Months after most of New Jersey overwhelmingly voted to legalize recreational marijuana, the township is snuffing out any plans to have it sold or produced locally.
The Township Committee voted initially on March 18 to ban any such sales through an ordinance that faces a public hearing and final vote on April 22.
The ban is not a surprise given that the state referendum approved in November lost badly in Lakewood, with 69% of voters here opposing it and just 31% casting favorable ballots.
Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles supports marijuana sales ban, citing potential impact on schools.
“After the state law was passed, we had a big outcry in town from a lot of the schools, the religious community and the school district,” Mayor Raymond Coles said. “They did not want to see anything like that in town.”