The nation may not know who is president on election day, but the people have spoken when it comes to cannabis legislation. Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota have all legalized marijuana for adults 21 and older, as voters in each state approved their respective ballot initiatives at the ballot box. The Garden State has gone green as the closely watched state of New Jersey approved adult-use cannabis.

Walk into a medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey and the first thing to hit you is the stink.

Weed’s scent is a sour blast that seems to reek of citrus, diesel, and skunk. At the Garden State Dispensary in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, charcoal air purifiers — encased in gleaming steel and larger than jet engines — are strategically placed through the facility. It’s hard to say whether their presence tempers the odor, which is generated by thousands of cannabis plants growing under lights in the same building.

Medical marijuana is off-limits for police officers, firefighters, truck drivers, and millions of other workers in safety-sensitive jobs, even in states where it’s legal. These employees face a tough choice: Live with pain, or lose their job.

Brad Wiltshire doesn’t like to complain, but to talk to him is to understand how much pain he is in. Dystonia, the disorder that he was diagnosed with a decade ago, causes muscles in the 56-year-old’s face to fight against each other, so his voice is strained and agitated, even when he’s not.

Considering how unpopular marijuana was with the public during the mid-1990s, it's phenomenal to take a step back and witness just how rapidly pot's presence has grown in the United States over the past 21 years.

Marveling marijuana's expansion

In 1996, California became the first state to legalize the use of medical cannabis for compassionate use. Since California, 27 additional states and Washington, D.C., have followed. Five new states legalized medical weed last year alone, including Pennsylvania and Ohio, which chose to do so entirely through the legislative process.

Just waiting to Chris Christie to get out of office.

Despite the fact that New Jersey governor Chris Christie remains adamantly opposed to the concept of legal marijuana, state lawmakers are preparing to reveal a master plan for how they will establish a taxed and regulated pot market the second Christie’s veto power is no longer a problem.

A state lawmaker on Monday is scheduled to unveil legislation that would legalize, regulate, and tax recreational marijuana in New Jersey. 

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) will formally announce the Democratic-sponsored measure noon at Monday at a news conference at the Statehouse in Trenton.

Medical marijuana is already legal in the state. But if this bill becomes law, New Jersey would become the ninth state to legalize pot -- joining Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.

The Republican governor told a forum on substance abuse that it's "not time for us to be cool and say, 'Pot's OK.'"

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie didn't hold back against lawmakers in his state that want to legalize marijuana Monday.

The Republican governor told a forum on substance abuse hosted by the New Jersey Hospital Association it's "not time for us to be cool and say, 'Pot's OK.'"

Democrats in New Jersey's state Senate are expected to unveil a proposal that would make it the twelfth state to legalize, tax, and regulate recreational marijuana use – a move Christie says is "beyond stupidity."

The Trump administration recently warned about the potential for marijuana to lead to other drug use, but candidates for New Jersey governor are considering embracing efforts to authorize recreational use in the state.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly's recent comment that marijuana is a possibly dangerous gateway drug comes after Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he is "definitely not a fan'' of expanded use.

Nonetheless, New Jersey's Democratic-controlled Legislature plans to move forward with legislation and lawmakers hope Republican Gov. Chris Christie's successor will sign it.

Christie, who is term-limited, has opposed any expansion of marijuana legalization. His term ends in January.

Vanessa Amador has created a niche business in New Jersey that’s designed to woo an exclusive and often-misunderstood clientele.    

Though others may want to attend the unique cooking classes offered by Cannabi Kitchen in Turnersville, Gloucester County, only those who flash a photo ID issued by the state’s tightly regulated medical-marijuana program will be allowed in.    

The curriculum: how to make cannabis-infused sweets, including banana walnut muffins, creamy chocolate candies shaped like marijuana leaves, and even green gummy bears and worms. More items -- such as smoothies -- could be added.

Students whose disabilities qualify them to use medical marijuana will soon be allowed to do so in Brick Township school, buses and school-sponsored events.

The Board of Education last week introduced a medical marijuana policy that will govern how students qualify and are administered medical marijuana. The policy is in response to a state law passed in 2015 that requires districts to enact policies that allow the administration of medical marijuana to students.