Newark May Allow Medical Marijuana Dispensaries In 'Green Zones'

NEWARK, NJ — Should medical marijuana facilities be allowed in Newark? The ball is now in the municipal planning board’s court.

On Tuesday, Mayor Ras Baraka announced that municipal officials are thinking about allowing medical marijuana dispensaries – known as Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) – to set up shop in the city.

Baraka said that his administration has proposed an ordinance to the City Council that would amend the zoning and land use regulation plan in order to authorize the location of cannabis dispensaries in specific areas. The council referred the draft ordinance to the planning board for review.

As part of the effort to find possible locations for the dispensaries, which would be permitted “in close proximity to other medical facilities and in light industrial areas,” city officials have identified areas where medical cannabis can legally take place. These areas are known as “Green Zones”… pun possibly intended.

According to city officials:

“Under the zoning and land use amendments, Medical Marijuana Dispensaries are permitted in Institutional (Hospital) Zones and I-1 Light Industrial Zones. Cultivation, manufacturing and compliance (testing facilities) are permitted in Industrial Districts (I-1, I-2 & I-3). Although the NJ Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act does not have any buffer requirements for medical use, the proposed ordinance requires a 200-foot buffer from schools, colleges and parks.”

Baraka said that he supports the expansion of the state’s medical cannabis program to Newark, and that it would reduce the burden on local residents who use medical marijuana and must now travel miles to secure that treatment.”

New Jersey currently has only six licensed medical marijuana dispensaries, although officials recently announced plans to expand the number of ATCs throughout the state. The dispensaries are located in: Egg Harbor, Montclair, Woodbridge, Cranbury, Secaucus and Bellmawr.

“We believe that medical marijuana dispensaries promote the health and welfare of cannabis patients,” Baraka said. “We fully support access to medical cannabis for current and potential patients.”

• See related article: Rush For Medical Marijuana In NJ After New Conditions Approved
• See related article: New Jersey Marijuana Patients Offer Human Side To Weed Debate

The mayor pointed out that during a recent series of town hall meetings and discussions, residents and stakeholders gave officials “significant feedback” on the issues and concerns surrounding medical and recreational marijuana.

However, one of those who has expressed doubts about legalizing cannabis and expanding medical marijuana into urban areas of the state has been State Sen. Ronald Rice, who represents Newark, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Irvington and Nutley.

After a panel of lawmakers and community activists convened in Newark earlier this month to discuss legalization and the cannabis industry, Rice called the idea a "colossal blunder.”

Rice said that the public discussion on marijuana legalization is being hijacked in the name of "social justice," and that the realities of legalization will mean dire consequences for urban areas with large minority populations.

It’s a stance that clashes with those of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference and the ACLU of New Jersey, who released a report last year that black New Jerseyans were arrested at a rate three-times higher than whites between 2000 and 2013.

• See related article: Essex County Democrat Says NJ Legal Weed Is 'Colossal Blunder'
• See related article: New Jersey Marijuana Arrests Are Criminalizing Black Residents

Rice said that many of New Jersey's richer suburban neighborhoods are choosing to opt out of the legal marijuana rush, a viewpoint that raises flashbacks to the infamously anti-cannabis policies of former Republican Governor Chris Christie, who called the idea of legalizing weed "stupid."

• See related article: Christie Calls N.J. Marijuana Legalization 'Stupid'

"People aren't going to scream when the first head shop opens in Newark or Paterson or Camden or Trenton," Christie said at a 2017 forum on substance abuse in Princeton, eliciting a chuckle from his audience. "But man, I can't wait for the first one to open in Short Hills."

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