Policy Panel: Recreational Marijuana Legalization in New Jersey: Examining Public Opinion, Policy Change, and Crime Impacts

Session Submission Type: Policy Panel

Abstract/Description

This panel includes three studies of the new policy landscape in New Jersey following the legalization of recreational cannabis use for adults in New Jersey passed via ballot referendum in November 2020, signed into law in February 2021, and made available for sale in April 2022. Legalization in New Jersey included several social and racial equity measures that attempt to address the consequences of past enforcement of marijuana crimes through allocations of tax revenue, increased access to legal market participation for those with prior records, and reforms to policing and criminal records. This panel features work from a team of researchers studying post-legalization changes in resident opinions and legal system functioning in New Jersey. After providing context on the state’s process of legalization, each paper uses either newly collected primary data or unique secondary data to examine a distinct policy aspect of legalization in New Jersey – support and concerns from residents, progressiveness of included equity measures relative to other states, and impacts on crime and arrests. Collectively, these papers present preliminary empirical findings across varied dimensions of policy considerations with respect to marijuana legalization and criminal legal system reforms that can inform other jurisdictions considering similar drug law reforms.

Sub Unit

• Area XX. Policy Panels

Individual Presentations

• Perceived Public Safety Impacts and Support for Marijuana Legalization in the Garden State - Nate Link, Rutgers University, Camden; Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University; Kathleen Powell, Drexel University; Steven L. Chanenson, Villanova University

• A Multistate Appraisal of Racial and Social Equity Policies Enacted in Conjunction with Marijuana Reform - Kathleen Powell, Drexel University; Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University; Loni Philip Tabb, Drexel University; Nate Link, Rutgers University, Camden; Sarah E. Lageson, Rutgers University, Newark; Christopher Uggen, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Cannabis Legalization and Decriminalization In New Jersey: Cross-Jurisdictional Impacts on Crime and Communities - Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University; Nate Link, Rutgers University, Camden; Kathleen Powell, Drexel University

Chair

• Kathleen Powell, Drexel University