If New Jersey passes a law to permit adults to use marijuana recreationally, where should they be allowed to consume it?
Forcing people to light up at home may not be practical, said state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, the driving force pushing for legalization in the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Creating a “consumption zone” could be the way to go, Scutari, a municipal prosecutor, tells NJ Cannabis Insider.
“Some private homes are really not appropriate for consumption, such as apartment buildings or public housing,” Scutari said. “We’re looking to kind of flesh that out to allow people to consume without interfering with other people’s enjoyment of life. Perhaps something adjacent to the dispensaries.”
Scutari is expected to amend the legalization bill he introduced in the last legislative session, to address these and other issues.
* On expunging marijuana arrests: Scutari suggested this social justice issue may be best addressed in a separate piece of legislation. “I’m open minded to that but it depends to what degree. Simple possession we’re going to consider, but not distribution. We’re still looking to do that soon.”
* He remains resistant to including options for people to grow their own cannabis. “I think we’ve got lessons that we can learn from other states, even Colorado, which is the head as far as legalization, to replicate something they have instead of reinventing the wheel. (But) homegrown (cannabis) is going to be difficult to explore right off the bat.”
Gov. Phil Murphy has said he would sign a marijuana legalization bill, although support from the Legislature has been tepid so far.
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credit:nj.com
