NJ was supposed to legalize weed back in 2018, but they were so busy arguing over how to spend the new tax revenue and whether or not distributor licenses should preferentially be given to black people, that they decided to just keep it illegal, not reap any new cash flow from taxes, and keep handing out criminal records to those they ostensibly want to help.
I was only there for a year on a temporary work assignment, and being from a super-illegal state I was excited to get there right as legalization was supposed to happen. My hopes dwindled quickly as I became acquainted with NJ politics. Luckily Massachusetts finally came through that November, so I was able to squeeze in a couple road trips during my time there.