Lacey Committee Votes To Ban Sale Of Recreational Marijuana

LACEY, NJ — The Lacey Township Committee voted unanimously last Thursday to prohibit the sale of recreational marijuana in Lacey. The governing body also voted 4-1 to allow the zoning of a medical marijuana dispensary in the business park.

New Jersey voters will decide in the November election whether to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey. Some towns, such as Lacey, have passed ordinances banning its sale in the event that voters choose to legalize it in the Garden State.

The medical-marijuana ordinance doesn't necessarily mean that a dispensary will open in town. But if anyone applies to put a medical-marijuana dispensary in Lacey, the ordinance limits its possible location to a certain area, said Committeeman Mark Dykoff.

"It’s not that someone can come in and seek a variance and get in wherever they want," he said. "So now we say, it’s zoned in the business park."

Deputy Mayor Peter Curatolo was the only committee member to vote against the ordinance allowing the zoning of a medical marijuana dispensary. Curatolo expressed skepticism on the proposal when the committee discussed both ordinances at June 11's meeting.

"I've often asked people what are the public health or public safety benefits of having a dispensary in your town?" Curatolo said in June. "I just can't get a good answer. I would much rather, if somebody is in need of medical marijuana, it's prescribed, by all means. ... I would just rather someone bought it in some other town." Read more: Medical Marijuana In Lacey? Recreational Ban? Committee Discusses

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