Jersey City Prosecutor Aims to End Pot Prosecutions in N.J.
*By Jacqueline Corba*
The chief prosecutor of Jersey City, N.J., said the state legislature could pass a bill legalizing recreational marijuana before the end of the year.
"If we're able to get a vote soon enough," prosecutor Jake Hudnut told Cheddar on Tuesday, "conceivably there will never be another person prosecuted in New Jersey for simple marijuana possession, and I really think that should be the benchmark."
Hudnut stopped prosecuting marijuana cases on July 19, less than a month after taking office.
About 30,000 people are arrested in marijuana cases each year in New Jersey, which holds the record for the [second highest arrests in the nation behind Wyoming](https://www.nj.com/marijuana/2018/04/new_jersey_arrests_more_people_for_marijuana_than.html).
Hudnut said people of color are three times more likely to be arrested or prosecuted for marijuana possession.
"One of the most troubling parts of my career as a defense attorney was standing next to so many young men of color pleading guilty to marijuana when I knew so many of my white friends were doing the same thing, but they were able to do it without fear of being arrested and prosecuted," said Hudnut, who spent seven years as a defense attorney.
New Jersey's Attorney General Gurbur Grewal briefly stepped in, saying Hudnut [overstepped his authority](https://nj.gov/oag/newsreleases18/AG-Grewal-to-Prosecutors--Municipal-Decriminalization.pdf), but himself formed a working group of 20ーincluding Hudnutーto explore the state's handling of marijuana cases and ultimately paused prosecutions himself.
Hudnut said if a bill could be put in front of the legislature before the AG's [moratorium](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/nyregion/nj-marijuana-medical-decriminalization.html) on prosecutions ends, it would effectively end the prohibition on marijuana in New Jersey for the foreseeable future.
For more, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/state-of-weed-prosecution-in-jersey-city).
Crystal Etienne, Founder and CEO of period apparel company Ruby Love and Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience bootstrapping her company to $10 million, and how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses.
E-commerce platform for construction and building materials RenoRun has raised $142 million in a Series B round, which the company says is the fourth largest Series B round in Canadian history. RenoRun’s platform offers same-day delivery of construction materials to job sites in Canada and the United States. The company aims to revolutionize the construction industry by maximizing productivity and efficiency. RenoRun co-founder and CEO Eamonn O’Rourke joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Like so many other cities, Miami experienced a tourism boom over the summer after vaccines were distributed. But, the Omicron variant has thrown the travel industry for a loop. David Whitaker, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, joined Cheddar to discuss the city as a tourist destination, and how it has handled headwinds from the pandemic.
Rockstar Energy, a subsidiary of Pepsico, unveiled its new beverage brand, Rockstar Unplugged, changing up the energy drink formula with hemp seed oil as an ingredient. PepsiCo Energy CMO Fabiola Torres joined Cheddar News to talk about how the product promotes “good vibes” and allows consumers to unwind and discuss partnering with "MTV Unplugged" for a concert series. "We couldn't find a better partnership that MTV," she said. "MTV Unplugged has been such an iconic proposition … and we believe that we're the right partners because the insight of our proposition for Rockstar Unplugged comes from music.
Eight months after the National Football League announced $1 million in research into cannabinoids, the NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee has awarded the funding to two teams of medical researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Regina. The NFL says the studies will investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection from concussion in elite football players, respectively. Cheddar correspondent Chloe Ailello spoke with Jeff Miller, the executive vice president of communications, public affairs, and policy for the NFL, about the studies, as well as the recent lawsuit filed against the NFL by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. "Maybe we can learn things from other alternative pain approaches that are going to benefit our player population and then sports medicine as a whole," Miller said.
Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, NJ and Ayana Morris, co-director of the documentary 'Why Is We Americans?,' join Cheddar News to discuss the new documentary highlighting the impact of the Baraka family.
Former New York City mayor and lawyer to Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani made his singing debut on a taping of Fox’s The Masked Singer. However, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, two judges on the competition show, reportedly left in protest when Giuliani was unmasked upon being eliminated.
All Hands celebrates Black History Month by highlighting achievements in inclusivity and paying homage to those who have fought for equal rights. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) joins Cheddar News to discuss voter suppression; Damali Peterman, CEO of Breakthrough ADR, elaborates on the biggest barriers for Black professionals; Andre Perry, senior fellow of Brookings Institution, dives into student loans and the racial wealth divide; and lastly, BET CEO Scott Mills discusses the company's initiatives for 2022.
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
