New Jersey Lawmakers Want To Put Marijuana On The Ballot Again, To Steer Revenue To People Hurt By Drug War

Voters in New Jersey overwhelmingly approved a marijuana legalization referendum last month, and top lawmakers are already proposing putting cannabis back on the ballot for another vote—but not to undo the reform. Rather, the Senate president and other legislators are pushing a new constitutional amendment to make sure that cannabis tax revenue is steered toward communities harmed by prohibition enforcement.

Meanwhile, in a separate move, lawmakers are stripping a controversial psychedelic mushroom provision out of a bill to decriminalize marijuana in order to ease the path for its passage.

On Tuesday, Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) and three other Democratic senators unveiled a measure that would funnel most revenue from the state’s adult-use cannabis industry to what the lawmakers refer to as “impact zones,” including Black and Brown communities impacted disproportionately by war on drugs. If approved by the legislature, the proposed constitutional amendment could go before state voters next November.