New Jersey is expected to become one of the United States' biggest new cannabis markets if voters support legalisation, the Governor arguing that expanding the industry is an effective way of helping the state rebound from the economic devastation of COVID-19.
In November, voters will be presented with the question, "do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called 'cannabis'", on the back of their ballots.
If approved, New Jersey is expected to rapidly become one of the country's largest new cannabis markets, the New York Times reports. The use of marijuana for approved medical conditions has already been legalised in the state, alongside 32 others.
Democratic Governor Philip Murray is himself a legalisation advocate, arguing it would help the state - crippled by its ongoing battle with COVID-19 - financially recover from the economic impacts of the virus. The most recent data has recorded more than 16,000 deaths due to COVID-19 statewide and more than 210,000 confirmed cases.
It was announced in September that New Jersey will borrow US4.5 billion to plug a budget hole created by the impact of COVID-19.
Likewise Tim Wolf, the Governor for Pennsylvania - a state suffering a US$5 billion hole in its budget compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic - asked the legislature to bring him a bill for recreational legalisation. As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Wolf is looking for revenues similar to those in Illinois, a state already generating more than $10 million in taxes per month since it legalised recreational cannabis in January.
A research arm of New Jersey's State Legislature estimated that tax on sales of recreational cannabis could generate roughly US$126 million a year once the market is established.
In 2019, the combined legal and "traditional" market for marijuana was estimated to be worth US$89 billion nationwide, according to local media.
The world's largest cannabis company, Curaleaf, has recently been licensed to open a second medicinal marijuana dispensary in New Jersey. Its construction is taking into account the capacity required to cater for the "quantum leap in consumption" should the ballot initiative pass, Curaleaf president Joe Bayern told the outlet.
The industry's expansion could also create additional job opportunities, an alluring prospect as the state grapples with unparalleled levels of unemployment following drastic lockdown measures in response to the pandemic.
Led by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey - a non-partisan civil rights organisation - proponents of the amendment have assembled a large coalition of supporters and are campaigning for legalisation as a way to "advance racial justice", the New York Times reports, regarding the disproportionate rates of arrest for marijuana possession in minority neighborhoods.
The argument is highly topical, given the national discourse remains centred on issues of racial injustice and systemic inequality.
The Black Lives Matter movement has gained significant traction this year following the alleged murder of unarmed black father George Floyd by a white police officer in May, the death of black woman Breonna Taylor during a police raid in March, and the shooting of black man Jacob Blake - now paralysed - in August, among other high-profile cases.
Black people are 3.64 times more likely than white people to be charged with marijuana possession across the US, and in New Jersey, black residents are also over three times more likely to be charged with possession of the drug than white residents.
Governor Murphy has long expressed support for the argument, tweeting in 2018 that legalisation is imperative to reducing the racial disparity in cannabis-related arrests.
The campaign manager for NJ Can 2020, a 'vote yes' coalition, agreed that the national discussion around policing in the US has ignited a major change in the state's legalisation debate.
Arizona, Montana and South Dakota will also be asking voters if they support the legalisation of recreational cannabis come November.
The local angle
New Zealand voters also have the chance to have their say on whether cannabis should be legalised. The cannabis referendum poses the question, "Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?"
Research shows New Zealand could earn up to $240 million in additional tax revenue per year, generated from legal cannabis sales alone. According to the Drug Foundation, removing criminal penalties for low-level drug offences - such as for the possession, use and social supply of all drugs - would result in a net societal benefit of $34 million to $83 million, mostly from savings to the criminal justice system.
A different report, published by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research in May, found a legalised cannabis market could raise the country $490 million in taxes each year - but only if it's good enough to wipe out the black market.
The additional revenue generated by cannabis legislation would come at a crucial time for New Zealand, as the country battles the economic impacts of the COVID-19 response.
The New Zealand Treasury's May budget forecast core Crown debt would hit $200 billion by 2024, and in a September statement, centre-right party ACT estimated the Government had borrowed $140 billion in response to the health crisis.
Infometrics' chief forecaster, Gareth Kiernan, says total Government debt rose from $85 billion to $114 billion in the first half of 2020.
