Middle Township will propose a ban on public marijuana smoking and vaping at its April 5 Committee meeting. The measure would establish fines of up to $1,000 for violators.
Though New Jersey recently legalized marijuana use for adults over 21, municipalities retain the right to regulate smoking and vaping in public areas. Local governments also have the ability to restrict sales and cultivation of marijuana and related products, and limit the number of marijuana businesses within their boundaries.
It took New Jersey years to become the first in the tri-state region to legalize recreational marijuana and it looks like it may already be losing its head start. This week New York’s governor and Legislature finalized a deal to make the drug legal for adults.
Another New Jersey town is trying to ban the booming legal recreational marijuana business.
The city of Orange has introduced a measure to keep cannabis shops out of the town. But a local business owner is rallying support from the community to block the legislation.
Brwnbox co-owner Ty Griffith started a petition in the hopes of getting Ordinance 14-2021 canceled.
“If Orange passes this ordinance, that’s sunk money,” he says.
The clock is ticking on New Jersey towns if they want to pass local laws banning or regulating legal marijuana, including Livingston.
The Livingston Town Council will hold a public forum on Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. No formal action will be taken.
According to a municipal news release, the purpose of the meeting is to gather public input on the state's new laws, which legalized recreational cannabis use for adults.
“So to truly legalize cannabis home growers should be an option, “Gopal said. “It’s no different than other states like California who have adopted this… . The reality is, as a country and as a state, we’ve spent billions of dollars on the failed war on drugs. And this is just one piece of making sure that it’s truly legalized.”
Police can no longer arrest people for possessing marijuana but there is no legal way to buy it right now. Marijuana industry expert Mike McQueeny says this could be a quicker way to access legal weed. Setting up dispensaries will take longer.
As other Cape May County towns move to block cannabis-related businesses, Middle Township officials may be heading in the opposite direction.
The Township Committee already supported a proposal for a medical marijuana facility on Indian Trail Road, and members are now considering a request to expand that use to grow for the new adult-use market.
New Jersey medical marijuana patients are plagued with long lines, supply shortages and amongst the highest cost in the nation for medical cannabis. The reason? The number of registered medical marijuana patients has grown by tens of thousands since Governor Murphy took office, but the state has issued only a handful of medical cannabis permits since then. In fact, today there are just 14 medical marijuana dispensaries to serve over 110,000 registered patients. The math simply doesn't work, and patients are needlessly suffering.
Unfortunately, I am not the only patient in New Jersey with this problem. There are over 110,000 registered medical marijuana patients in the state, but just 14 dispensaries to serve them. This is simply too few and the reason why New Jersey’s medical marijuana is not only difficult to access but also the most expensive in the country. And now I’m concerned patients are being entirely overlooked with the state so focused on setting up the adult-use recreational market.
Sponsored by:
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Legalizes growing or possessing up to six marijuana plants for personal recreational use, and up to 10 plants for personal medical use, by persons aged 21 or older.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning marijuana and amending various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.2C:35-4 is amended to read as follows:
Sen. Vin Gopal’s bill is geared toward anyone who wants to grow cannabis for recreational use. The bill pushes for up to six plants for recreational use and 10 plants for medicinal use.
“Anyone should be able to have access to this plant, whether it is for medical purposes or for your own personal use,” says Susanna Short.