The package of bills that would legalize growth and sales of recreational marijuana, expand medical marijuana use and set up an expedited system for expungement of marijuana possession and use records is up for a vote Monday in both the state Senate and General Assembly.
Whether or not the bills pass remains uncertain.
In the Assembly, 41 votes are needed, and, in the Senate, 21 votes. As of Friday, the Assembly appeared close, but the Senate remains more uncertain.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) told Politico he would not put the bills up for a vote if he is uncertain of their passage by the time of the session Monday.
There has been significant controversy over the expungement bill in the past few days, with some legislators saying the bill doesn’t go far enough and doesn’t guarantee expungements will begin as quickly as the business of selling marijuana will.
A last-minute push made by Gov. Phil Murphy and Trenton community leaders last week appears to have had no effect on the vote count.
The Senate session begins at noon Monday and the Assembly session begins at 1 p.m.
