News & Commentary

The police licensing law shows what we’re capable of when we unite to confront police power. It also reminds us how much further we need to go.

New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission, the agency tasked with putting policies in place to carry out legalization, has unique power to make our state’s cannabis market equitable, inclusive, and accessible. We have until September 30 to make sure their final regulations use that power fully.

When faced with important health care decisions, we often turn to doctors, service providers, family, and friends. But today, another actor plays a growing role in those decisions as the government and insurance companies increasingly lean on algorithms to allocate health care we need.

New Jersey lawmakers can bolster abortion access amid the national post-Dobbs crisis, but it requires immediate action and bold leadership. S2918/A4350, currently before the Legislature, would expand access to abortion for New Jerseyans regardless of their insurance, immigration status or income.

Municipalities are the driving force in determining whether cannabis legalization will live up to its potential for equity and racial justice, or whether it becomes a missed opportunity that favors the rich and powerful.

We need a budget that reflects our values and invests in justice. That means housing assistance, aid for those excluded from federal pandemic funds, language access, and legal counsel for immigrants.

For Juneteenth, the day commemorating news of liberation reaching the last enslaved people in America, Organizer Zayid Muhammad talked about the struggle for racial and social justice through the lens of history.

The movement following George Floyd’s murder suggested the great potential for confronting discrimination and police violence in communities of color, with communities pooling together the one resource most capable of creating change: political will. Decisive action is more essential now than ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced New Jersey to reckon with longstanding issues within the landlord tenant court and novel issues caused by the pandemic itself. Ultimately, we can use these lessons to create a more level playing field, where fewer renters are taken advantage of or wrongfully evicted.