Politics
New Jersey Marijuana Businesses Could Engage In Interstate Commerce Under Senate President’s New Bill
New Jersey’s Senate president has filed a bill that would allow marijuana companies to engage in interstate commerce.
Under the proposal from Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D), the governor would be empowered to “enter into an agreement with another state or states authorizing medicinal or personal-use commercial cannabis activity, or both, between entities licensed under the laws of the contracting state and entities operating with a State license” in New Jersey.
However, the reform would only take effect under certain conditions, such as if federal law changed to explicitly allow interstate marijuana commerce, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memo saying it would tolerate the activity or if Congress passed legislation blocking officials from enforcing the prohibition on cannabis sales between states.
Alternatively, the policy could move forward if the state attorney general issued an opinion determining that the law’s implementation “will not result in significant legal risk to this State based on review of federal judicial decisions and administrative action.”
Cannabis products brought into the state from another market under the bill’s framework would need to be subject rules equivalent to New Jersey’s regulations, including with respect to testing, packaging, labeling, marketing, tracking and quality assurance.
Scutari has introduced interstate cannabis commerce legislation in previous sessions, but none of those proposals were enacted into law.
Several other states already have interstate marijuana commerce laws in place.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), for example, signed a bill in 2022 that empowers him to enter into interstate cannabis commerce agreements with other legal states, but that power is incumbent upon federal guidance or an assessment from the state attorney general that sanctioned such activity.
Following a review of the policy proposal, however, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s (D) office ultimately determined in 2023 that the state could put itself and its employees at “significant legal risk” of federal enforcement action if it were to authorize interstate marijuana commerce.
Oregon and Washington State have also passed laws allowing officials to enter into cross-border cannabis trade agreements with other states, although those state laws both require some form of federal reform or guidance to proceed.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Congress have filed legislation intended to help small marijuana growers compete against large corporations in the event of federal legalization—proposing to give them the ability to ship and sell cannabis products directly to consumers within and across state lines via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and commercial carriers.
Back in New Jersey, lawmakers this week sent Gov. Phil Murphy (D) a bill to create a psilocybin therapy pilot program and allocate $6 million in funding to support the effort.
In other New Jersey drug policy news, voters in November elected U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) to serve as the state’s next governor, and there’s now a decidedly clearer path to advancing a marijuana reform long awaited by consumers and advocates in the Garden State: A home grow option.
Meanwhile, as New Jersey’s first marijuana consumption lounges opened up over the summer, regulators shared information about where to find the sites and offering tips about how to responsibly use cannabis at the licensed businesses—including classic stoner cultural customs like “puff, puff, pass.”
New Jersey officials have also completed the curriculum of a no-cost marijuana training academy that’s meant to support entrepreneurs interested in entering the cannabis industry.
