The guy in the purple bong suit brought along a guitar and entertained – if that’s the right term – the council with song.
Then there was a masked man in a wheelchair.
That was Edward “Lefty” Grimes, the CEO of Sativa Cross, a non-profit that advocates for cannabis patients. And just for the record, the guitarist gave his name as Bongholeo.
Legalized marijuana continues to be eventful for local governing bodies.
Mary Oakes, an Oceanport resident who came to Madison to tell the story of her husband, a medical cannabis user, echoed that sentiment. Oakes claims that her husband was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2016.
"He was given two months to live. My husband lived four years and ten months because of the use of medical cannabis. It kept him off of every kind of opioid they wanted to shove down him to keep him pain free," Oakes said.
Patient advocates filed complaints with the state Division of Consumer Affairs earlier this month to accuse medicinal marijuana operators of price-gouging, charging as much as $480 for an ounce of cannabis.
A state investigator replied promptly to say there was no legal recourse.
The Sayreville Council has introduced an ordinance that would ban both recreational and medical marijuana businesses from operating in the borough. The governing body will hold a public hearing on the ordinance at its next (virtual) meeting on June 14.
The ordinance would amend borough zoning laws to prohibit licenses issued for cultivation, manufacturing, and retail distribution of marijuana. It would also prohibit medical marijuana facilities in Sayreville.
It’s more than just semantics. Guidance issued this year to law enforcement officers from state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal draws a distinction between “regulated cannabis” and “marijuana and hashish,” with the latter still defined as a controlled dangerous substance, a legal term for illegal drugs.
Despite the passionate and emotional pleas from those who support the legalization of recreational marijuana, the Ocean County Board of Freeholders was undeterred in its opposition.
The five-member, all-Republican board on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution against a proposed amendment to the New Jersey state constitution on the ballot in the fall election that would allow adults — who are at least 21 — to be able to purchase and consume pot in a similar regulated way as alcohol.
“The host of the podcast, Mr. Grimes, has done excellent work in his advocacy of medical marijuana, and I intend to be a Congressman out front to expand on these successes,” Cunningham said. “For too long enforcement of cannabis laws has disproportionately harmed communities of color, when Americans across races consume cannabis at the same rates.”
Four medicinal marijuana advocates addressed the Roseland Borough Council on Tuesday to question the recent adoption of an ordinance that prohibits the sale, dispensing and manufacturing of medical marijuana within the borough.
None of the speakers were residents of the borough, but all of them had reason to believe the borough should reconsider the ordinance that was passed in October 2019.
Jeana Sager, the candidate running for a seat on the Middletown Township Committee has now released a statement explaining — and defending — controversial comments she made back in June, where she was caught on video saying "To me, a lot of police are criminals."
In the videotaped conversation, which you can watch below, Sager also voice support for needle exchanges and decriminalizing drug use.
In the video, Sager identifies herself and says she is running for Middletown Twp. Committee. She also tells the pot proponents she has to be careful what she says because Middletown is an "extremely, extremely red" area. She tells a reporter in the group that the entire conversation is off the record. They discuss marijuana and she says she supports needle exchanges; she also says she doesn't want to stigmatize drug users, or criminalize drug use.