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WHEREAS, Public Question 1, the :Marijuana Legalization Amendment", was on the ballot in New Jersey as a legislatively referred constitutional amended on November 3, 2020; and

WHEREAS, the text of the ballot question provided as follows:

Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called "cannabis"?

Only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannabis. The State commission created to oversee the State's medical cannabis program would also oversee the new, personal use cannabis market.

Cannabis products would be subject to the State sales tax. If authorized by the Legislature, a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products.

WHEREAS, Public Question 1 was approved (67.8% Yes votes and 32.92% No votes); and

WHEREAS, on February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law legislation legalizing and regulating cannabis use and possession for adults 21 years and older (A-21, The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act) and decriminalizing marijuana and hashish possession (A-1897). The Governor also signed S-3454, addressing marijuana and cannabis use and possession penalties for individuals younger than 21 years old and imposing criminal penalties on law enforcement officers; and

WHEREAS, the majority of New Jersey residents last fall voted in favor to legalize marijuana for use by adults at least 21 years of age. There is no question, nor debate, on the outcome of the ballot question. However, New Jersey residents were not aware at the time of their vote that this would eventually lead to the New Jersey Legislature voting to make law enforcement officers "guilty of a crime" if they notify parents of children under the age of 18 that their child was caught with marijuana or alcohol, on the first offense; and

WHEREAS, Senate Bill No. 3454 was voted on, passed and signed into law with less than one hour left before the legalization of marijuana was scheduled to become law; and

WHEREAS, as a result of this law, our law enforcement officers will be guilty of a crime if they notify parents that an underage child is using or in possession of marijuana or alcohol on their first offense. Only if the child is found again using or in possession can a law enforcement officer notify the parents; and

WHEREAS, the legislation is treacherous to law enforcement officers because it creates a penalty of 3rd Degree Deprivation of Civil Rights if an officer uses the odor or possession of marijuana or alcoholic beverages as the reason for initiating an investigatory stop of a person. The new law states that a law enforcement officer cannot use the odor or marijuana or alcohol as reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate an investigatory stop. The new law states a minor cannot consent to be searched and that a law enforcement officer no longer has probable cause to search a minor for illegally using