Legal weed won’t happen right now in N.J. Lawmakers call off big vote.

Top state lawmakers have canceled a planned vote Monday on a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older in New Jersey, saying they simply haven’t gathered enough support in the state Senate.

But they vowed to take up the measure — one of Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature proposals — at a future date.

“Anybody who thinks this is dead, they’re wrong,” state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said at a news conferenceshortly after the vote was called off at the Statehouse in Trenton.

“This is an issue that’s not going away,” Sweeney said. “The legalization of adult-use marijuana will get passed in the state of New Jersey, one way or another.”

It’s expected lawmakers will schedule another vote this year, perhaps as soon as May.

Asked when a vote would ultimately be held, Sweeney said: “As soon as I have 21 votes for sure.”

NJ Advance Media was the first to report Sweeney called off the vote. He made the decision after it became clear the Senate — the upper house of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature — would remain a handful of votes shy of the minimum 21 needed for passage. [Read More @ NJ.com]