Patient and home grow advocacy groups say New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has not responded to their requests to discuss legislation that would allow home cannabis growing, according to a press release from the groups. New Jersey is one of only two states with a legal adult-use cannabis market that treats cultivating a single cannabis plant as a third-degree felony, a charge carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of three to five years in prison.
Medical cannabis advocates say New Jersey governor is silent on stalled home grow bills
Patient and home grow advocacy groups say New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has not responded to their requests to discuss legislation that would allow home cannabis growing, according to a press release from the groups. New Jersey is one of only two states with a legal adult-use cannabis market that treats cultivating a single cannabis plant as a third-degree felony, a charge carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of three to five years in prison.
Sativa Cross, the NJ Homegrowing Coalition and the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of New Jersey say they have been frustrated for months by the lack of progress, according to the release. The groups are calling on New Jersey residents, medical patients and civil rights allies to demand transparency, and for Sherrill to honor her campaign platform by publicly calling for a committee hearing on home grow legislation.
Two bipartisan bills are pending, according to the report. S2564 would allow adult-use and medical home cannabis growing, while S1758 would legalize medical cannabis home growing only. Both are stalled in Trenton over opposition from Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Union-22).
Scutari has repeated arguments about protecting the commercial cannabis market and stopping illicit trade, the report says, describing those arguments as an "imagined zero-sum game." The report says NJ Cannabis Trade Association President Todd Johnson told Heady NJ that the association would support medical cannabis home growing through S1758 becoming law. The NJCTA represents some of the largest cannabis multi-state operators along with some newer local independent companies.
The report says many local and craft cannabis companies support the NJ Homegrow coalition and names former NJ CannaBusiness Association President and Township Green Dispensary owner Scott Rudder as the most prominent. Under Sherrill, New Jersey has moved against smoke shops and convenience stores selling infused or intoxicating hemp, the report says.
The report also describes other matters involving the Sherrill administration. It says state police were sent to protesters at Delaney Hall, described as an ICE deportation prison in Newark, and that Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell has been accused of sexual harassment in an ongoing investigation that Sherrill assigned to former Republican New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino. The report says Senate Republican Minority Leader Anthony Bucco has called for Caldwell to resign, that Democratic state Senator Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex-27) is a sponsor of medical cannabis home growing legalization while Bucco is not, and that some of Caldwell's female supporters have started a movement to defend him.
Caldwell, who is also Secretary of State, oversees a department that includes the Division of Elections and the NJ Business Action Center, which administers the NJ Cannabis Training Academy, according to the report. It says the academy is on track to mark its second anniversary next month and that the Division of Elections faces controversy over certain individuals accidentally registered to vote, which the US Department of Justice under President Donald Trump is seeking to investigate. The report also says Sherrill selected a former president of a small college as her top deputy and acting governor when she leaves the state, which the report says may make it difficult for her to campaign out of state during the 2026 midterms.
- The source does not state when the advocacy groups made their requests to the governor's office or when the press release was issued.
- The source does not name the second state besides New Jersey that treats cultivating a single cannabis plant as a third-degree felony.
- The source does not state who sponsors S2564 or S1758, when they were introduced, or their current committee status.
- The source does not quote Senate President Nick Scutari directly and does not state whether he or Governor Mikie Sherrill's office was asked to comment for the report.
- The source does not state how many patients in New Jersey use medical cannabis or what prices they pay.
- The source does not state the status or outcome of the sexual harassment investigation into Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell beyond describing it as ongoing, nor any response from Caldwell to the allegations.
- The source does not name the former college president Sherrill selected as her top deputy and acting governor, or the college.
- The source text supplied appears truncated; some material may be missing.