Former AG: Local prosecutors need to step up and shut down New Jersey’s Illegal cannabis market | Opinion

By Chris Porrino and Peter Slocum

When I was attorney general of New Jersey, the discussion surrounding the legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use was just heating up. We knew back then, based on polling of eligible voters, that cannabis would be legalized for recreational use. As I said publicly in 2018, it was not a question of whether it would be legalized, only when and how.

At the time, I was personally agnostic on the issue. Legalization was not up to the attorney general — it was the province of elected officials and the voters. We did not have a strong view against legalization, in part because we understood that the cannabis industry would be carefully regulated. Only safe, tested and approved products would be sold, and only adults would have access.

Yet here we are, some four years later with recreational sales having started a few months ago, and that is not the reality. The illegal market for cannabis is moving out of the shadows and into storefronts. This so-called “grey market” — where the product may be technically legal but the operator is unauthorized to sell — presents risks to consumers and kids in particular cheats on taxpayers and damages the legal cannabis market. [Read More @ NJ.com]