New Jersey voters overwhelmingly pass Public Question 1 (67.08% Yes) to legalize adult-use cannabis

On November 3, 2020, New Jersey voters approved Public Question 1 by a two-to-one margin of 67.08% Yes (2,737,682 votes) to 32.92% No (1,343,610 votes), winning every single county in the state. After the state legislature referred the constitutional question to the ballot following two years of stalled negotiations, voters delivered the largest percentage victory for a statewide recreational cannabis measure to date.

What New Jersey’s law established

On February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed the enabling legislation—the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA)—alongside decriminalization bills:

• Possession and purchasing limits: Adults 21 and older may possess up to 6 ounces of cannabis under state decriminalization rules and purchase up to 1 ounce per transaction at licensed dispensaries.
• No home cultivation: New Jersey remains one of the few legal adult-use states (alongside Washington and Delaware) that prohibits home cannabis cultivation.
• Retail launch & regional domino effect: Licensed adult-use sales began in New Jersey on April 21, 2022. New Jersey’s landslide vote immediately pressured neighboring lawmakers in New York and Connecticut, both of which legalized adult-use cannabis through their state legislatures in the first half of 2021.