Deadline For Murphy To Act On Marijuana Bill Delayed By Day
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Gov. Phil Murphy's deadline to act on legislation setting up New Jersey's recreational marijuana market has been extended a second time. Murphy had to act by Thursday, but lawmakers pushed the date to Friday amid concerns over a winter storm. Earlier this month, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin moved the deadline to Thursday from Feb. 8.
The first-term Democratic governor and the Democrat-led Legislature have been talking about changes to the legislation behind closed doors.
The governor has declined to publicly detail what the issues are or why he hasn't signed the bill he earlier indicated he supported.
Murphy said, though, that he wants to be sure that young people, particularly people of color, don't get "tangled up in our criminal justice system."
He also noted that the constitutional amendment approving recreational marijuana, which voters overwhelmingly approved in November, authorizes cannabis use only for those 21 and older.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.