Today Governor Phil Murphy posted on his Facebook page about historic legal marijuana laws he passed. While OCSN has not reviewed the full text of all legislation passed today, we can see what he shared with the public as posted below. While addressing all seven checkpoints he hit on is a bold beginning, let us not remain complacent with the progress in legalization of marijuana in New Jersey. We need to make sure everything is done as best we can, and it doesn’t become a patchwork of broken restrictions like our medical marijuana program currently is.

MURPHY: New Jersey’s broken and indefensible marijuana laws are no more.Today, I signed historic legislation to:

✅Legalize adult-use cannabis

✅Decriminalize marijuana possession in small amounts

✅Limit the use of previous marijuana convictions

✅Create a regulated cannabis marketplace

I’m grateful to all our legislative partners who put so much into this process.I thank all the allies across the spectrum of social justice, and the many leaders of our communities of faith, who joined us in this work.

We now have laws that will:

✅Usher in a new industry based on equity

✅Reinvest dollars into communities

✅Promote both public health and public safety

It’s a new dawn in New Jersey, and I am proud that we did this together.I thank every New Jerseyan who supported the constitutional amendment this past fall.Your overwhelming support spurred us to keep working, to keep talking, to keep our eyes on the goal line. Thank you.As our new cannabis marketplace begins to take shape, businesses will be formed, and jobs will be created.Starting immediately, those who had been subject to an arrest for petty marijuana possession will be able to get relief and move forward.