If New Jersey legalizes pot, can Pa. be far behind?

New Jersey might be on the verge of going to pot.

And that can mean only one thing: Can Pennsylvania be far behind?

This week New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders in Trenton said they were close to a deal that would legalize recreational use of marijuana for adults.

A vote to legalize possession and use of “weed” in the Garden State could come as early as this week. It’s unclear at this point if there are enough votes to pass the measure. If it appears to be in danger, it could be pushed off until after the November elections.

If it passes, New Jersey would become the 11th state along with the District of Columbia where recreational cannabis is legal.

And it could soon be 12.

On this side of the Delaware River, there is no shortage of people closely monitoring what is going on in Jersey and suggesting Pennsylvania do the same.

Call it a case of déjà vu all over again. For years Pennsylvania legislators, business leaders and others looked on with envy as New Jersey led the way on legalized gambling, with Atlantic City knocking over the first domino in a wave of legal gaming that has now been embraced by the Keystone State.

Pennsylvania now surpasses New Jersey in casino revenue.

Make no mistake. This isn’t about some feel-good vibe from the ‘60s.

This is all about green, and we’re not talking about the marijuana plants themselves.

The New Jersey plan slaps some serious taxes on cannabis. Get a whiff of this: the pleasure of toking legally would be accompanied by a sales tax of $42 per ounce.

Far out? Well, it certainly is for the state’s coffers. Municipalities also would have their hand in the till, to the tune of a 3 percent tax on retailers, another 2 percent on cultivators and 1 percent on wholesalers .

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf has dispatched new Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the hulking mayor of Braddock, on a statewide recreational marijuana listening tour. The series of public meetings have been packed with those both for and against legalizing pot getting the chance to have their say.

So far he’s made 19 stops in 18 counties, with another 50 on the schedule before the end of June. Wolf reports receiving more than 21,000 responses to an online feedback form.

Details on taxes have not yet been defined in the Pa. push, but take note that much of the revenue would be dedicated to education funding, an issue close to the governor’s heart.

Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17 of Haverford and Lower Merion, isn’t waiting for the results of the listening tour.

Long a proponent of taking use of recreational pot out of the legal system, Leach is once again going to bat with legislation for legal toking. This time he’s joining forces with state Sen. Sharif Street, D-3thDist., of Philadelphia. Leach, who was instrumental in the push to legalize medical marijuana several years ago, is again framing the argument as a matter of social justice. In addition to lifting the threat of arrest and a criminal record for small amounts of pot, Leach’s measure also would create an avenue for those already dealing with that smirch on their records.

The bill would provide for automatic expungement of prior criminal convictions for cannabis-related offenses, including possession and delivery of less than an ounce, as well as commutations of sentences resulting from such prior convictions.

There are serious barriers, both in the Legislature as well as law enforcement, to removing the criminal tag on what many consider a gateway drug. Others downplay such claims as an irrational outtake from the “Reefer Madness” days.

If New Jersey clears the path for legal pot, you can “bet” Pennsylvania won’t be far behind.

And it will have a lot more to do with money – the grease that moves all legislation – than social justice.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Or roll it if you prefer.

This is all about green, and we’re not talking about the marijuana plants themselves.