New Jersey residents say freedom to Turn Vape Consumption and other cannabis products

After more than a year of cannabis legalization in New Jersey, individuals report smelling the plant, yet the majority of respondents to a recent poll said they aren’t troubled by it. The study also reveals that a significantly higher percentage of respondents think driving while intoxicated is “extremely dangerous” than do those who think driving after using marijuana.

In the state, about half of adults say they have smelt marijuana coming from an apartment or house next door, per a survey conducted by the Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University. However, a greater percentage of respondents (31%) stated that they place greater value on the ability to consume legal marijuana in one’s own home than on the ability to avoid having to smell cannabis being used by a neighbor (16%).

46 percent of interviewees indicated they believed the two rights were equally significant.

Naturally, not everyone smells cannabis all the time: 14% of respondents reported frequently smelling it coming from a neighbor, 15% said it happened occasionally, and 21% said it happened infrequently. A further 49% claimed they have never smelled their neighbors using cannabis.

In the meantime, 28% and 29% of respondents in New Jersey, respectively, reported having frequently or occasionally smelt marijuana in public areas. Just 9% of respondents claimed they have never smelled it in public, compared to 33% who said they do so infrequently.

In a news statement regarding the study released on Wednesday, John Froonjian, director of the Hughes Center, stated that “not much thought was given to the issue of the smell of marijuana becoming part of the public landscape in New Jersey.” People are lighting up in parks, at festivals, in parking lots, and on the streets because there aren’t many areas where it’s allowed to consume these items.

Ninety percent of the respondents claimed to be able to recognize the smell of cannabis. Furthermore, the majority (52%) stated it didn’t disturb them in the slightest. Another 19% reported that it upsets them “a great deal,” while 28% reported that it concerns them only a little.

Although the new study provides an overview of New Jerseyans’ experiences since cannabis became legal, it says nothing about how much the state’s citizens smelled or felt uncomfortable about cannabis usage before it became legal.

Whether or not a person had used cannabis products in the previous year significantly affected their opinions on several topics. For instance, of those who had, 55% believed that the freedom to consume marijuana legally in one’s own home trumped the right of a neighbor not to be able to smell it in theirs. Just 21% of those who didn’t use marijuana thought that way.

Nonetheless, a sizable majority of both groups—91 percent of nonusers and 75 percent of cannabis consumers—agreed that it is risky to drive when high. Furthermore, the majority of Turn Vape consumers (52 percent) and non-consumers (81 percent) agree that a roadside test is crucial for figuring out how impaired a motorist is.

Republicans expressed a greater degree of importance for the creation of a roadside drug test than Democrats or independents did, with 62 percent saying it was very essential vs 45 percent and 42 percent, respectively.

Out of all the respondents, 39% claimed to know someone who has driven after using marijuana, and 56% claimed not to.

It appeared that respondents thought driving while intoxicated posed a greater risk than cannabis use. Ninety-nine percent of respondents said driving after intoxication is risky, compared to fifty-one percent who said driving when high on Turn Disposable vapes.

According to Froonjian, who made this statement in Stockton’s news release, driving while impaired by any drug “is a bad idea that causes accidents,” and conscientious users “must avoid driving while high on weed.”

In the meantime, this week saw the launch of a campaign by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission that aims to reduce the likelihood of drunk driving by encouraging individuals to use cannabis delivery services.

During a news conference on Wednesday, Commissioner Krista Nash, co-chair of the panel’s Public Engagement and Education Committee, stated that the safety, health, and well-being of all New Jerseyans—whether they use cannabis or not—are their “top priority.”

Last month, applications for licenses to provide delivery services as well as other license categories like wholesales, became available. First and foremost, regulators are giving priority to those who have been disproportionately affected by the implementation of the cannabis prohibition.

Additionally, regulators recently approved the use of Turn carts, THC-infused chocolates and brownies in votes and suggested allowing retailers to collaborate with academic institutions to use genuine marijuana products in research.

To help licensed cannabis operators launch and grow their businesses, the state recently granted $12 million in grant money. This initiative aims to lower entry barriers into the legal market, particularly for those from communities that have been disproportionately affected by the drug war.

Additionally, officials in New Jersey recently declared that $5.5 million in marijuana proceeds would be available to fund a grants program for hospital-based violence reduction.