N.J. legal weed deal between Murphy and lawmakers suddenly collapses in stunning development

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, who sponsored a “cleanup” bill (S3320) to address Murphy’s call to add penalties for underage use of marijuana, said Friday afternoon that measure will not go up for a vote in the full Senate on Monday after other senators objected to it.

The governor has declined to sign bills passed last month to legalize and decriminalize weed without changes that enact penalties for those under 21 caught with marijuana. He called the issue “technical but important.”

The legalization and decriminalization bill had discrepancies; one sought to do away with penalties for all ages possessing up to six ounces of marijuana, and the other made underage possession a disorderly persons offense.

The cleanup bill sought to create uniform, mild penalties. That walked back a previous attempt by lawmakers to end punishments for marijuana possession. [Read more at NJ.com]