NJ voters should take the leap on marijuana question

New Jersey residents should seize the opportunity to legalize marijuana for adults when the issue is voted on in November 2020.

Legalization of marijuana will benefit the residents of this state in many ways. There will be easier medical access, a safer alternative to alcohol, and greater personal freedom. In addition, legal marijuana will be a source of income for the state, as well as a way to avoid the costly failure of marijuana prohibition.

Medically, legalization of marijuana will allow any adult to purchase the drug over the counter, like aspirin. It will make it easier for people to take advantage of the wide range of therapeutic effects of marijuana. While no drug is perfectly safe, marijuana has a safety profile that is the envy of most drugs. Even aspirin can cause a fatal reaction, but not marijuana. The DEA Judge Francis Young said, “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”

Legalization of marijuana will allow residents here to have a relaxing way to unwind that is safer than alcohol. Excess alcohol use is associated with violence, reckless driving, and premature death. By contrast, an overdose of marijuana is considered by many to be simply a good night’s sleep. Why are we driving people to drink when a safer alternative is available?

Legalization of marijuana will strike a blow for religious freedom. Throughout history, various religions have used marijuana as a spiritual enhancement, or type of sacrament. The people who practice these religions should not be persecuted because they use a sacrament other than wine.

New Jersey arrests 94 residents every day for marijuana offenses. This has a devastating effect on our minority population. Currently, of the nearly 20,000 inmates in the state’s prisons, 78% are Black or Hispanic. In our inner-city drug war zones, these arrests create second class citizens who have little chance for meaningful education, employment, housing or even family life. The cost of enforcing drug laws is a black hole for tax dollars. This war on marijuana creates crime, violence, and poverty. Moreover, it is ineffective. Drugs today are stronger, cheaper and more available than ever. Teen access is nearly universal, with over 80% high school seniors in New Jersey finding marijuana “easy to get” or “fairly easy to get.”

Marijuana legalization has not increased its use by minors or caused havoc on the roads. The Colorado Division of Criminal Justice Department of Public Safety report, “Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado” found that in 2017:

· Colorado DUI’s are down 11%; and,

· Youth marijuana use showed no significant change from 2013.

Senior citizens are the fastest growing population of marijuana users, because marijuana can help with the typical problems of aging like no other drug.

The federal government estimates that 7.5% of New Jersey residents—over 600,000 people—currently use marijuana every month. If the use of marijuana was causing carnage on our roads, we would know this by now.

None of the 11 states that have legalized marijuana are even considering a return to marijuana criminalization. Indeed, New Jersey is one of several states—including Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware — that want to duplicate the results of legalization seen elsewhere.

There are legitimate concerns and challenges associated with marijuana legalization. But it is only in a system of legalized and regulated use and distribution that these concerns can be identified and addressed. The current policy of marijuana prohibition is a costly, ineffective and harmful approach that must be changed, sooner rather than later. Vote to legalize marijuana in New Jersey in November.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey (CMMNJ) was founded in 2003. It is a statewide, allvolunteer, 501(c)(3) public charity whose mission is to educate the public about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana. In 2014, CMMNJ endorsed legalization of marijuana. CMMNJ believes that legalization is the best way to get the right medicine to the most people. Legalization will also begin to undo the many harms of marijuana prohibition.