The special council meeting to discuss the possibility of a cannabis dispensary in Princeton, has now been postponed to spring. The meeting will "probably be rescheduled" in March, Councilwoman Eve Niedergang said in an email to the press. Niedergang is also the chair of the Cannabis Task Force (CTF).
During the Dec. 16 meeting, the CTF said it was going forward with its recommendations to allow three medical and adult-use retail dispensaries in town. despite some pushback from residents.
The special council meeting was expected to be held in January.
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.
Ordinances governing the zoning, licensing and taxation of recreational cannabis businesses in South Orange will be introduced to the Board of Trustees on Monday, January 10.
A formal presentation of this legislation will be made during the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, February 14 and will include time for questions from the public.
Phillipsburg Town Council will gather virtually on New Year's Eve to consider a resolution supporting a recreational marijuana license for sales on South Main Street.
The brief agenda for the 7 p.m. meeting includes a resolution "authorizing TerrAscend NJ LLC to operate as both a medical and adult-use cannabis establishment within the Town of Phillipsburg."
Jo Anne Zito of the ‘Coalition for Medical Marijuana – New Jersey’ believes that the new year will be a good one for the state’s medical marijuana patients, equity, and also for social justice. She cited the departure of Senate President Stephen Sweeney, replaced by Senator Nick Scutari, as a reason to be optimistic for 2022. “There is cause for hope,” Zito told Insider NJ. “Scutari is a little bit better on cannabis. He seems to definitely want to remove the felony issue, maybe make it a misdemeanor.”
The Borough Council unanimously approved three ordinances Monday night that will allow non-retail cannabis businesses to locate in the borough's industrial zones.
Ordinances 21-CODE-863, 872 and 873 were unanimously approved by the council without any comment from the public.
Ordinance 863 defines the zones. Ordinance 872 sets out licensing regulations. Ordinance 873 establishes procedures for the 2% transfer taxes on those businesses.
Local plant shop owner Shayla Cabrera is hoping to be one of the first people to acquire a license to grow cannabis in Jersey City.
Cabrera, 33, said it feels like a natural for her to enter into the cannabis industry as she already has experience in agriculture. She hasn’t found a suitable site as a cultivation facility yet, but she already has generated interest from retailers.
There would be no minimum distance from churches, playgrounds and parks, but the proximity of cannabis stores would mirror the regulations for liquor stores. A liquor store must be at least 200 feet away from a school.
The federal drug-free zone around schools is 1,000 feet, but task force members said that since there is no evidence that the 200-foot requirement for liquor stores had led to under-aged drinking, the same 200-foot standard should apply to cannabis stores.
The Cannabis Task Force met again on Thursday, December 16, and – despite a public opinion campaign in opposition to the group’s recent recommendations to Princeton Council – decided to stick with those recommendations.
The Task Force recommended that the town “allow no more than three retail medical and adult-use dispensaries, with a strong preference for at least one micro-license that has a social equity priority.”
Prospective cannabis businesses now have a place in Morristown. Town Council passed an ordinance allowing zoning for up to two recreational and/or medical dispensaries in town, which would be limited to certain areas.
The regulations limit potential dispensaries to the Central Business District and zone MX-2 — Ridgedale and Madison Avenues, plus a portion of Martin Luther King Avenue. They also must be at least 1,000 feet from a grade school and 200 feet from houses of worship.