New Jersey Lawmakers Consider Criminalizing the Purchase of Unlicensed Cannabis

A proposal aimed at combating unlicensed cannabis sales in New Jersey would establish new cannabis-related crimes for participating — whether as the purchaser or the seller — in the illicit industry, the New Jersey Monitor reports.

The proposal, sponsored by Senate President Nick Scutari (D), who was one of the primary driving forces for the state’s original adult-use law, would classify the operation of an unlicensed cannabis retailer as a third-degree crime and establish a new disorderly persons offense for knowingly purchasing from such an establishment.

According to the text of S4154, “This bill establishes the crime of selling or purchasing marijuana from an unlicensed business. Further, the bill establishes the crime of leader of an illegal marijuana business network.”

“We have a problem where people are opening up brick-and-mortar stores, small stores, unlicensed to sell these products, and quite frankly, they’re just selling them and this state is doing nothing about it. We need to do something more about those brick-and-mortar stores, but we also need to continue to fight back against drug dealers because those are alive and well.” — Scutari, in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, via the New Jersey Monitor

The proposal, however, has been criticized by cannabis advocates for going backwards on the issue in a state where strict regulations and taxes have led to highly inflated cannabis prices.

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel here,” attorney Bill Caruso told the committee members last week, “and I don’t think we need to go backwards in recriminalizing particularly consumers.”

Some lawmakers also blamed Attorney General Matt Platkin for failing to properly enforce the state’s cannabis laws and allowing the unlicensed industry to flourish.