Poll: 66% of Americans want recreational marijuana legalized on a federal level
NEW YORK -- New Jersey is putting the final touches on its long-awaited rollout for legal recreational marijuana use with sales at select dispensaries beginning Thursday.
So where are we now, as it relates to the laws and opinions on the drug?
World Weed Day, 4/20, sparked extra activity in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village.
"It feels positive. Like, I feel feels like the community is a lot more accepting of marijuana use," artist Roxy Wood told CBS2's Dave Carlin.
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In New York state, marijuana possession and consumption is legal for adults 21 and older, and the state issues the first sales licenses in the fall.
New Jersey roared ahead of New York with the Garden State up and running with seven incensed dispensaries and recreational sales that start Thursday.
In Hoboken, New Jersey, merchant Joseph Ruggiero calls it progress long overdue.
"Hopefully now we're just a little bit more at ease that we don't have to be thrown to the ground and thrown in jail and prosecuted for plant that we've known for generations isn't harmful," he said.
He showed CBS2 inside his mobile businesses, 9th Cloud Smoke Shop.
"I would really like to be issued a license. The only thing that stops me is what stops everybody -- there's just a lot of red tape," he said.
In almost every state, the old laws about marijuana are being rewritten.
Acceptance of marijuana grows, according to a CBS News poll, which found 66% of Americans say recreational marijuana should be legal in their state That same percentage wants legalization on a federal level.
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While there is fresh hope and new opportunity, there is also some trepidation and concern about the process and how it plays out.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he wants a thoughtful rollout and equity. He wants the city to spend $4.8 million to help people from communities most affected by marijuana-related offenses and boost minority communities so they can learn about the industry and set up new small businesses to deal with the demand.
