I urge all New Jersey residents to contact their state senators to support New Jersey Senate Bill S-2535, which would decriminalize recreational marijuana use. This decriminalization bill would help fix an unjust system under which Black people are nearly four times more likely to be arrested than white people for marijuana possession, even though both groups’ recreational marijuana usage rates are comparable. S-2535 would provide for certain criminal and civil justice reforms, specifically address the legal consequences associated with certain marijuana and hashish offenses and raise awareness of available expungement relief.

I am, however, against legalization of recreational use of marijuana in New Jersey. Every New Jersey voter will have an opportunity to weigh in on the issue of legalization of recreational use of marijuana, as New Jersey Public Question 1, the Marijuana Legalization Amendment, is on the November 3, 2020 ballot in New Jersey as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. This proposed constitutional amendment would legalize the possession and use of marijuana for persons age 21 and older and legalize the cultivation, processing and sale of retail marijuana with virtually limitless potency of its most active ingredient, Tetrahydrocannibinol, also known as THC.

There is scientific evidence that has proven that recreational use of marijuana, with its THC component, poses serious risks, particularly for developing brains. Also, smoking recreational marijuana produces cancer-causing toxins and chronic lung disease, may lower one’s IQ, and cause brain cell damage, mental illness and motor vehicle accidents. I urge New Jersey voters to oppose Marijuana Legalization Amendment and vote “No” on New Jersey Public Question 1 on the November 2020 ballot.