Proposed Marijuana Legislation Voids Existing Municipal Bans

CINNAMINSON, NJ - At a highly anticipated meeting in December, Cinnaminson Township Committee decided to table a proposed ordinance to prohibit the operation of marijuana retailers in the township.

With a final vote on proposed state legislation that would legalize recreational marijuana use for adults older than 21 set for Monday, delaying it might have been the best decision the committee could’ve made.

Legislative committees in both the New Jersey Senate and the Assembly approved a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults over 21 in the state this week. The bill now heads to the full Senate and Assembly, which would each need to approve it before the bill could land on Gov. Phil Murphy's desk for his signature.

Read more here: NJ Recreational Pot Bill Approved By Committees; Final Vote Soon

Senate Bill 2703 includes some changes from the legislation the state was considering in December. Of particular note, the legislation voids any existing ordinances that ban marijuana sales. So any municipality that previously enacted a ban on marijuana-related activities will have to enact a new ban.

If the current legislation is passed and signed into law, marijuana use for adults 21 and older becomes legal throughout the state, and municipalities who wish to ban it will have to “opt out.”

However, a commission will be established by the state to establish regulations concerning growth, sale, taxation and other aspects of the law. Once those regulations are passed and made public, towns will then have 180 days to decide what actions they want to take.

If the municipality doesn’t act, the state law takes effect and the municipality will not be able to institute a ban for another five years. Anyone who institutes a ban and later decides to overturn it will not have to wait five years to do so.

Once a ban is in place, a municipality would not have to act every five years after that. Conditional bans, meaning municipalities can adopt certain aspects of the law while prohibiting others.

Previously, municipalities had 180 days from the day the legislation was signed to act. It was this short window that previously prompted Cinnaminson officials to discuss what they wanted to do. A delay in the state’s decision, which originally was to come on Oct. 29, allowed the township committee to table its own vote and take time to explore their options.

Since then, the township has formed a sub-committee consisting of Mayor Ernest McGill, Committee Member Stephanie Kravil, Police Chief Richard Calabrese, Township Administrator Eric Schubiger and members of the community to explore the issue, Schubiger said.

“The goal of the Township Committee is to have as much citizen input as possible so that the Township is in solid position to properly consider the implications of any state legislation,” Schubiger said Thursday morning.

Read more here: Cinnaminson Committee Delays Vote On Recreational Marijuana Ban

Legalization was the focus of a community forum at Sterling High School in Camden County Wednesday night. William J. Caruso, Esq., of Archer Law, provided an overview of the legislation and answered questions.

According to Caruso, there is no reason to think that the federal government will withhold money from states and municipalities that have legalized marijuana for recreational or medicinal use. However, anyone with a federal job may still be fired for smoking marijuana, either recreationally or for medicinal reasons.

The legislation includes a 3 percent local revenue tax on retail sales; 2 percent tax on cultivation; 2 percent tax on processing; and a 1 percent wholesale tax. There are also various fees associated with possible legalization, and towns can choose to lower their tax rates if they impose requirements that dispensaries coming into town hire locally.

Taxation is dependent on towns being a host community for dispensaries, Caruso said. However, other aspects, including reimbursements to towns that must repurpose K-9s trained to detect marijuana, are not. Any town with K-9s that were trained to detect marijuana will be reimbursed for the officers’ training time.

He was among a five-person panel that spoke about the issue, and the panel cautioned that the legislation is always changing, and what is considered Monday may have different aspects than what is currently being proposed.

One resident pointed out that municipalities that prohibit marijuana in town will still be impacted if their neighbors allow it.

“Even if neighboring towns don’t allow it, there’s still a home delivery aspect,” Caruso said, pointing out that towns already deal with marijuana use as it is.

See related: 16 Things To Know About NJ Legal Marijuana Bill Before It’s Law