New Jersey’s top law enforcement official has asked county and municipal prosecutors to put a pause on all criminal marijuana cases as lawmakers look toward legalization.
Gurbir Grewal, the New Jersey state attorney general, wrote in a letter Tuesday that prosecutors should seek adjournments until Sept. 4 or later regarding “any matter involving a marijuana-related offense pending in municipal court.”
“By the end of August, I intend to issue a statewide directive concerning the scope and appropriate use of prosecutorial discretion in marijuana-related offenses in municipal court,” wrote Mr. Grewal, a Democrat. “This adjournment will give my office sufficient time to develop appropriate guidance for prosecutors.”
The attorney general’s announcement came on the heels of meeting with officials from Jersey City, where lawmakers last week attempted to decriminalize marijuana in spite of state and federal law.
Mr. Grewal described Jersey City’s effort to unilaterally legalize marijuana as an “improper exercise of a municipal prosecutor’s authority,” but he acknowledged that it warrants the state to weigh “possible solutions.”
A working group composed of “criminal justice stakeholders,” including Jersey City officials, will be convened to study how to proceed with future marijuana prosecutions, the attorney general wrote prosecutors.
Steven Fulop, the Jersey City mayor who led the unsuccessful legalization effort, tweeted that he was thankful for the attorney general’s “thoughtful leadership.”
Marijuana is illegal under federal law, but most states permit the plant for either medicinal or recreational purposes, New Jersey included. The Garden State is among the 30 that have passed medical marijuana laws, and around 26,000 patients are currently authorized to use cannabis to treat conditions ranging from chronic pain and anxiety to migraines and Tourette syndrome.
Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, campaigned on fully legalizing marijuana prior to being elected in 2017, and a bill that would add New Jersey to the list of nine states and counting that allow recreational, or “adult use” marijuana, is expected to be considered in the coming months. Non-medical marijuana remains illegal in the interim, however, and individuals caught with even small amounts can be subject to fines and jail time, among other penalties.
New Jersey currently has the second-highest rate of marijuana arrests in the country, NJ.com reported Tuesday, citing FBI data from 2016. Nearly 36,000 people were arrested within the state on marijuana charges that year, including over 32,000 charged with possessing small amounts of the plant, that report said.
The American Civil Liberties of New Jersey praised the attorney general’s announcement Tuesday as “a step toward reform of unjust marijuana prosecutions.”
“A single marijuana conviction can have devastating consequences, including fines, incarceration, job loss, and effects on housing and immigration status, affecting not just the individual, but also their families and communities,” the ACLU’s New Jersey state chapter said in a statement.
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