The long-awaited conclusion to the marathon cannabis debate that began March 29 came to an end for all practical purposes after about 45 minutes on May 17. After hearing from 14 members of the public, far fewer than had been waiting their turn when the last meeting was adjourned, Council began its own discussion.
Mayor Mark Freda recognized Eve Niedergang, who had asked to go first. Reading from a prepared statement Niedergang, who had been Council liaison to the Cannabis Task Force, said she continued “to believe that Princeton should approve and regulate a local cannabis dispensary.” After listing her reasons for that support, she said that, nevertheless, “I am recommending that we not move forward at this time.” The divisiveness of the issue, and the prospect that opposition would persist for as long as the proposal was on the table, prompted Niedergang to conclude that the cannabis discussion had already “absorbed a lot of Council’s bandwidth,” and the issue was not even one of Council’s primary goals.