Several NJ Towns Vote On Marijuana – With Surprising Results

Three towns apparently couldn't wait for New Jersey to legalize marijuana. So they just took a vote themselves this past Tuesday – and the results may be a little surprising.

Nearly fifty-four percent of Union Township residents voted to support marijuana sales in their community, even though New Jersey has not yet made pot legal.

In Vineland, support for some form of marijuana legislation was even stronger: 60.42 percent voted yes while 39.58 voted no.

Bridgeton asked three questions, with two essentially asking voters if they essentially support marijuana legislation. In each case, the community voted against – by razor-thin margins – the idea of retail pot sales in their town.

But Bridgeton did vote on a third question that shows the community supports the idea of locating pot businesses – if marijuana is eventually legalized – in an "industrial" zone of the community.

Each referendum was non-binding – which means these communities did not actually legalize pot within their borders. But the idea, officials said, was to gaugue whether voters would be supportive of the idea.

The votes came as New Jersey lawmakers continue to debate when – or even if – they're going to vote to legalize marijuana. Gov. Phil Murphy has pushed for a vote, but he and other supporters have hit snags because of some opposition in the state Legislature.

Lawmakers say were targeting Oct. 29 as the date to vote on a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey.

Two top lawmakers, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney and state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, are now expecting to get something voted on – and passed – by the end of the year, Patch has learned.

The lawmakers apparently still need to iron out their differences with what the Murphy administration wants.

It wasn't exactly clear at press time what all those differences were, but Patch has learned that Sweeney and Murphy differ on the amount of the tax. Sweeney has said that the tax should be no more than 12 percent.

In Union Township, meanwhile, the municipality asked voters if the community should enact legislation permitting the sale of recreational marijuana in the townsip once – of if – New Jersey legailizes it.

In Union, 7,104 people voted yes, while 6,123 voted no.

Vineland, by contrast, asked voters: "Shall the City of Vineland permit the siting of medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary alternative treatment centers within the geographic boundaries" of the city?

The referendum produced this result: 9,009 yes votes and 5,901 no votes.

In one question, Bridgeton asked voters: "Should the City of Bridgeton allow retail facilities of recreational marijuana to operate within city limits?"

That measure had 49.34 percent, or 1,188, voting yes while 50.66 percent, or 1,220, voted no.

The town also asked: "Should the City of Bridgeton allow operation of facilities that cultivate and/or distribute to retail facilities of recreational marijuana within city limits?"

That measure had 49.20, or 1,163, voting yes and 50.80 percent, or 1,201, voting no.

Lastly, Bridgeton asked: "If the City of Bridgeton does allow facilities that cultivate, distribute and/or retail facilities of recreational marijuana, should these facilities be confined to areas zoned 'Industrial'?"

That measure had 57.26 percent, or 1,345, voting yes and 42.74 percent, or 1,004, voting no.

Murphy was asked about marijuana legalization during a recent Facebook live interview, and he told the audience that he's looking at signing something "sooner than later." The governor's office declined to comment on pending legislation.

"We've had good exchanges with both the legislative leadership sponsors and, most importantly, the teams in the trenches crafting this," Murphy said. "I think it's sooner than later."

Murphy said there will be several pieces to the legislation, including expansion of the medical marijuana program. The "biggest mountain to climb," he said, will be legalizing the drug for recreational use.

Just don't expect pot to be sold in stores right away.

Kate Bell, legislative counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington D.C., told nj.com that the regulatory and licensing process could take another six months after the legislation is passed. That schedule could move a lot more quickly if medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed to meet the demand.

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