Highlights From Princeton’s Cannabis Task Force Report

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton’s Cannabis Task Force (CTF) presented its much-awaited report to Council on Tuesday.

Ahead of the presentation, CTF Chair Eve Niedergang thanked all members of the Task Force for their work and residents who attended the public meetings and gave their inputs.

In their report, the Task Force recommended that Princeton should initially allow medical and adult-use retail operations. There are six available cannabis licenses in New Jersey — cultivation, distribution, manufacturing, delivery, wholesale, retail.

The task force said it did not study each license type, instead chose to focus on licenses that “seemed most suitable” to the community.

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No more than three retail medical and adult-use dispensaries should be allowed in the Municipality.

Five commercial areas should be zoned for cannabis retail. The identified locations are Dinky area/Alexander St, Jugtown (near the intersection of Harrison St and Nassau St), Central Business District, Witherspoon North (Witherspoon Street only between Green and Leigh Avenue), and 206 North (at Cherry Valley).

Accessibility to cannabis stores by public transport, bike, or foot played an important role when zeroing in on suitable locations, the Task Force said. Dispensaries will be limited to one per commercial area.

All marijuana retailers will be subject to zoning restrictions similar to alcohol stores. The stores need to be located no less than 200 feet from schools.

During the presentation, CTF member Milan Vaclavik said they had a “spirited discussion” on zoning restrictions. “What we kept coming back to, is we really wanted to mirror those of alcohol. Alcohol is legal, cannabis is legal and it really was the feeling among the Task Force that we shouldn’t introduce any additional requirements that are beyond what’s imposed by the state, just because it’s a dispensary,” Vaclavik said.

The Task Force has also suggested some “visual criteria” for the dispensaries. Dispensary signage should follow all state and existing local guidelines and any additional requirements imposed by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

Usage of words like cannabis, weed, etc., is prohibited as is displaying products at the window of the dispensary. “There are a lot of requirements the state has put in place which addresses many of the concerns that people might have about having a cannabis retailer in their town,” Vaclavik said.

The report also explored the impact on racial and social equity.

The CTF also addressed underage cannabis use and recommendations to tackle the issue. “The CTF feels that regardless of whether a dispensary opens in Princeton, delivery of legal cannabis will be in our community,” said CTF member Kimberly Levitt, Physician at Capital Health. “History has shown that education and outreach, and open dialogue with our children is the most effective way to deter use by minors.”

During the course of preparing their report, the CTF studied various municipalities across the county that were similar to Princeton in terms of demographics, population, presence of colleges, and tourist revenue.

CTF members had conversations with licensing authorities, elected officials, and law enforcement from these municipalities including Pittsfield Holyoke and Amherst in Massachusetts and Portland, Maine.

The discussion went on for three hours, with a few members from the public opposing marijuana dispensaries in Princeton. To read the entire CTF report, click here.

The CTF will now go back, debrief and work on a draft ordinance for Council.

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