Many Brookdale students have yet to reach their 21st birthdays.
New Jersey voters decided in November 2020 that one choice residents and visitors, 21 and older, can make is whether to consume cannabis, now available at dispensaries around the state. But exactly how much research has the average BCC student done into the topic and what do they know about marijuana.
“Not much, if anything,” admitted Max Wyatt, an 18-year-old science major from Marlboro. “It’s green and gets you high.” Wyatt said he hasn’t used marijuana products but might one day.
Economics student Mason Hafner, 21, of Matawan, also said he knew “not a lot really” about cannabis despite saying he uses the substance “every couple of months.”
Hafner said he knows “a little” about potential side effects. “Isn’t it just when you start having panic attacks right? I’ve never had it happen though I’m sure it happens all the time.”
One student who has investigated the side effects of use is 19-year-old undecided major Claire Hayward, who said she has a family member who “used to smoke a lot.” Hayward said, “I used to do research just to see if she’d be all right.”
Hayward said her family member experienced a nervous breakdown and had times when she would “randomly not be moving for hours.”
“These were rare occasions, but still,” Hayward said.
The road to marijuana legalization in New Jersey was marked by some extremely contentious debates over the years. Multiple arguments were used on both sides.
New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform and New Jersey Policy Perspective released a report in 2016 that concluded if New Jersey legalized marijuana, it could generate about $300 million annually in sales tax revenue for the state. That’s data that helped voters make their decision. BCC students will have to decide for themselves what data they need to make their individual choices.