Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jan 2014
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Jan Hefler

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION BILL PLANNED BY SENATOR

Nicholas P. Scutari Said Colorado Has Been Successful Allowing
Recreation Use. Christie Has Said: No Way.

The proposal would invite a veto from Gov. Christie over legalizing
the drug's recreational use. Citing the success of Colorado's
marijuana legalization program, a New Jersey lawmaker said he planned
to introduce a bill within the month to legalize recreational
marijuana for residents 21 and older.

Sen. Nicholas P. Scutari (D., Linden), a primary sponsor of the
state's four-year-old medical marijuana program and a prosecutor in
Linden, said he believed this was the first time such a bill would be
debated in the New Jersey Legislature.

Colorado became the first state to allow the sale of marijuana for
recreational use this month, and Washington state plans to set up
legalized marijuana this year. Legalization is expected to inject $208
million into Colorado's economy this year, mostly through taxes that
total about 28 percent, according to ArcView Market Research, which
studies marijuana markets.

"The benefits of the [legalization] program will be far and wide,"
Scutari, the Judiciary Committee chairman, predicted during a
conference call with reporters Friday. He is calling for a marijuana
industry that would be taxed, which he said would generate money for
the state that can be used for education, infrastructure, and other
needs.

Scutari said he was in the early stages of drafting a bill and had no
details yet.

He said legalization would also end a war on drugs that has ruined the
lives of numerous young people. They are arrested and then have a
record for possessing a small amount of marijuana despite evidence the
substance is less harmful than alcohol, he said. These laws also have
disproportionately affected minorities and support the underground
market and drug lords, he said.

"We have spent millions of dollars on enforcement" of marijuana laws,
but the drug should be regulated the way alcohol is, he said.

This week, President Obama said in an interview with the New Yorker
that he did not view marijuana as more dangerous than alcohol and
likened it to a vice such as cigarettes. His remarks reignited a
debate over the drug that is getting traction across the nation.

Scutari said he realized Gov. Christie was likely to veto the bill.
But he said it was time to start gathering support that societal views
are changing. He said he would have to persuade colleagues in the
Legislature and educate them.

"It's the opening of a dialogue on a controversial issue," he said,
adding that he had long favored this approach. He said many police
officers and prosecutors privately support legalization.

In an e-mail response, Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie,
said: "The governor has stated several times publicly that he does not
favor legalization of marijuana. That remains the case. ... He did
sign the bill expanding the state's medical marijuana law to ease
access for sick children."

In August, Christie signed a bill allowing edible marijuana to be sold
to sick children who qualify for the drug. The parents of children
with a life-threatening seizure disorder had lobbied for the bill,
saying the medical marijuana law permitted only the smokable variety.

But when a reciprocity bill was introduced in December to allow such
children to obtain a particular strain of marijuana they need from an
out-of-state dispensary that offers it, Christie warned he would veto
it.

"I am done expanding the medical marijuana program, under any
circumstances," he said. "I'm not going to continue to expand it
because what they [medical marijuana advocates] want is legalization,
and they're not going to get legalization from this governor."

Scutari said he believed the medical marijuana program is broken
because dying patients are having difficulty obtaining the drug they
need. But he said he would focus his attention on legalization because
that would help more people, including sick patients who need the drug.

Scutari said he would point to the example of Colorado, which he said
had created an industry that is boosting state revenue, increasing
jobs, and experiencing few problems.  
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