‘Not in My Town!’ Many New Jerseyans Resist Marijuana Dispensaries Close to Home
Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo doesn’t want his town to become a pot pit-stop when recreational dispensaries start opening up around New Jersey later this year.
Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo doesn’t want his town to become a pot pit-stop when recreational dispensaries start opening up around New Jersey later this year.
Voters narrowly opposed allowing adult-use cannabis businesses to open within the township, in a non-binding ballot question decided Tuesday.
The measure asked voters if marijuana cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, delivery services and other adult-use cannabis businesses should be allowed to open within the municipal boundaries.
Voters opposed doing so, 5,013 to 4,371, according to unofficial results. In the 2020 election, a majority of township voters said they supported legalizing recreational marijuana.
Township voters on Tuesday will be asked to consider whether recreational marijuana businesses should be allowed to operate within Lacey.
The non-binding ballot question aims to inform elected officials of Lacey voters' opinions on the matter, rather than setting immediate policy.
The township wants the people to decide whether to allow marijuana to be grown, manufactured and sold.
Last election, New Jersey voters chose to legalize marijuana on the ballot question overwhelmingly – 2-1 once the votes were tallied.
But Mayor Peter Curatolo says not so fast. Legalizing pot is one thing, growing and selling in the town is a whole other issue.
“They voted yes to recreational marijuana but they did not vote yes in our town to have it sold in our town or grown in our town and that's a very important distinction,” says Mayor Peter Curatolo.
A medical marijuana facility can open in Lacey's industrial park.
Members of the township Planning Board voted Monday to approved the facility and expressed sympathy for patients suffering from serious illness and chronic pain.
Phoenix Health Ventures LLC, headed by Dr. John Kulin, received approval to dispense medical cannabis to patients from 713A Old Shore Road, a building at the back of the industrial park.
Kulin was president and CEO of Urgent Care Now, a chain of urgent care centers at the Jersey Shore that was acquired by healthcare company CityMD.
Now that New Jersey has legalized marijuana use and possession for adults 21 years and older, South Jersey municipalities have begun adopting their own rules to address use and sale.
And while, many towns are opting to ban it, some are now opening the door to the industry based on the promise of job creation and tax benefits.
Towns are opting out of marijuana
Over 100 municipalities in New Jersey have already adopted or are in the process of adopting ordinances that would completely opt out of the legal weed industry.
Some have passed ordinances that will allow marijuana businesses, but only in certain zones and under certain rules.
In a four-to-one vote, the Township Committee banned the sale and growth of marijuana in the community during their latest meeting.
The issue has been discussed and debated for months during prior committee meetings with the majority of the committee saying they needed more time to deliberate on the matter. The state gave municipalities in New Jersey 180 days to decide whether to allow sales, distribution, and other uses of the drug made legal recently.
The Committee passed the ordinance Thursday that blocks cannabis establishments, cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, delivery services and other weed businesses from operating in Lacey for up to five years.
The prohibition, which could be rescinded sooner, is permitted under New Jersey's new Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement, Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act.
Mayor Peter Curatolo said legal weed would lead to more intoxicated drivers, car crashes, "gang bangers" coming to Lacey and use by minors.
Now that New Jersey has legalized marijuana use and possession for adults 21 years and older, South Jersey municipalities have begun adopting their own rules to address use and sale. Under the N.J. Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act towns have until Aug. 21 - 180 days from the adoption of the state law - to create any local enforcement structure. Towns that do not act by then will be governed by the state's law.
Here's how communities are responding in South Jersey:
get your FL Office of Medical Marijuana Use card!
get your MD Medical Cannabis Commission card!