"New Jersey> New York" By Greg Hernandez

When I think of New Jersey, I think of obdurate, obnoxious and pretentious people. I visualize the dark color of their drinking water.  I smell, oh do I smell New Jersey. Driving down the Turnpike while a miasma of ass hangs around the car; the odor is interminable. Each passing exit sign almost seems to bolster the fetor. That's New Jersey for me.

This past Monday my perception of the state changed. State Sen. Nicholas Scutari held a news conference at the Statehouse in Trenton, where he introduced his plan for legal marijuana. New Jersey might become the third state in the country to legalize pot.

Scutari's record displays the successful implementation of a medicinal marijuana law for the state.
He now wants to move New Jersey forward and beyond the United States' "archaic drug laws."

Fine, I believe a majority of the country is in consensus with him. However right the logic may be, one must always take into account the chicanery. Colorado reportedly earned 2 million in its first month of legalization (January). This is about the money. He's not fooling anyone. Not getting beyond archaism, sure it has held us back, but not for the reasons Scutari has stated. Legalization of pot will increase revenue, tourism, political cache, population, real estate value and status.

I'll only focus on status for right now. Last month New Jersey hosted one of the most financially successful Super Bowls ever. Now competition wise, it left much to be desired, but for all else it was a home run for the organizers. Now, if Scutari were to get his way. New Jersey's status in the country, if not the world would increase 100 fold.

There are 13 states with pending legalization to legalize medical marijuana

1. Florida
2. Kansas
3. Kentuckty
4. Maryland
5. Minnesota
6. Missouri
7. New York
8. Ohio
9. Pennsylvania
10. South Carolina
11. Tennennesse
12. West Virginia
13. Wisconsin

New Jersey is ahead of New York and that is sad. It's illegal to smoke pot in the supposedly greatest city in the world. The two states are 20 minutes apart. New Jersey will likely become the new hot spot. I'm laughing now, are you?

I guess New Jersey may soon begin to smell like something other than ass. It may however have to wait until after Govenor, "I clog my arteries just like I clog bridges" Chris Christie is out of office. On his
"Ask the Governor" program on New Jersey radio station WKXW-FM 101.5, he was asked by a caller whether the governor would consider legalizing marijuana to bring more tax revenue into the state."Mike, I love you, baby, but it ain't happenin', not while I'm governor," Christie said.

Well, there you have it. Scutari and Christie are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Scutari wants to modernize the drug laws, while Christie believes the argument in the legalization of pot and boost of revenue is not an "even exchange."

*Fun note- I had one friend from New Jersey tell me this apparent fact, "The majority of the state smells like trees, because the majority of the state is trees. In fact, three of new jersey's cities rank in the countries top 10 least polluted."

Only thing was he could not name a single city...