Jersey City’s the sky’s the limit policy on marijuana dispensaries is suddenly meeting with resistance in the Heights, where residents are concerned about issues ranging from teen smoking to aesthetics.
As of March 13, the city’s Cannabis Control Board has approved 44 marijuana dispensaries including a disproportionate number — 14 — in Ward D.
In November, the City Council voted down an ordinance that would have capped the number for the city at 55. Ward D Councilman Yusef Saleh was outspoken in his opposition to the limit. “I don’t think we’re at a place we need to be for the southern part of the city” he said.
But if the South Side has too few, according to some residents the Heights has too many dispensaries and smoke shops, which they charge, sometimes sell cannabis as well.
Central Avenue alone will feature seven “pot” stores assuming they all receive final approval (or “endorsement”) by the City Council. Were the stores distributed evenly across the city’s neighborhoods, each ward would have six or seven, say critics.