Ron Rice Archives - New Jersey Globe

Gopal, Democrats introduce bill to notify parents of first underage marijuana offense

March 4, 2021 8:49 pmMarch 4, 2021 9:26 pm

Lawmakers in both chambers will introduce a bill allowing police officers to notify the parents of underage marijuana users on the first offense instead of the second. “While New Jersey has made recreational Marijuana legal in the state of New...

Murphy signs legalization, decriminalization, cleanup bills

February 22, 2021 1:12 pmFebruary 22, 2021 1:24 pm

Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law legalization and decriminalization bills that have sat on his desk since Dec. 17 after both chambers of the legislature approved a cleanup bill that altered penalties for underage use, which he also signed Monday....

Marijuana cleanup heads to Murphy’s desk

February 22, 2021 11:40 amFebruary 22, 2021 1:15 pm

Lawmakers sent a marijuana cleanup bill to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk Monday, ending a standoff over legalization that wore on for roughly three-and-a-half months after voters overwhelmingly backed the policy at the polls in November. “This is momentous day,” said...

Senate Panel advances cleanup bill, setting up full votes on Monday

February 19, 2021 3:46 pm

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the latest marijuana cleanup bill Tuesday in a six to two vote with one abstention. State Sen. Ron Rice (D-Newark), a legalization who chairs the Legislative Black Caucus, voted no over a provision removing qualified...

Coughlin delays Assembly quorum, giving more time for marijuana negotiations

February 5, 2021 5:06 pmFebruary 5, 2021 6:10 pm

This story was updated with comment from Coughlin at 6:08 p.m. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge) will delay the chamber’s Monday quorum until Feb. 18 to provide more time for negotiations on marijuana legalization, a source in each chamber told...

Lawmakers running short on time to introduce marijuana measures

February 3, 2021 3:14 pmFebruary 3, 2021 4:50 pm

Negotiations on marijuana legalization are threatening to brush against another procedural deadline as lawmakers in the upper chamber continue talks on a cleanup bill creating penalties for underage users. No breakthrough has come since the Assembly advanced a new cleanup...

New marijuana cleanup bill clears Assembly panel

January 29, 2021 3:52 pmJanuary 29, 2021 6:08 pm

This story was updated with comment from State Sen. Ron Rice (D-Newark) at 4:47 p.m. An Assembly panel advanced a new bill to clean up legalization and decriminalization measures that have sat on Gov. Phil Murphy’s since December in the...