Assemblyman Christopher Tully, D-Bergen, introduced a bill Monday (A5921) that gives local elected officials an additional 60 days beyond the Aug. 21 deadline to enact an ordinance either welcoming or banning adult-use cannabis businesses from opening in their communities.
As it stands now under the law Gov. Phil Murphy signed in February, local officials who take no action by the deadline would have to abide by a standard set of rules for five years. The law was written this way in order to allow the potentially multi-billion-dollar industry more opportunities to succeed.
Edmund DeVeaux, president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association, endorsed the legislation. Absent state rules regulating the industry, which are also due on Aug. 21, local officials have been frustrated with having to make a decision minus key facts.
“The one thing that has been clear since February of this year has been the confusion over municipal guidelines in the emerging cannabis economy,” DeVeaux said.
“The NJCBA is in conversations with several communities as to how to best deal with the looming opt-in/opt-out deadline. Supporting the extension is one more way the NJCBA supports municipalities in ensuring the state develops a responsible, sustainable, diverse, and profitable cannabis industry,” DeVeaux said.
By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com