I am a New Jersey resident, and I urge you to pass cannabis reform as a comprehensive package. In recent weeks I have been frustrated by the state’s inability to act on an issue that very clearly has so much public support. According to recent polls, over 60% of New Jerseyans support legal cannabis. We run the risk of delaying full legalization yet again by only passing a single bill to expand the state’s medical program. Patient access to medical cannabis is absolutely a critical issue, but access does not exist in a vacuum. It’s intertwined with a successful cannabis market. We need to take a holistic approach to cannabis in New Jersey. Please don’t break apart these bills.

I’m reaching out today to ask that you do your part to ensure that New Jersey finally establishes safe, legal access to adult-use cannabis. Ten states have now legalized marijuana, but New Jersey has the opportunity to be the first to set up a legal retail cannabis market through legislative action. You have the opportunity to make history and pass legislation that has been shaped to reflect the lessons learned from those that came to legalization through ballot initiatives before us. States with adult-use cannabis policies have begun to reap the benefits of new jobs, millions in tax revenue and are rectifying decades of harmful enforcement policies. It’s time for New Jersey to lead the next wave of legalization, with the thoughtful and well-crafted legislation that ALREADY sits before you. Please vote in support of Assembly Bill 4497.

For years, marijuana policies and unfair enforcement have harmed communities of color across the country, perhaps nowhere worse than in New Jersey. You have the chance now, through cannabis legalization and expungement of past criminal offenses, to begin to right the wrongs of the failed “War on Drugs.” These are the most important reasons to reform our cannabis policy, but the benefits of legalization can’t begin to be realized until legislation is passed and the reforms are put into practice. Every day that the state delays action, more people are negatively affected by the status quo. Please support the package of cannabis measures before you, including medical expansion, adult-use, and expungement. Those impacted can't afford to wait.

New Jersey’s current medical cannabis program doesn't do nearly enough to meet patient needs or address the significant number of people that cannot or choose not to register as medical patients. Patients do not have time to wait for better treatment. They need New Jersey’s leaders to step up and take action on thoughtful regulation of cannabis right now! I urge you to support expansion of the state’s medical cannabis program and establishing an adult-use market. Thank you.

A recent Monmouth University poll showed that 2 of 3 New Jersey residents support legalization of recreational marijuana (coincidentally, a larger share of the vote than any candidate - Gubernatorial, US Senate or Presidential - has received statewide in New Jersey in any recent election). I am a member of this pro-cannabis reform majority. Respect the will of your constituents and finally take meaningful action to reform cannabis policy in our state. I urge you to support passage of the medical expansion, adult-use legalization, and expungement for certain marijuana related offenses. Time is critical. Please don’t delay and vote in support of total, not half-measured, reform NOW.

As a New Jersey resident, I am reaching out today to encourage you to keep the cannabis legislation bills together in the upcoming vote. Like the majority of adults in this state, I look forward to commonsense cannabis reform and an end to outdated prohibition policies. New Jersey has waited long enough for cannabis legalization, it’s time we do this and do it the right way. By separating these bills, we jeopardize our only chance to make progress towards justice for communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by failed cannabis criminalization. It is so important that these bills stay together.Legalizing cannabis is important to me, but legalizing without taking active steps to repair the damage wrought on our communities by the war on drugs would be a hollow victory. Please keep the bills together, and vote to legalize cannabis all the way. With New Jersey having some of the highest taxes in the country, legalization and taxation of cannabis gives us an additional revenue stream and offsets what we pay in income and property taxes. If we have any hope of making New Jersey a more affordable place to live and raise a family, we need new revenue streams. Please help bring in much needed tax relief, vote yes on AB 4497.

I'm reaching out today as a New Jersey voter urging you to keep the cannabis legislation bills together in the upcoming vote. We have fought too hard, for too long, to allow a staggered approach to comprehensive marijuana reform. Expanding the industry, without also expanding economic opportunities to communities most damaged by the war on drugs, would just be more of the same in an already long history of past injustices. We need our legislators to do more on this front. The state has a genuine opportunity to pass common sense cannabis policy that would be beneficial to everyone in New Jersey. As a proud resident and supporter of social change, I ask that you pass cannabis legalization all the way, and all at once.

I’m a registered voter in New Jersey. In the upcoming vote, I strongly urge you to keep the cannabis reform bills together to be approved at the same time. Piecemeal legalization will hinder the growth of legitimate business, and stunt the development of a well-regulated legal cannabis market and the critical tax revenue that would come with it. With political momentum and public support for cannabis at an all-time high, we can’t risk stalling the vote any further and missing out on an opportunity to bring real change to New Jersey through the legislature. By only expanding the medical program, we will be closing the door to an equal opportunity at economic prosperity in this exciting new industry for our communities of color. Please do the right thing and bring legal cannabis to our state the correct way, by helping to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs.

It’s time for petty politics to take a back seat to the needs of New Jersey patients. Ensuring access to safe, regulated cannabis is critical! Travelling to a cannabis dispensary can be burdensome and even painful for patients with a chronic or severe illness. Ensuring safe and convenient access is particularly important in jurisdictions with populations of patients with conditions for which cannabis has a demonstrated and effective medical application, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, diabetes and PTSD. For the sake of patients across the state, please support the cannabis legalization measures currently before the legislature. Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration. PLEASE VOTE FOR AB 4497: full marijuana reform.

I am writing to urge you to vote in favor of THE FULL LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE including adult use cannabis legalization. The legislation that is in front of you addresses the realities of our New Jersey and will make great strides in helping some of the most vulnerable people in our state. I am particularly interested in how legalization will help veterans. Until the federal government reclassifies cannabis, many veterans need to avoid registering as cannabis patients. The adult use market will allow those with PTSD and other conditions to better protect their federal benefits while seeking out the treatment that is most appropriate for their condition. It also opens up the opportunity for people who have more episodic conditions to use cannabis as shorter term medication, which is not allowed under any medical program currently. PLEASE SUPPORT AB 4497! Thank you.

I am a long-time New Jersey voter, and I was disappointed to see the vote on legal cannabis stall yet again last March when it seemed we might finally achieve progress on this issue. I strongly encourage you to vote for a complete package that includes the social justice and economic opportunity measures. We need to use the momentum that we have now to help build a better future for New Jersey. If policymakers decide to pass legalization measures little by little, nobody knows how long it will take to implement the provisions in the current package that help patients, small business owners, and underserved communities of color. Please do what is best for our state, and vote to pass these bills together.

I am a New Jersey resident and voter. I support the use of adult-use cannabis in New Jersey, but I want to see it done right. Please pass cannabis legalization measures as a complete package, rather than through piecemeal reform bills. The majority of New Jersey residents have voiced their support for legal cannabis, and we’ve waited long enough to get it. Please don’t let party politics continue to delay progress on an issue that has such universal appeal. Cannabis should be legalized completely in one fell swoop, not in a drawn out process taking months, even years. In the upcoming vote, please keep the reform bills together.