Gov. Phil Murphy speaks at a coronavirus briefing in Trenton in 2020.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider is hosting an in-person business networking event July 14 at The Asbury in Asbury Park. Tickets are limited.

Gov. Phil Murphy famously campaigned to legalize marijuana in New Jersey — but don’t expect him to be a customer when sales finally begin this week.

Murphy was asked Monday whether he plans to try some when six of seven approved dispensaries start selling legal recreational marijuana for the first time in the Garden State on Thursday.

“I’ll answer it this way: It’s never been an animating thing for me,” the Democratic governor responded during an unrelated public event in Ewing. “We’re trying to figure out a way to properly acknowledge the day on Thursday.”

“If we were legalizing Scotch, I would show up with a shopping cart,” he added. “This has not been my thing.”

Still, Murphy is happy cannabis sales are starting.

”I think relieved is the best way to describe how I feel about this,” he said. “At long last. Getting this right … is a big deal.”

The start date comes a year and a half after New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing marijuana, and after months and months of delays in the wake of that referendum. The state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission voted last week to approve seven medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling recreational weed to people 21 and over. Six will start selling at locations across the state Thursday, the other later this month.

Legalizing marijuana was one of Murphy’s top campaign promises in 2017. He has repeatedly said one of the biggest reasons he tackled the issue is to improve social justice by cutting down on marijuana arrests that disproportionately affect people of color.

Supporters also say legal marijuana will bring new jobs and tax revenue to the state.

”We’re not inventing marijuana — it’s there,” Murphy said Monday. “The question is who’s controlling the industry, who’s going to control the quality, health, safety.”

Opponents of legal marijuana have expressed concern about loose rules and regulations compromising the safety of residents. But acting state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said it’s ”public safety continues to be at the forefront here,” stressing that the state has launched campaigns to address driving under the influence of cannabis.

Meanwhile, Murphy said he’s open to changing rules to effectively bar police officers in New Jersey from getting high while they’re off duty.

Platkin issued a memo last week clarifying that off-duty police officers in the Garden State are permitted to consume cannabis products and should not face discipline for doing so under the state’s legal marijuana law.

But some lawmakers have voiced concern about off-duty cops getting high because marijuana stays in peoples’ systems longer and it’s harder to track whether somebody is currently under the influence.

“There’s no allowing anybody to show up impaired, whether you’re drinking or whether you’ve smoked weed,” Murphy said Monday. “Anybody who shows up impaired would be dealt with aggressively.”

The governor added: “Would I be opened minded to a legislative fix that would address this? The answer is yes.”

MORE: Murphy open to banning off-duty N.J. cops from consuming weed

As for smoking pot himself? Murphy has given similarly coy comments on cannabis a number of times the last few years during the slow march to make legal weed a reality in New Jersey.

In 2020, a day after voters approved it, the governor said he doesn’t have — unintentional pun alert — a “burning appetite to do it.”

Two years earlier, he was asked during a 2018 news conference whether he ever has or ever will consume marijuana.

“I said to somebody: If this were legalization of Scotch or Irish whiskey, I would not need any advice,” Murphy said. “I’d know exactly what to do. I’ve never been a marijuana guy. This is for social justice.”

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.

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