Drug reform was one of the major winners at the November ballot in many states. Five states voted to legalize cannabis in some form or the other, with voters in Oregon going as far as decriminalizing all drugs. In New Jersey, voters were asked a single question: whether they approved the legalization of cannabis for adults aged 21 years and over, and they agreed en masse.
Unlike most cannabis reform initiatives, New Jersey Public Question 1 does not launch a legal cannabis industry. Instead, it tasked the state legislature with creating a regulatory framework for the cannabis industry and the State Cannabis Commission with enforcing the regulations. According to a joint statement from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, state lawmakers have finally reached a deal on a bill that would launch the state’s cannabis industry.
Making the announcement on Twitter, Gov. Murphy said that there was already a framework for legalization. He called legalizing cannabis in New Jersey a “critical step” towards reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The war on drugs, which was initially intended to combat the production, distribution and use of psychoactive drugs, has long been considered a failure. Thanks to its policies, the United States has the largest prison population globally, and communities of color have had to deal with aggressive policing for years.
State Senator Nicholas Scutari, the sponsor of the cannabis legalization bill, says that there are two bills that must still be voted on: a decriminalization bill that would have all pending possession charges dropped and allow adults to possess up to six ounces of cannabis and a second bill that would cap cultivator licenses at 37. License holders will be allowed to open as many retail outlets as they desire as long as they have town approval. The cap on cultivator licenses will end after two years. However, microlicenses, which can be awarded to businesses that have 10 or fewer employees, will be exempt from the limit.
Cannabis sales will be taxed at 6.625%, with 70% of the tax revenue directed to a social equity fund. The rest will be split between running the state’s cannabis program and training police officers for marijuana DUIs. A social equity tax will also be levied in the future, and the funds will be used to provide health care, legal aid and other assistance for minority communities that suffered the brunt of aggressive anti-marijuana policing.
Meanwhile in Canada, Pure Extracts Technologies Corp. (CSE: PULL) has excelled as a plant compound extraction company. The company offers its extraction services not only to regulated cannabis producers in Canada but also internationally.
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