The New Jersey General Assembly Monday voted 48-22 to require the administration of Gov. Chris Christie (R) to make major revisions to its proposed regulations around medical marijuana, but backers of the changes were unable to come up with enough votes to pass them in the Senate. Under the resolution, the administration would have to make changes to its rules or they would be invalidated.
patients share victory hug after passage of legislation, January 2010
Sen. Nick Scutari (D-Union City) told the Newark Star-Ledger [12] Christie was was "overstepping his bounds" by "refusing to implement a program" that is now the law in New Jersey. He said he pulled the Senate resolution from the agenda after learning that one Democratic senator was absent and another would vote against it.
"It's very frustrating," said Scutari about the decision by Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson) to vote against the resolution. Stack had voted for the medical marijuana bill, Scutari noted, before suggesting that Stack, who is the mayor of a cash-strapped town, did not want to cross the governor.
Scutari will bring the resolution back before the Senate for a vote on December 13, he said.