Meet The Jersey City Woman Advocating For Cannabis Equity

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Pop onto any municipal meeting in Jersey City with cannabis on the agenda, and there's a good chance you'll hear from Jessica Gonzalez. She's a Heights resident who is using her legal cannabis knowledge to advocate for inclusive policies in Jersey City, one public meeting at a time.

Jessica Gonzalez said she always wanted a career that gave her a voice and empowered her and her family and community, so she went into law. When she started her law career, the Jersey City resident didn't think cannabis would be at the center of it.

Gonzalez works full time with the Bressler, Amery & Ross law firm, managing a cannabis practice group as well as leading a trademark practice group. But outside her 9-5 job, she's working to advocate for cannabis in New Jersey and, more importantly, in her hometown of Jersey City.

"Jersey City is beautifully situated to be a cannabis retail hub," Gonzalez said.

Alongside the massive financial opportunity for the city, Gonzalez sees a golden opportunity in legal cannabis for communities that were hit the hardest by negative cannabis laws and stigmas, communities she grew up in and identifies with.

"I grew up seeing all of this sort of poverty and the arrests and police interaction, that I couldn't just sit back and say, 'OK, I'm only going to be a lawyer in this space' or I'm only going to help businesses out," Gonzalez said, "I took it upon myself — I am a Latina immigrant who grew up in the inner city, so I should have a voice at the table, and then I just began to use it."

For the past few years, Gonzalez has embedded herself in the conversations around legalizing cannabis and how to make the state and local legislation as inclusive as possible. When Governor Phil Murphy was elected and announced he wanted to try to legalize cannabis within his first 100 days, Gonzalez said she saw an opportunity in this new industry for a Latina immigrant to be a leader.

"What I tell everybody who asks me how to get involved in the cannabis industry is, pivot what you know into the cannabis space," Gonzalez said, "So I was doing intellectual property. I began to look at cannabis through the intellectual property lens of how can I bridge my two interests together?"

Cannabis has been a presence in Gonzalez's life for a decade. When she was in law school, she joked with friends that she would become a "weed lawyer" but, at the time, the idea was so far-fetched that it was never more than a joke.

"It has saved me in more ways than one," Gonzalez said, "For me to be able to work for a plant that I truly believe in and that I have a personal connection to, I thought would fulfill me a lot more than working in an area that I didn't really have that personal connection to."

She started diving into cannabis education and attending seminars so frequently that, eventually, she joined those cannabis panels as a speaker. Gonzalez said she would often look around the room, and notice she was the only person of color on the panel.

"By virtue of that, a lot of those social equity questions would be directed to me," she said, "I decided if this is going to be a topic of conversation that I'm constantly going to be in the center of, it behooves me to educate myself and see if perhaps I could actually be an instrument of change."

In the last legislative session for the New Jersey State Senate, Gonzalez testified five times. She noticed that the adult use marijuana bill that was being voted on did not mention social equity just days before it hit the senate floor, so she rallied cannabis advocates she knew from across the country to join the session and explain the importance of equity.

Gonzalez has taken the same tactic she used to advocate on the senate floor to advocate on the local level. Gonzalez was present during some of the Jersey City Planning Board's first meetings about cannabis zoning and regulations and once public speaking was allowed in the meetings, she made it clear she could be a resource and answer questions.

"I would really just urge that when we are crafting policies for cannabis implementation, that we make sure that our Jersey City cannabis industry reflects the diversity of Jersey City," Gonzalez said.

Jersey City is one of several major cities in the state to move forward with retail cannabis zoning and regulations and one of the only cities to include consumption lounges in its regulation plans. Cannabis consumption lounges are safe, designated locations within retail stores for people to use cannabis products. Gonzalez stressed and praised the board's hesitant decision to include the lounges on grounds of social equity.

Consumption lounges allow renters and residents of public housing to legally and safely consume cannabis when they otherwise may not have the space. The equity aspect of the cannabis conversation in Jersey City has worked its way from the board meetings to Mayor Fulop's tweets.

"I waited a very long time to be a part of the Jersey City cannabis conversation that I am extremely excited to get involved. And, you know, my reason for going up there and answering all these questions is I want them [board members] to also realize I'm here as a resource. I'm not here to go against you, advocate against you. I'm here to work with you because I believe in this plant and I believe in Jersey City," Gonzalez said.

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