Usually, she hears the pitch at city council meetings, when the parking lot that’s normally full of Jeeps and Hyundais suddenly becomes a showcase for the Audis and BMWs driven by cannabis industry executives. They lecture Brinkman on how the city could build new schools and pave new roads with revenue from marijuana dispensaries selling legal weed
Brinkman has rebuffed them every time.
“Personally, I'm a 'hell no' against it,” she said. “Politically, I have not heard from enough people in my community that want it. I hear from people who don't. I hear from people who say, 'thank you for keeping it out.'”
If Brinkman’s rhetoric sounds like déjà vu, it’s because officials in New Jersey municipalities have been echoing their Colorado counterparts with increasing frequency. The push back comes as the debate over marijuana legalization heats up, ahead of a push by Gov. Phil Murphy to sell legal weed in the Garden State.