Elmwood Park and Saddle Brook are the latest towns to ban the sale of recreational marijuana, as the state moves toward a vote to legalize the drug, likely by the end of this year.
An ordinance passed by the Elmwood Park Council prohibits businesses selling recreational marijuana and paraphernalia within one quarter mile of a school, place of worship, recreational fields, playgrounds, or in the business, residential or development zones, meaning there is nowhere in town it can lawfully be sold.
“Elmwood Park is a small town with five schools all within walking distance of our commercial districts,” Elmwood Park Councilwoman Maggie Giandomenico said. “In order to protect the vulnerability of our children and the health and welfare of all of our residents, it was our responsibility as a council to enact a preventive policy in order to preserve the aesthetics of our hometown.”