New Jersey voters overwhelmingly supported marijuana legalization in a referendum last year, with nearly 68 percent saying they wanted legal weed. But as the deadline passed this week for municipalities to opt-out of allowing cannabis businesses, more than 70 percent said “no,” passing ordinances that prohibit cultivation facilities, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, and dispensaries. Only 98 localities passed ordinances allowing pot sales, but also imposed strict zoning regulations, such as limiting them to one particular redevelopment area or zone. Others prohibited dispensaries while permitting cultivation.
The decisions were based on a number of factors. Some city officials are simply opposed to legal weed, believing the drug would adversely affect children. But many also opted out simply to buy more time as the six-month window to draw up rules for a new industry was too short. Some localities said they also lacked guidance from the state cannabis regulatory commission, which has not yet issued rules and regulations to govern the new market. Municipalities, which can opt back in at any time, were under deadline pressure because failure to pass an ordinance would mean dispensaries automatically receive conditional use in a retail zone.
Invoking opt-out clauses follows a similar pattern across the country in legal weed states, where majorities in even pro-pot states such as California and Oregon have banned sales. While legalization enjoys overall popular support, there are apparently widespread misgivings at the local level about the impact of pot on vulnerable populations, and easy access to the drug. Many municipalities, therefore, chose to forego potential tax revenues from pot sales, in order to protect public health, while reserving the right to say “yes” to marijuana in the future when more robust controls are in place.