Responsibility Grows in the Garden State

A new Marijuana Research Guide from Rutgers librarians is ready to help researchers, students, and the public after legalization.

A new Marijuana Research Guide from Rutgers librarians is ready to help researchers, students, and the public after legalization.

The moment the news came in that New Jersey voters opted for the legalization of recreational marijuana, a new research guide seemed reasonable and necessary. Based on my previous experience and information collected earlier for a potential guide, I invited two colleagues to create a Rutgers Libraries guide to resources on marijuana-related issues. The guide is intended for Rutgers faculty, staff, and students, as well as for the public.

Government resources librarian Stephanie Bartz selected relevant sources from the federal and state governments, complementing the collection with international resources. Becky Diamond, New Brunswick Libraries business librarian, added business resources, such as industry and company information, market research, and related databases. They both also contributed to other tabs such as data and statistics, New Jersey resources and services, and Rutgers resources. The legal resources tab benefits from the expertise of the Newark Law Library, with law librarian Rebecca Kunkel as partner. Book recommendations also came from Nicholas Allred, Graduate Specialist for the Chang Library’s Books We Read.

The Marijuana Research Guide will remain a work in progress for a while, as the State of New Jersey works out the nuts and bolts of the complex procedure post-legalization. Updates will be included in several areas as we go.

Read more in the blog post from Books We Read. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Judit Hajnal Ward