After more than an hour of discussion among members of the public with a range of opinions on the matter, the Borough Council decided not to advance plans for a proposed medical marijuana dispensary within its borders.
With a majority of the nearly two dozen speakers at Wednesday's council meeting opposed to allowing the operation next to the Milk Street Distillery, the council's six voting members voted unanimously for a pair of resolutions that effectively ended any hope of the facility becoming a reality.
First, the council chose not to sign an agreement in favor of the business coming to Branchville, which would have resulted in the borough receiving an initial payment from the company of $10,000, followed by $30,000 for the first six years of operation and then 1% of profits each year afterward.
In the second resolution, the council agreed not to sign a letter of support for the facility subject to Planning and Zoning Board review, which could have included steps such as variance requests and site plan approval.
More than 50 residents attended the meeting held at the Branchville firehouse to hear a presentation from Tom Murzenski, a resident of Washington Township in Warren County, who recently partnered with the owner of several medical marijuana facilities in the Philadelphia area. Murzenski said his goal is to "increase the geographic diversity" of the medication's availability and ease the burden on patients who often have to travel long distances to receive it.
According to Murzenski, the closest dispensary to Sussex County is located in Montclair, roughly an hour's drive from Branchville. The commute can be difficult for people who use medical marijuana to treat cancer, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder, among other ailments.