Murphy boots leading critic of big weed corporations from N.J. cannabis commission

Former Commissioner Charles Barker

Charles Barker, one of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s most outspoken critics of big cannabis corporations, is being replaced by the Murphy administration.

The administration has announced Barker’s replacement is Amelia Mapp, a Union County Board of Taxation Commissioner and wife of Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp. She has a background in the pharmaceutical industry as an accounts payable specialist, according to her LinkedIn.

Newly Appointed Cannabis Commissioner Amelia Mapp

“The governor thanks Commissioner Barker for his service on the Cannabis Regulatory Commission over the past three and a half years and for his work establishing an equitable adult-use cannabis market in New Jersey, with social justice at the forefront,” the administration said in a statement on Friday. “We look forward to Commissioner-designate Amelia Mapp continuing to build upon this important work on the Commission.”

The pick still has to go through the state Senate for confirmation. Mapp’s position in Union County is also home to Senate President Nicholas Scutari.

A wide range of industry insiders, including advocates, lobbyists and some within the agency, voiced concerns that Barker was not going to last on the commission because he was openly critical of how the original cannabis legislation fell short of expectations from communities harmed the most by the War on Drugs.

Barker was initially appointed in 2021 after civil rights advocates pointed out that there was a lack of Black men on the commission, a demographic that has been disproportionately arrested for weed. Mapp is a Black woman.