The burgeoning business of legal cannabis in New Jersey won't be coming to West Caldwell… for now.
The mayor and council of West Caldwell unanimously passed an ordinance that bans the sale and cultivation of recreational marijuana during its Sept. 11 meeting. Mayor Joseph Tempestra Jr. said that the municipal law will not affect medical marijuana, NewJerseyHills.com reported.
Add the townships of Wayne and Bridgewater to the list of municipalities passing preemptive ordinances prohibiting adult-use marijuana businesses from operating within their borders.
The vote was unanimous by the Bridgewater Council to ban the sale or growth of recreational marijuana in the township.
The ordinance would amend the town’s zoning code to prohibit selling, growing, and distributing recreational marijuana. It would not impact medical marijuana, legal in the state since 2010, nor would it impede on recreational marijuana use, should the New Jersey state legislature legalize it. Secaucus currently has one medical marijuana dispensary.
As Massachusetts moves to open the East Coast’s first adult-use cannabis dispensaries, a new ruling from Bay State Attorney General Maura Healey will guarantee that medical marijuana patients can access their medicine locally, no matter how much individual towns might oppose legal weed.
The borough council has approved a marijuana dispensary ban, preventing any businesses from selling, manufacturing or growing it and/or the paraphernalia that facilitates it.
Mayor Jennifer Naughton said that “as it is clear that marijuana dispensaries will soon be permitted in retail zones, we thought it made sense to clarify our ordinance to prohibit these dispensaries in town.”
Ordinance No. 2018-006 was approved by all council members present at the meeting of Tuesday, Aug. 21. Councilman David Frost was absent.
With a push towards potential marijuana legalization being debated in the state legislature, the issue made its way to Hackensack on Tuesday night as the Mayor and City Council discussed the potential for dispensaries and other pot businesses in the city during the Council's work session meeting. While they stopped short of calling for an outright ban on legal weed sales, city officials showed little appetite for taking part in the burgeoning industry.
Before the state Legislature decides whether to legalize recreational marijuana, the township council has introduced by unanimous vote an ordinance to prohibit stores in the township from selling pot.
The council will have a public hearing on the ordinance on Sept. 6.
Council President Christine Rose said she was glad to see the ordinance did not outlaw medical marijuana dispensaries in the township.
Rose said that based on others' positive experiences with medical marijuana, she has become a "strong advocate" of the practice.
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.
If New Jersey legalizes recreational marijuana any time soon, don’t bet on coming to Secaucus to score.
The mayor and Town Council introduced a zoning ordinance at their July 24 meeting that would ban the sale, growth, and distribution of recreational marijuana in town, blocking recreational marijuana dispensaries from opening. The town already has a medical marijuana dispensary, as medical cannabis has been legal in New Jersey since 2010.
The list of towns in New Jersey saying no to recreational marijuana just keeps growing, and there are now at least 30 municipalities across the state that have either banned marijuana businesses or officially voiced opposition to legal weed.
And that's before there's even a legalization bill on the table.
NJ Cannabis Insider reported on Thursday that lawmakers plan to have a recreational marijuana bill, and a medical marijuana expansion, ready for introduction by the end of August.