By Marion Filler
Like every other municipality in the Garden State, Morris Township is scrambling to deal with the legalization of recreational cannabis. A virtual information session on Thursday attempted to clarify what is involved.
Last November, New Jersey voters approved the production, distribution, and sale, of recreational cannabis by a two-to-one margin. A Cannabis Regulatory Committee (CRC) was established in February, and is required to provide the state with ground rules for the transition by Aug. 22, 2021.
So far, the CRC has not issued any regulations or guidelines.
Municipalities also have a deadline of Aug. 22 to decide if they want to participate and allow any part of the cannabis industry on their turf. But right now they are in the dark about what the CRC will say.
While awaiting directives, towns have several options to consider.
By law, they can pass ordinances specifying where and by whom cannabis is transacted — that is, rates of taxation, issuance of licenses, location of dispensaries, and penalties for transgressions.
Or they can opt out and prohibit cannabis operations.
Among the four Morris Township officials running Thursday’s session, the consensus was to opt out until the CRC issues a statement, and then opt in with Township ordinances.
Township Counsel Scott Carlson echoed the sentiments of Deputy Mayor Mark Gyorfy, Committeewoman Cathy Wilson and Administrator Tim Quinn.
“There are a lot of regulations to be adopted. We need to get familiarized with them, and should we then want to make a change in our opt-out position, we are free to do so,” Carlson said.
The attorney then clarified how it works. “If you opt out prior to Aug. 22, you can get in afterwards. If you opt in before Aug. 22, you cannot opt out for the next five years.”
Neighboring Morristown has adopted an opt-out ordinance, until the smoke clears.
Callers wanted to know if growing marijuana on private property now will be legal. No, it won’t.
If one town prohibits the sale of cannabis, can it be delivered from another? Yes, qualified companies will be licensed to make deliveries anywhere in New Jersey.
Caller Terry Hudzima of Morris Township warned about cannabis farms, which are going to be legal.
“I’m going to call it the first mistake. But it may be erroneous to think of this only as an industry, because in Boonton Township, it’s thought of as agriculture.”
She referred to an area where marijuana is being grown that “has been a nightmare for individuals in both Denville and Boonton.”
“If anything is zoned a farm, it is totally unregulated. They can bypass the planning board, they can bypass the zoning board, and you will have no control,” Hudzima said. She cited greenhouse odors, pesticides, and excessive traffic as problems.
Bill McKee Jr. of Powerville Road in Boonton Township said light emanating from the greenhouses is intrusive.
“There’s a three-story house near there and in the background it looks like the sun is shining. At first they were telling us it would be a 9 to 5 operation, but it’s turned out to be a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week operation,” McKee said.
He found it ironic that a local bank had been challenged over a single light, to preserve dark skies. Yet in this case, the municipality had no jurisdiction over the greenhouses because of their agricultural designation.
