I’m a child of the ‘60s. Back in the day, scoring weed meant finding a dealer, convincing him you weren’t a narc and listening to lies about the potency of his product. Then you handed over $10 and got a baggie partly filled with something that looked like oregano with lots of seeds.
Not a baggie in sight at the Higher Path in Sherman Oaks, the dispensary I visited with my 25-year-old son, brought along to ensure I didn’t make a fool of myself. And not an illicit character skulking about the entrance, though temperatures in the high 90s likely discouraged even the most determined skulker.
This is definitely a concern in New Jersey, where an eye-opening 400 municipalities — 70% of the state’s full roster of 565 — have banned adult-use cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, delivery companies and dispensaries.
For some towns, the ban is a quality-of-life issue. Ocean City Councilman Jody Levchuk told the Philadelphia Inquirer he was worried about “a smoke-fest” on the beaches and boardwalk.
Lacey Mayor Peter Curatolo was even more outspoken. Town residents “didn’t vote for 17-year-olds to become drug users. They didn’t vote for some overtaxed product so some MS-13 gangbanger can come in here and undercut (legally sold marijuana).”