Brick Takes First Step To Ban Recreational Marijuana Sales

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing March 12 on an ordinance to ban the retail sale of recreational marijuana in the township.

The ordinance, introduced Tuesday night with five yes votes and one abstention, was met with some comments in favor of it and some opposed, as expected.

Stephen Reid, the mayor of Point Pleasant Beach, spoke in his role as executive director ofNJ RAMP, a statewide organization that opposes recreational marijuana legalization. Reid praised the council for taking the step to ban retail sale of recreational marijuana in the town.

"I commend all fo you for putting your children and residents first," Reid said, adding that more than 70 towns in the state have instituted similar bans on the retail sale of recreational marijuana. Point Pleasant Beach banned both recreational and medicinal marijuana dispensaries in a December 2017 ordinance. A lawsuit filed earlier this month claims Reid's role with NJ RAMP is a conflict with his duties as mayor in connection with the ban.

Some of those who spoke described how the use of medical marijuana has helped them break free of opioid addiction. Richie Campbell of Brick, a U.S. Navy veteran who uses a cane due to an injury and who ran for Brick mayor in 2017, said he was treating his pain with prescribed opioids for years. The prescription was not relieving his pain and he was getting worse until he finally broke down and listened to a suggestion from a friend to try marijuana.

"I was totally against marijuana," Campbell said, adding that it has made a tremendous difference in his life.

Mike Vintzileos of Point Pleasant shared similar sentiments, saying he had started with painkillers and as his addiction worsened, wound up using heroin. He sought help through a local methadone clinic, but it wasn't until he switched to medical marijuana that he was finally able to break away.

A woman from Brick who spoke in support of the ban raised concerns about marijuana being used to incapacitate women and put them at risk of sexual assault. She also expressed concerns about the potential for it getting into the hands of kids.

The next speaker, who identified himself as Lefty Grimes, attacked that woman's comments and was immediately rebuked by Zapcic. He went on to say that the opposition to recreational marijuana is rooted in decades-old racist sentiments surrounding how the use of marijuana was demonized, and urged the council to reconsider the ban.

With the exception of Grimes's comments, the meeting was relatively calm, in spite of ongoing conflict in the community over the proposal by Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care to open a medical marijuana facility at the site of the former Ocean First bank on Adamston Road. Opponents of that facility and proponents of medical and recreational marijuana have been battling in social media forums over the issue for months.

The council meeting was held with tighter security than in the past, with all attendees walking through a metal detector before entering the meeting room. It was not clear whether this was in place solely in response to the heated climate that has surrounded the topic or whether this will be a permanent fixture.

Councilman Jim Fozman abstained from the vote to introduce the ordinance, saying he wanted more time to read the ordinance before weighing in at all. He also asked who suggested the ordinance in the first place, specificially.

Council President Andrea Zapcic said the ordinance originated in the council's Land Use Committee, which makes recommendations regarding planning and zoning issues in the township. Council Vice President Lisa Crate and Council members Paul Mummolo and Arthur Halloran sit on the land use committee.

Fozman was critical of the minutes of the meeting where it was discussed, saying they lacked sufficient details. Meeting minutes have been an ongoing source of conflict between Fozman and other council members for months.

In his council comments, Fozman addressed the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries, saying he visited one recently while on a trip to Las Vegas, and said he saw a very secure, clean facility. He noted that patients were only able to access it if they had cards showing they were patients, and that they left the area immediately.

"They weren't standing around smoking it right there," he said.

You can watch the end of the council meeting below. You also can read the proposed ordinance.

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