Business Listings - New Jersey Cannabis

New Jersey’s Allowed Marijuana Usage and Limitations

All in all, New Jersey looks at marijuana much more favorably than cocaine, heroin, and other hard drugs. While recreational use is still not permitted, certain people can qualify for a medical marijuana card. Generally speaking, this is easily achievable if you’re suffering from one or more forms of serious ailments, such as HIV/AIDS, seizures, cancer, chronic pain, and similar.

Medical marijuana card holders, however, are still not allowed to consume marijuana to their heart’s content, as the monthly consumption/possession is limited to mere 2 ounces. Possessing a similar amount of weed and using it for recreational purposes, however, can get you 18 months in prison.

Possessing 50g of marijuana will get you 6 months of prison time and you’ll even get slapped with a $1,000 fine and 100 hours of community service on top of it. Any more than that, and you’re looking at 18 months behind bars and $25,000 in fines.

As you can imagine, under no circumstances are you allowed to sell marijuana in New Jersey. The severity of the punishment depends on how much you had on you when caught. Over 25lbs is considered as a 1^st degree crime, punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison along with a whopping $300,000 fine.

Furthermore, any kind of marijuana cultivation is illegal in New Jersey. Growing even a single plant could potentially result in having to serve 3 years in prison or more. The fact of the matter is, the state is even more unforgiving to marijuana cultivators than marijuana sellers. And no, not even medical marijuana users are allowed to grown their own weed. The only option to acquire it is to visit one of the state’s pre-approved marijuana dispensaries, but this seems to be rather expensive.

The only alternative solution for those who want to grow their own plant is to pray and hope the authorities never catch on to the fact. Non-license-holders can also obtain it the good old fashioned way (from a dealer), but of course, this bears its own set of risks.

If an officer suspects you of drunk driving or operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs (including marijuana), you may be administered a test which shows the presence of any illegal substances in your bodily fluids. If they detect marijuana in your system, you’re going to spend up to 30 days in jail, pay anywhere between $300 to $500, and forfeit your drivers license for up to 7 months (all of this applies to first-time offenders, the penalties get higher with each subsequent offense).

However, the good news is that in New Jersey, chemical testing requires that person’s willing consent, and you can easily decline it without suffering any kind of consequences.

Despite the state’s rather restrictive stance on marijuana, New Jersey appears to have a bright future in terms of recreational marijuana usage. If the bill passes, every individual over the age of 21 will be allowed to posses up to 1 ounce of marijuana. Still, trying to smoke it in public would have legal consequences regardless, and if an employer orders you to get tested for THC levels in your body, you could still get fired based on the results.