New Jersey politicians have been talking about legalizing cannabis (pot) for a long time now and maybe the sunshine of the legislature will shine upon actually passing something soon.

Per NJ Spotlight, there are “two bills made public in the Senate are S-2702 and S-2703, but the one being dissected and amended in the Legislature has not yet been formally introduced. If Sweeney’s commitment prevails, New Jersey could be the second state in the country to legalize cannabis through the state Legislature rather than a public ballot measure.

“I need the governor’s help with some votes, so far he hasn’t come up with any, Sweeney said, “and the only way something like this gets passed legislatively is with all three branches pushing together. The speaker (Craig Coughlin) and I worked very hard to come up with a bill. There are still some things the governor doesn’t agree on.” He added, “…if they’re not going to lobby any votes for us then it won’t get done.

According to Sweeney, legalization in New Jersey will look less like one bill and more like a package proposal. He said, “There’s a medical bill. There’s an adult-use bill. And there’s a separate social justice piece that Sen. (Sandra) Cunningham is doing. We want to do all of them together.””

If Governor Murphy wants the monies that will be generated by taxing the sale of cannabis, he better get his act in order and come up with the needed votes or legalization will not take place this legislative term.

Why Sweeney is so keen on making a package proposal might be the fact that no one really knows what will happen with the federal government. Will whoever becomes the new Attorney General be in favor of legalization or against? Only time will tell.

In the mean time as our greedy politicians continue to look to every new venue to eke out even more tax money from the people of New Jersey, we the people who elected them will have to continue to wait for them to fulfill the promises made during the election process.

Let us all hope and maybe if you are so inclined even pray for them to get this legislation passed. There are many who want this to happen and it is well past time for it to pass. I looked up when I wrote on this subject for the first time on this subject, Marijuana seems to be a dirty word, and that was back in May of 2015. Which seems like a lifetime ago to me, but in reality it is just a small span of time in the fight to make cannabis legal.

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike