§ NJ — NEW JERSEY
New Jersey
Adult-Use Legal
Adult-use legal via constitutional amendment (2020, effective 2021). Enabling legislation signed Feb 22, 2021. Adult-use sales launched Apr 21, 2022. Medical since 2010.
§ KEY DATA
Arrests / Year
35,000
2020 data
Black-White Disparity
3.5×
vs. white residents
Expungement
Yes
Available
Population
9.3M
US Census est.
§ THE DETAILS
Legal Status
Adult-use legal via constitutional amendment (2020, effective 2021). Enabling legislation signed Feb 22, 2021. Adult-use sales launched Apr 21, 2022. Medical since 2010.
Adult-Use Legalized
2021
Arrest Data
35,000 marijuana-related arrests per year in New Jersey (2020 data). Approximately 1,000,000 total arrests since 1990.
Racial Disparity
Black residents in New Jersey were 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white residents, despite comparable usage rates.
Expungement & Record Clearing
362,000+ marijuana and hashish cases automatically expunged by NJ Courts. 58,198 total expungement orders processed as of March 2024.
§ SOURCES
Primary Sources
ACLU-NJ — Decarcerating New Jersey
https://www.aclu-nj.org/app/uploads/2023/06/decarcerating_new_jersey_web_spreads.pdf
ACLU — A Tale of Two Countries (2020)
https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/a-tale-of-two-countries-racially-targeted-arrests-in-the-era-of-marijuana-reform
NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission
https://www.nj.gov/cannabis/
NJ Courts — Expungement
https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/expunge-record
§ RESOURCES
