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Governor Phil Murphy signed three laws on Monday that will legalize marijuana in New Jersey, finally ending the ban that led to hundreds of thousands of arrests.
But that does not mean that you can buy grass legally now. Bureaucratic work still needs to be done. It may take months, if not more, before dispensaries are opened to the public in New Jersey.
Here’s what you need to know about the three new laws and the upcoming launch of the Garden State marijuana industry.
Q: What does each law do?
ONE: The new legalization law (S21) establishes rules and regulations for a marijuana industry age 21 or older in New Jersey.
Complementary laws decriminalize (A1897) marijuana for adults and establish written warnings for children under 21 caught with the drug (S3454).
Q: So, when can I buy legal weed? When will the dispensaries where they will be sold open?
ONE: It may take at least a year for legal sales to begin. Some members of the marijuana industry say the beginning of 2022 is likely. Murphy estimated on Monday that it could take months – perhaps about six – to establish the sector. The law does not specify when dispensaries will be opened.
New Jersey medical marijuana dispensaries can start selling to the public once they make sure they have enough marijuana for the state’s nearly 100,000 patients. Several of the current companies plan to open new dispensaries this spring or expand their growing capacity, which would help ease the burden on the current 13 dispensaries.
A court decision last week could also speed up the process. An appeals court removed a one-year moratirium placed on the state Department of Health’s review of medical marijuana license applicants. The agency may issue up to 24 new licenses in the coming months.
But until the medical marijuana program grows significantly, legal sales in these dispensaries are suspended.
Q: Where can I smoke marijuana?
ONE: Smoking or using marijuana in public places is prohibited. But the legalization law will also allow consumer rooms (think: a bar, but for marijuana). These, along with the dispensaries, will take time to open.
Q: How many dispensaries will there be?
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission, not yet installed, will license future dispensaries. While there is no limit to the number of storefronts, the law limits the number of new licenses to grow marijuana to 37 during the first two years of legalization.
This will determine the amount of marijuana first available to customers and can dictate the required number of dispensaries.
Q: How much grass can I eat? Can I still be arrested?
ONE: The decriminalization law allows people to carry up to six ounces of marijuana without facing arrests or fines. This goes into effect even though there are no dispensaries open now to sell legal marijuana.
The police continued to arrest people for minor marijuana possession while awaiting approval of the laws. Making thousands of police officers across the state suddenly stop arrests may require more direct action by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, criminal justice experts said.
Decriminalization also provides a mechanism for pending charges to be dismissed.
Q: Can I grow marijuana at home?
ONE: No, current laws do nothing to allow the cultivation of marijuana. When asked on Monday about home farming, Murphy said, “Let’s continue with the bills I just signed, let’s leave it at that.”
Senator Gerry Cardinale, R-Bergen, who died on Saturday earlier this month introduced a bill to allow people to grow up to six feet of marijuana at home.
Q: Can I buy food?
ONE: Yes, the sale of certain edible products is permitted. But the law prohibits companies from transforming them into forms of characters, people, animals or as trademark products that children can mistake for ordinary sweets.
It also determines how products should be packaged and labeled to show their THC content.
Q: What happens if I am under 21 and caught with marijuana?
ONE: Murphy signed a third bill on Monday to end arrests and fines for under-21s caught with marijuana. It takes effect immediately.
Instead, young people will receive warnings that increase. In the first offense, it goes only to them. A second offense would involve a parent if the person is under 18 and a third would include a reference to community drug education and treatment programs.
This law also alters penalties for alcohol consumption by minors, and only gives police warnings to those caught with alcohol.
Q: Can I lose my job by smoking marijuana?
ONE: Employees will have extensive protection under the new law, but they are not absolute.
The law prohibits an employer from firing or refusing to hire a person who uses marijuana in his spare time. But it does allow employers who have “reasonable suspicions” that a worker got high during work to test them and, ultimately, dismiss or discipline if the test is positive.
No widely used and accepted physical drug test for marijuana can detect poisoning in real time. Instead, they highlight the presence of marijuana in the body, sometimes days or weeks after a person’s last ingestion.
The law also allows an employer to do random, regular or pre-employment screening, but must include a “scientifically reliable” test of blood, urine or saliva paired with a physical assessment to determine whether the employee is currently impaired, as well as an examination by an employee undergoing training to detect marijuana impairment.
Q: What will I have to pay in taxes?
ONE: Customers will pay a 7% sales tax and a city tax of up to 2% on marijuana sales.
The law includes a mobile tax to be paid by cannabis producers. It will increase from $ 10 an ounce to up to $ 60 an ounce as the price of marijuana drops over time.
These taxes are likely to be passed on to customers at cost per ounce.
Q: Can I come from New York or Pennsylvania to buy marijuana?
ONE: Yes, anyone over 21 at Garden State can buy marijuana at dispensaries. This is what many expect to happen, generating more tax revenue for New Jersey, but also driving business to local restaurants, stores and gas stations. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently stepped up efforts to legalize marijuana.
But visitors who shop in New Jersey cannot legally take them home, due to the federal ban that blocks interstate travel with marijuana. This will likely be difficult to enforce with the heavy traffic between New Jersey and its neighbors.
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Amanda Hoover can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @amandahoovernj.