April 24, 2020
More than six in ten registered voters say that they intend to vote for a statewide ballot measure this November to legalize the adult-use cannabis market, according to polling data compiled by Monmouth University.
Sixty-one percent of respondents said that they will vote for the measure, which amends the state Constitution to permit the possession, production, and retail sale of cannabis to those age 21 or older. Lawmakers in 2019 overwhelmingly voted to place the measure on the 2020 November ballot after similar legislation failed to gain majority support in the Senate.
The proposed ballot question reads: “Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called ‘cannabis’? Only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannabis. The State commission created to oversee the State’s medical cannabis program would also oversee the new, personal use cannabis market. Cannabis products would be subject to the State sales tax. If authorized by the Legislature, a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products.”
New Jersey is one of a limited number of states that will have marijuana-related questions on the November ballot. If approved, New Jersey will join eleven other states and Washington, DC in legalizing the adult marijuana use. All but two states have done so via voter initiative.
According to the poll, support for the ballot initiative was strongest among Democratic voters (74 percent) and Independents (64 percent). Only 40 percent of Republican voters said that they will back the initiative. Overall, 62 percent of respondents said that legalization will help the state’s economy, and 64 percent said that the personal possession of small quantities of marijuana should no longer be a crime.
