By Star-Ledger staff
EDITOR'S NOTE: Entrepreneurs everywhere are eyeing the billion-dollar legal weed industry, an economic opportunity unrivaled in modern N.J. history. NJ Cannabis Insider features exclusive and premium weekly content geared toward those interested in the marijuana industry. View a sample issue.
On 4/20, a day to celebrate and consume marijuana, we've asked a diverse group of faculty members at Rutgers University to take a look at some of the critical issues that remain as New Jersey continues to debate whether to legalize the recreational use of the drug.
Efforts to pass the legislation legalizing recreational marijuana came to a halt last month, when Democratic leaders determined they would be several votes short to pass it in the state Senate.
As supporters and opponents wrangle over changes in the bill, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin are now aiming to hold a vote in late May. Should that flounder, they said a vote may be moved to the end of the year, after November’s Assembly elections.
Here are five key issues about marijuana. The faculty's opinions about cannabis are there own, and not that of the university:
Douglas Husak: A philosopher's point of view -
One reason progress took so long is that marijuana reformers tended to ask the wrong question. They asked whether we should decriminalize marijuana use. Thus the burden has been placed on legalizers to describe the supposed advantages that would be achieved by a change in the status quo.
The right question is whether marijuana use should have been criminalized in the first place. This question places the burden squarely where it belongs. State intrusions in personal liberty, backed by punishment, must be justified.
Advocates of marijuana prohibition have never met this burden. The rationale for prohibiting and punishing recreational users of marijuana has always been mysterious.
Read more about why cannabis should never have been illegal.
Diane Calello: From a safety view point
Poison control centers and emergency rooms in Colorado, Washington and Oregon have seen a significant increase in incidents following the legalization of retail marijuana in those states.
Some involved adult users who underestimated the THC concentration or delayed effects of edible products. Some involved young children whose curiosity led them to eat tasty-looking cannabis cookies or candy. Most cases have been mild, though some resulted in hospitalization and intensive care.
The solution rests largely with strict requirements for selling the product, safe packaging, labeling and advertising, especially for edible products.
Here's Callelo's list of what must be done to make marijuana safe.
Lewis Nelson: From a health perspective
It’s true that medical marijuana presents fewer problems than some of the other medications we use for chronic pain, such as opioids. Were we able to fully replace opioids with cannabis, it is undoubtedly true that death rates would fall.
However, the more likely eventuality is that some patients will add cannabis along with the opioids they take for pain. The result would certainly be more — not fewer — consequences.
If there’s little proven benefit to a medication, then even a low level of recognized risk is too great. The bar to prove effectiveness over harm has not been exceeded for medical marijuana.
Find out more about why marijuana could pose a health risk.
Lyneir Richardson: From a business perspective
Legalized cannabis is a high growth industry, with U.S. legalized sales projected to reach $75 billion in the next decade. Here in New Jersey, it is expected to become a nearly $2 billion industry, likely to outsell wine in its first full year.
At the Rutgers Business School, I work to build the capacity of local entrepreneurs and teach reality-based business practices and urban economic development strategy to MBA students.
I often unabashedly guide entrepreneurs to “get high:” start or expand a business in a high-growth industry, and sell a product or service with a high profit margin. I have lately been shining the light on legal weed for these reasons.
Here's Richardson's full story, including who will get the licenses to sell pot.
Ashley Koning: From the public's perspective
Support in New Jersey for legalizing recreational pot is mostly widespread across a range of demographics. Millennials are twice as likely as senior citizens to support legalization, but seniors are the most likely of any age group to say they have recently changed their mind from opposition to support.
Perhaps even more importantly than the personal liberty aspects of legalization, most New Jerseyans agree on the social justice implications.
Read the rest of Koning's findings, including what Republicans think about pot.
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