked to approve legalizing marijuana possession in
November.If this bill is passed, New Jersey would be the first state to pass
a marijuana legalization measure of any kind through a state
legislature.It should be noted that this bill does not address taxation,
regulation or cultivation of marijuana and current criminal
penalties still apply to possession of over one ounce.
Hopefully, the omission of a tax and regulatory regime for
legalized marijuana is a feature, not a bug. The criminal penalties
remaining for possession of more than one ounce, however, will
ensure the sale of marijuana remains illegal, keeping those
entrepreneurs who bravely try to meet the demand for marijuana in
New Jersey in the black market. That’s an unfortunate state of
affairs; the right to sell marijuana free of government molestation
is as important as the right to use marijuana free of government
molestation.
It’s the same situation as that faced by dealers under
“decriminalization,” which New Jersey currently has for marijuana
in quantities up to 1.7 ounces (50 grams). Decriminalization, in
place in many states, retains some penalties and fines associated
with possession. In New Jersey it’s a disorderly persons offense
that can cost someone caught with marijuana six months in jail
and/or $1,000 in fines. Decriminalized marijuana is not a workable
legal status for the product because of the tension between the
decriminalized possession of and criminalized distribution of
marijuana. The fines and even jail time in place under
“decriminalization,” too, are a tacit admission by the State that
the possession of marijuana for personal use is not a public safety
concern, but merely a potential revenue stream for government.
Decriminalization, then, and even the baby step New Jersey is
starting to take toward legalization, is by necessity a
transitional arrangement. For possession of even “small” amounts of
marijuana to be permitted requires the possession of larger amounts
for the purpose of sale to be legal. Once government has
acknowledged the right to possess and use marijuana, it must
legalize the sale of it as well. Otherwise it is effectively
restricting a right it has already conceded exists, something it
can’t do indefinitely no matter how much cognitive dissonance
politicians practice.
Related: Last summer I listed
five states I thought could legalize marijuana next. New Jersey
didn’t make it.
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