On November 3, 2020, the State of New Jersey voted yes to legalize New Jersey. So far, close to 160,000 voters voted yes to legalize marijuana here in Bergen County. A little over 80,000 in Bergen County voted no to legalizing marijuana. The county with the most votes to legalize it was Hudson. Coming in second was Essex, and third was Bergen. Surprisingly, Ocean County had the fourth most votes to legalize marijuana, considering it is typically considered a conservative county.
We as a State have voted yes to legalizing marijuana. Which begs the question, so what next? Is marijuana now legal? The simple answer to that is, no. Marijuana is still illegal here in New Jersey. Until January 1st, and once the legislature rights up the new amendment to the Constitution, you or a loved one can still be arrested for possessing marijuana.
The next question people are asking, what will happen to my marijuana case that I was arrested on before the November 3rd vote? As of right now it’s still a guessing game. However, if the legislature chooses to (and we are all hoping for it to happen) they will put in the amendment that this law is retroactive. Meaning if you were arrested in the past for weed, then your case will be dismissed. As far as being convicted of the marijuana, again we are all hoping that the legislature puts in an expedited expungement, This would wipe clean the conviction from your record.
If you or a loved one has been arrested for marijuana, then please don’t hesitate to contact our firm.
At the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, we have ten (10) criminal defense attorneys, and our credentials include the following:
- Seven (7) were former prosecutors
- Three (3) of which were former assistant county prosecutors
- One was the head of the Major Crimes Division,
- Another was the head of the Trial Team, and
- The last one was the director of the Gun, Gang and Drug Task Force
- Three (3) were former municipal court prosecutors
- One Certified Criminal Trial Attorney
- Certification comes from the Supreme Court of New Jersey
- Less than 1 percent of attorneys in this state hold that distinction
- Selected to the National Trial Attorneys Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorney and Top 40 Under 40
- Multiple attorneys with superb Avvo ratings
- Selected to Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers Rising Stars list here in New Jersey for this year and 2021
- Only 2.5 percent of attorneys in this state are selected to this list