A group of municipal prosecutors have endorsed legalization of marijuana in the state of New Jersey, a move that could signal growing support in the law enforcement community for reform of New Jersey's drug laws, according to USA Today.
Last week, Senator Nick Scutari introduced legislation that would legalize and regulate possession and personal use of small amounts of marijuana for people age 21 and older, USA Today reported.
Scutari, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee and is also a municipal prosecutor in Linden, called the prosecutors group's position "reasonable and measured," according to USA Today. He said his bill had ample support from the public and fellow legislators, in part because of the possibility of a billion-dollar industry bringing jobs and revenue to New Jersey.
"If you look at this as a purely economic issue, it's a no-brainer," Scutari said, USA Today reported. "I'm not advocating that people take up a new habit. It's a realization of the reality that his happening."
Under Scutari's proposed legislation, adults would be able to purchase up to an ounce of pot from legal retailers, and to grow up to six marijuana plants at home for personal use, according to USA Today.
Licensed facilities, overseen by an expanded state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, would be able to grow and distribute marijuana on a commercial scale, USA Today reported.
Marijuana sales would be taxed at 7 percent, with 20 percent going to drug education funds, 10 percent going to women's and family health programs, and 70 percent of the revenue reserved in a trust fund for state transportation projects, according to USA Today reported.
New Jersey law currently allows tightly regulated marijuana use for limited medical purposes, USA Today reported.
Scutari said law enforcement dedicates "a humongous amount of time and energy" to enforcing marijuana laws, according to USA Today.
"The fact is that people are smoking marijuana and we can't stop it. All we are doing is bogging down our criminal justice system," Scutari said, USA Today reported.
