After more than two hours of testimony – much of it from residents vehemently opposed to the idea – Township Committee on Monday unanimously approved issuing a letter of support to a proposal for medical marijuana facility on Indian Trail Road.
The letter is the first step in what promises to be a long process for the Massachusetts-based company Insa, Inc. to build a new facility to grow and sell cannabis where there is now a long-vacant seafood processing plant at 35 Indian Trail Road. The letter is part of the process of getting a New Jersey license as an Alternative Care Center, how the state describes a medical marijuana facility.
The large property is assessed at more than $1 million. Mark Zatyrka, the CEO and one of the owners of Insa, said the company plans to spend about $10 million on a new building of between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet. As proposed, marijuana plants would be grown inside under artificial light, dried and processed on site and sold to people with New Jersey medical marijuana cards from a dispensary on the property.
The project could mean 100 or more jobs in Middle Township. Zatyrka said most of those would go to local residents.
Many of the closest neighbors were not convinced.