Six months after 400 towns opted out completely, New Jersey is becoming a — slightly — greener place for the fledgling cannabis industry to begin taking root.
About 29% of municipalities in New Jersey now welcome some semblance of the cannabis industry, after 35 towns that had previously prohibited all classes of cannabis businesses have since passed ordinances allowing at least one type of licensed cannabis business to operate within their borders, according to a USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey analysis of municipal ordinances.
At the time of a state-mandated deadline in August, fewer than a quarter of municipalities had passed such ordinances.
The findings show that 22 municipalities that previously banned all legal marijuana businesses have since decided to allow retail sales. Three other towns that had previously allowed some cannabis uses, but not retail dispensaries, have since passed ordinances to allow retail uses.
Another 10 towns with complete cannabis bans have opted into some aspects of the cannabis industry but continue to prohibit retail dispensaries.
“I think a lot of communities took the ‘not in my backyard’ approach to opt out from adult use but will come to regret their decision,” said Joshua Horn, co-chair of the national cannabis law practice at the Fox Rothschild firm. “These communities will lose out of good paying jobs and the corresponding infusion of tax dollars.”
In February 2021, Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a marijuana legalization bill package that came with a six-month deadline. According to the legal weed laws, municipalities had 180 days to decide whether they wanted to opt into the cannabis industry — and pass an ordinance regulating it as such — or opt out completely. Unlike other states, the ordinances didn’t bind towns to those decisions for years.
Many municipal officials found that loophole useful, as the marijuana laws also placed a 180-day deadline on the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission to issue its initial set of rules and regulations. Those rules and regulations weren’t published until Aug. 19, day no. 178.
More than two-thirds of New Jersey voters approved a November 2020 referendum that legalized marijuana. But in South Orange, a village of 17,000 in Essex County, the measure was even more popular: More than 84% of residents voted “yes,” the highest margin in the state.
MORE:See how your town voted on the NJ legal weed ballot question
But the township’s trustee board didn’t want to take that as a foregone conclusion that residents wanted various cannabis businesses in their town, said Trustee Bob Zuckerman, who led a communitywide effort to find the best fit for the cannabis industry in South Orange.
“We opted out because we weren’t ready when you were first allowed to opt in,” he said. “We didn’t want the state to dictate to us. We wanted to fashion our own approach and we did so through a very deliberative process.”
The trustees commissioned a South Orange Cannabis Task Force to hear concerns from neighbors and community groups before eventually crafting municipal regulations.
Those discussions directly impacted the village’s new marijuana ordinances, which require potential licensees to describe how they would be a responsible employer (such as offering health benefits and paid family leave), how they would recruit South Orange residents (including students at the 58-acre Seton Hall University campus in the village) and how they would benefit marginalized or undeserved communities.
The task force also determined that cannabis manufacturing should remain prohibited, due to the negative impact it could have on neighbors’ homes.
The city of Camden opted out of marijuana last August, just as its own task force — the Camden Cannabis Committee — was getting off the ground.
Four months later, the Camden City Council adopted an ordinance allowing all types of cannabis businesses but setting a cap on the number of licenses.
And similar to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, city officials will judge applications based on a series of criteria that include an “applicant’s ties to the community” or status as a social equity business with owners who have marijuana convictions on their criminal record.
Other municipalities have opened themselves up to the cannabis industry, but on far stricter terms.
In Morristown, officials opted back into the cannabis industry but passed an ordinance that only allows for two marijuana dispensaries in the town’s downtown district. No other cannabis businesses are allowed.
“People are going to smoke, so it’s better to control it,” Morristown Councilman Bob Iannaccone said.
It’s likely that more towns will make the switch and allow legal weed businesses.
Asbury Park remains highly courted by the cannabis industry, but Mayor John Moor said his city is going to take its time to develop cannabis regulations that best suit the communities’ needs.
“When we do (allow in the cannabis industry), we are going to make sure it’s for the right reasons: jobs and opportunity for the people who it is intended to help,” he said.
There are limited opportunities for where a cannabis business could locate in Asbury Park. When previously considering marijuana laws, city officials said that mandated setbacks from parks, schools and other public amenities meant there were only about one or two places where a cannabis business could go.
That puts even more onus on the city to craft regulations that guarantee what ultimately opens in Asbury Park is the good neighbor the community deserves, Moor said.
Towns that have taken their time to customize regulations to their community haven’t felt like they are missing out on the potential boom of the cannabis industry.
Retail marijuana sales are yet to begin in New Jersey, and the Cannabis Regulatory Commission stunned experts last week when its members tabled a vote that would have allowed medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling cannabis recreationally.
But it did issue its first 68 licenses to recreational marijuana growers and manufacturers — just three days after South Orange formally opened its applications for cannabis businesses.
“We don’t feel like we’re behind the curve on this,” Zuckerman said.
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Susanne Cervenka covers Monmouth County government and property tax issues, winning several state and regional awards for her work. She’s covered local government for 18 years, with stops in Ohio and Florida before arriving in New Jersey in 2013. Contact her at @scervenka; scervenka@gannettnj.com.
Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He’s won a few awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.
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