Ballot Question

Democrat candidate for mayor Ben Giovine said if he is elected mayor of Toms River in November, he will push to overturn a 2021 ban on the sale of legal marijuana in Toms River. The Toms River Township Council voted against allowing weed businesses to operate within the town.

Giovine said the township would benefit from the sale of legal marijuana in the community, pumping the township coffers with more money.

On June 20, Councilman Keith Vreeland suggested putting a referendum on the ballot in the general election to get residents’ opinions on a cannabis dispensary in town. On July 17, Vreeland moved a resolution with a clear ballot question.

“Shall the Borough of Tuckerton permit recreational cannabis operations and retail distribution within the Borough?” Vreeland read.

Vreeland motioned to adopt the referendum. Councilman Brian Martin voted “yes,” while remaining council members voted “no.” The resolution did not pass.

The Bordentown City Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved an ordinance to allow recreational marijuana sales in the City.

The number of cannabis cultivators, manufacturers and retailers permitted within the City will be set at a maximum of two each. One cannabis delivery service will be allowed under the ordinance. The ordinance prohibits wholesalers and distributors in the City.

The Borough Council is looking to ban all cannabis businesses for now but plans on getting input from residents in November as to whether the businesses should be allowed in commercial zones.

The council earlier this week introduced two ordinances, which were unanimously approved on first reading.

Township officials formally banned the sale or production of marijuana in the community Thursday evening with a unanimous vote on legislation that flies in the face of the recent legalization of recreational cannabis statewide.

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.

As municipalities weigh how to handle the nascent cannabis industry setting up shop in the Garden State, a USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey analysis of the November ballot question legalizing marijuana reveals an almost universal message from voters across the state: "historically popular" support.

Marijuana legalization won the support of voters in 562 of the 565 municipalities in New Jersey, according to the analysis, the most detailed review of the vote undertaken to date.

Murphy came into office in 2018 after campaigning to legalize marijuana. But the idea faced a rocky path to fruition as the state’s lawmakers debated whether and how to implement legalization. Ultimately, lawmakers put the issue in front of voters last November — and the ballot initiative won overwhelmingly, with 67 percent support. Even then, legalization efforts stalled as Murphy and legislators debated penalties for those under 21 years old.

New Jersey police have arrested more than 6,000 people for low-level cannabis possession despite voters approving legalization reforms last November, according to a state judiciary report outlined by NJ.com. In January, police arrested 2,378 people for possessing less than 50 grams of cannabis, an increase from the 2,125 people arrested for possession in November and 1,703 arrested in December.

In November, South Dakota citizens took the unusual step of legalizing both recreational and medical use of marijuana in two initiatives on the same ballot. Constitutional Amendment A (which passed with 54 percent of the vote) allowed for recreational use and created a licensing system to establish, manage, and tax legal commerce.

About two-thirds of Garden State voters approved a ballot measure in November to legalize recreational use of marijuana for residents 21 years old or older.

Both houses of the legislature signed off on the constitutional amendment last month.

But Murphy balked at signing the new law on Jan. 1, claiming the measure lacks language on enforcement details for underage marijuana users, according to NJ.com.