A portion of this story was reposted with permission from NJ.com. Read the full story here.
By Amanda Hoover | NJ Advance Media For NJ.com; Photo credit: 2019 MLive.com file photo
As people across the state and country continue to protest police brutality and mass incarceration that has disproportionately affected the Black community, New Jersey lawmakers have moved a second bill seeking to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The measure, a merger of A1897 and A4269, advanced from the Assembly Community Development and Affairs Committee Monday morning. It seeks to reform criminal and civil justice issues by lessening the legal consequences for marijuana possession and broadening awareness of expungement relief.
The bill proposes to regrade offenses for possessing or distributing less than five pounds of marijuana or one pound of hashish. Currently, having between one ounce and five pounds of marijuana results in punishments of three to five years in prison and fines of up to $25,000. Distributing less than one ounce can land someone in jail for up to 18 months and levy a $10,000 fine on them.
Enforcing cannabis possession laws costs the state around $127 million each year, according to the Assembly Majority Office. A recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union found New Jersey police arrest Black people for weed offenses at 3.5 times the rate they arrest white people, despite similar rates of use among both groups.
Even as 61% of New Jersey voters say they would vote yes on a ballot question seeking to spur a legal weed industry in the Garden State, police continue to arrest nearly 100 people a day for marijuana offenses.
The civil unrest around the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have shed a spotlight on police brutality nationally, reigniting debates about the broad powers granted to police and the ways departments enforce laws in communities of color. Those who argue for cannabis reform say decriminalizing marijuana can lead to less interactions between police and Black people, and allow them to avoid drug stops that could turn fatal.
Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly, D-Passaic, the bill’s prime sponsor, said current weed penalties have ravaged Black communities, leaving many unable to take out loans, apply for housing or find good paying jobs because of convictions on their records.
“This gives them a good chance to be productive citizens, and it’s also a move in the right direction to give people a clean slate,” he said during the hearing.
Members of the state Senate introduced a broader decriminalization bill earlier this month that would stop arrests for possession of up to a pound of weed, but would not legalize its use. Instead of jail time, though, those found with marijuana would receive first a written warning, and then a $25 fine for subsequent offenses.