Anticipating that New Jersey soon will allow anyone 21 and older to buy and use marijuana, a number of North Jersey towns are responding with a message of their own: Count us out.
Gov. Phil Murphy championed legal marijuana as a candidate last year. As governor, he has expanded access to medical marijuana, but bills to allow non-medical use have stalled in the Legislature.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who also supports legalization, said last week that he expects a vote in September.
It's not clear what effect, if any, local anti-weed votes may have. State officials have maintained that local governments will be able to decide whether and where to allow marijuana retailers in their communities. In other states that have permitted marijuana sales, such as California and Colorado, many local governments have disallowed retail sales of the drug.