Illegal Markets Will Thrive In NJ Towns With Weed Bans: Advocates

NEW JERSEY — There’s an elephant in the room when it comes to “allowing” cannabis businesses to set up shop in New Jersey, advocates say. Pot will continue to be sold in your town – whether local officials have banned it or not.

New Jersey voters approved recreational marijuana in November 2020. But when state lawmakers crafted the legalization bill, they left room for municipalities to ban or limit the number of cannabis businesses operating in their communities. Read More: 5 Things You Need To Know About Marijuana Legalization In NJ

Cities and towns in New Jersey had until Saturday to pass a law regulating cannabis businesses. They will be able to repeal or alter their ordinances. However, if they didn’t pass an ordinance in that time, not only will marijuana businesses be allowed to operate, but local officials won't have another chance to issue a ban for a period of five years. Read More: Marijuana Is Legal In NJ. But Can Towns Still Ban It?

Since the state-imposed deadline, an estimated 63 percent of Garden State towns and cities have “opted out” of allowing recreational cannabis sales, according to an unofficial tally from the New Jersey League of Municipalities. Some local officials have said their bans are only temporary until more permanent rules can be sorted out.

Here’s the thing, though, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). By putting the brakes on legal cannabis sales, towns are actually supporting the so-called black market.

“These moratoriums only serve to protect and prolong the illicit cannabis marketplace,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, commenting on the recent wave of local bans in New Jersey.

“Time and time again, we have seen that consumers prefer to obtain cannabis products from safe, licensed, above-ground retailers,” Armentano said. “But, absent access to such facilities, the illicit market will continue to fill this void.”

Armentano continued:

“Despite a mandate from their constituents, the majority of whom overwhelmingly voted in November to legalize adult-use marijuana sales in New Jersey, many local officials remain hesitant of the notion of licensing these operations in their communities. The irony is that marijuana sales are already taking place in these communities right now. But rather than taking place in licensed, regulated establishments, they are occurring on street corners without any oversight and without any monies generated from these sales filtered back into the community.”

According to NORML, studies have repeatedly refuted the claims that retail marijuana establishments are linked with elevated crime rates. Research has also shown that they aren’t linked to an increase in youth marijuana use. Some analyses have even concluded that retailers are associated with a rise in home values and in other “positive economic indicators.”

Current regulations place no statewide cap on the number of licensed retailers that will be permitted in New Jersey, although there’s a limit on cultivator licenses.

• See related article: NJ Marijuana Market Rules Approved (Here's What We Know)

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