Brick Medical Marijuana Dispensary Back Before Zoners On Jan. 9

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Board of Adjustment is scheduled to resume hearing a proposal for a medical marijuana dispensary on Jan. 9.

The hearing is set for 7 p.m. at Civic Plaza, 270 Chambers Bridge Road in Brick, zoning board secretary Pamela O'Neill confirmed. Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care is seeking permission to turn the former Ocean First bank on Adamston Road into a medical marijuana dispensary.

The company, owned by Anne Davis of Brick and Karen Medlin of Marlboro, was notified shortly before Christmas that it was not among the six chosen statewide to proceed with the permit process. But they are continuing with the application before the zoning board in order to be prepared if (or when) the state decides to add more dispensary licenses.

The state announced last July that it would accept applications for the six new sites, with two each in the north, central and southern parts of the state. There were 147 applications filed for the six licenses, including 45 in the central region, where Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care is seeking to locate. But neither of the approved companies are in Monmouth or Ocean counties, which have two of the highest numbers of patients with medical marijuana cards. Overall, there are 38,000 medical marijuana patients in the state's registry, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.

The proposal to put the dispensary at the old Ocean First bank on Adamston Road has become increasingly contentious. Davis has said the site was chosen in part because the former bank has a safe, and because the 48,000-square-foot facility would be set back from the road, affording the patients some privacy.

Neighbors who oppose having it located near homes —the property is a mixed use site with commercial properties on either side of it, but across the street from a residential neighborhood — say they believe it should be located in a commercial area. They have gained support from a number of nearby residents who have raised questions about security, traffic and potential environmental impact from the grow facility. The property backs up to the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge.

Several have repeatedly raised concerns that facility will sell recreational marijuana, despite Davis stipulating in the first hearing that they would put in a deed restriction that would prohibit the sale of recreational marijuana at the site.

Supporters of the effort to bring a medical marijuana dispensary to Brick, including patients who currently travel more than an hour each way to purchase their medicine, have packed previous hearings.

At the last zoning board hearing in November, supporters and opponents packed the municipal courtroom to standing-room-only status, with people spilling out into the hallway. The overflow of people prompted zoning board attorney John Miller to urge the board to carry the hearing to another date and hold it in a bigger venue, over the objections of John Paul Doyle, the attorney for Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care. Miller cited concerns that members of the public did not have full access and that could put the board in a position of facing legal action as a result.

When the board voted to carry the hearing to January, opponents of the dispensary applauded, and there was nearly a fight between one of the opponents and a supporter of the dispensary. Residents say the argument was between Max Flores, a resident of the nearby development, and Joel Allcock, the chief operating officer of Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care.

Since then, social media debates between supporters and opponents have become increasingly heated and nasty, laden with personal attacks and even threats.

Opponents of the facility, on a public Facebook group named Brick Residents Say No To Rezoning, have openly accused Mayor John Ducey of having a conflict because his sister is married to Michael White, the security director for Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care. The mayor does not sit on the zoning board or planning board and has no vote on projects before either body.

In another post on the group's Facebook page, the opponents accuse the board of having a potential conflict in John Paul Doyle representing the facility. The post alleges the conflict arises through Doyle's sister, Lonna Doyle, who died in 2012. The post incorrectly says Lonna Doyle served on the zoning board years ago. According to her obituary from 2012, Lonna Doyle served on the Brick Planning Board.

Supporters of the facility have debated openly with the group on that page, accusing them of being against medical marijuana and of lacking compassion for medical marijuana patients. Both groups have created private Facebook groups as the vitriol has escalated.

It will likely make for an extremely contentious hearing on Jan. 9. Parking overflow for the Civic Center is usually at Warren H. Wolf Elementary School across the street.

Regardless of the outcome of the Jan. 9 hearing, the result seems headed for litigation.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Brick Company Hopes To Open Medical Marijuana Dispensary In Town
• Tension Marks Meeting On Proposed Brick Medical Marijuana Site
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Proposal Before Brick Zoners
• Brick Zoners Continue Medical Marijuana Dispensary Hearing
• State Delays New Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Decision
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Proposal Before Brick Zoners Again
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Proposal In Brick Postponed
• Brick Firm's Medical Marijuana Permit Bid Fails

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