Momentum to legalize adult-use cannabis in New Jersey has existed before, but the matter will rest in voter ballots this election.

According to a new Monmouth University poll, recreational marijuana has majority support in the state.

State lawmakers have attempted multiple bids to legalize cannabis through the legislature over the past couple of years, but they failed to gather the necessary votes. Instead, they voted late last year to put legalization forward as a ballot question, which has emerged as the primary political vehicle to end prohibition at the state level.

A Monmouth poll released in April found that 61 per cent of respondents would approve the ballot question this November. Another 34 per cent plan to vote ‘No’ while five per cent said they have no opinion. Support is highest among Democrats (74 per cent) and Independents (64 per cent), but Republican voters (40 per cent) aren’t as keen on legal cannabis.

Less than 50 per cent of voters believe allowing the sale of marijuana to adults aged 21 and older through licensed retailers is a good idea. That comes as a surprise as the ballot question with majority approval would accomplish exactly that. But only 30 per cent consider it a bad idea while 22 per cent state they have no opinion.

“Support for the marijuana ballot measure is widespread, in part because many who have no opinion on whether legalization is a good idea figure they might as well vote for it,” Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth’s Polling Institute, said in a statement.

This conflict isn’t anything new in New Jersey. Residents may support legalizing marijuana, just so long as stores don’t appear in their backyards. A 2018 Quinnipiac poll found only 50 per cent of state residents would welcome marijuana stores into their communities, while 45 per cent opposed cannabis sales in their town. More than 50 towns/municipalities have already banned legal cannabis from entering their communities.

The FreshToast.com, a U.S. lifestyle site that contributes lifestyle content and, with their partnership with 600,000 physicians via Skipta, medical marijuana information to The GrowthOp.

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