A nonprofit marijuana policy group is distributing a survey to hundreds of New Jersey mayors in an effort to identify local concerns and challenges of regulating cannabis sales as the state works to implement legalization.
The Cannabis Advisory Group (CAG) announced the questionnaire on Wednesday, just two days before a voter-approved referendum to legalize marijuana for adult use is set to become enacted as a constitutional amendment.
On Thursday, New Jersey legislators in the state Senate and Assembly both passed landmark legislation approving recreational adult-use cannabis, eliminating criminal and civil penalties for possession of up to six ounces of marijuana, and downgrading the penalty for sale of up to one ounce of the drug to a warning for first offenders and fourth-degree (disorderly persons) charges for subsequent offenses.
In the resolution, Freeholders noted that in the November 3 general election, New Jersey voters approved an amendment to the State Constitution legalizing recreational, adult use marijuana. The constitutional amendment will allow the possession and use of marijuana for individuals 21 years of age and older and legalizes the cultivation, processing and sale of retail marijuana.
Verona Mayor Jack McEvoy updated the Township Council on the status of marijuana legalization and how it would impact the municipality at its virtual meeting last week.
New Jersey voters approved a constitutional amendment on Election Day, with about 67 percent voting to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 years and older. The measure doesn’t go into effect until Jan. 1, and as of now, it is still not legal to possess marijuana.
Mayor Matt Scott – “We have been thinking about it as a township committee. Voters in New Jersey overwhelmingly passed the mandate. We are following what the legislature is going to do,” he said. “Our township lawyer reached out to the township committee right after and stated that until the final bill comes out we won’t know how it is going to affect us.”
As far as retail recreational marijuana in Cranbury, Scott stated that the township still has the 2018 ordinance, which is not going anywhere.
New Jersey voters this fall get to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use among adults 21 and older, while a number of communities have moved preemptively to block marijuana sales.
As of October, there were nearly 70 local ordinances banning either all marijuana sales and growth or recreational forms of the drug.
Lacey in Ocean County is among the most recent to act with an ordinance amended this fall.
The first public question on New Jersey’s ballot asks voters to decide whether the state should legalize recreational marijuana use and possession. Barnegat township officials have their own stance on the issue. Township Committee members passed a resolution this week in opposition to a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational cannabis use and sales.
The 90-minute webinar, “Cannabis Legalization and Your Town,” examined the state of efforts to pass the upcoming ballot referendum on adult-use cannabis legalization, the state of the medical cannabis program during the pandemic, potential tax and employment benefits and issues for municipalities, and whether cannabis companies can force their way into town.
Here’s a quick rundown:
Jeff Brown, the head of the Department of Health’s Medicinal Marijuana Program, said the program faced many challenges during the early days of the pandemic.
The Lacey Township Committee voted unanimously last Thursday to prohibit the sale of recreational marijuana in Lacey. The governing body also voted 4-1 to allow the zoning of a medical marijuana dispensary in the business park.
New Jersey voters will decide in the November election whether to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey. Some towns, such as Lacey, have passed ordinances banning its sale in the event that voters choose to legalize it in the Garden State.
With recreational marijuana legalization potentially coming soon to New Jersey, Lacey officials discussed the future of dispensaries in town. The Township Committee introduced two ordinances Thursday: one to allow a medical marijuana dispensary in the business park and another prohibiting recreational dispensaries in the township.
New Jersey voters will decide in the November election whether to legalize recreational marijuana in the Garden State. If it passes, state legislature would need to decide on the details and regulations.