Time may be running out for a resident’s attempt to get township support for a medical marijuana facility in the rural Eldora section of the township.
Emmett Vandegrift, one of the founders of Evergreen Curative LLC, is seeking a state license to grow marijuana for the medicinal market. His company has an agreement to lease a section of a shrubbery farm and an application for one of six new licenses made available under Gov. Phil Murphy’s expansion of New Jersey’s medical marijuana program.
Vandegrift said a facility in Cape May County would benefit local patients who have the required doctor’s recommendation to use the drug to treat an expanded list of illnesses and symptoms. For now, the closest medical marijuana dispensary is the Compassionate Care Foundation in Egg Harbor Township in Atlantic County, where at least three other applications have been made for new facilities.
Mayor Zeth Matalucci said he’s not opposed to the idea. But members of Township Committee were reluctant to sign off on the project without knowing where the more than 6,000 township residents stood. In August, the committee agreed to have a vote on the proposal in November — by which point the state should have already awarded the licenses.