MARIJUANA , from Page 1 gust 21 — 180 days — to enact ordinances or regulations “ governing the number of cannabis establishments , distributors or delivery services , as well as the location , manner and times of operation of establishments and distributors , but the time of operation of delivery services shall be subject only to regulation by the commission ; and establishing civil penalties for
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violation of an ordinance or regulation governing the number of cannabis establishments , distributors or delivery services that may operate in such municipality , or their location , manner or the times of operations .” additionally , according to the legislation — provided such an ordinance is passed within the 180- day timeframe , a municipality may “ prohibit the operation of any
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one or more classes of cannabis establishment or cannabis distributors or cannabis delivery services , but not the delivery of cannabis items and related supplies by a delivery service , within the jurisdiction of the municipality through the enactment of an ordinance .” the failure to enact such an ordinance during the given time frame “ shall result in any class of cannabis establishment or a cannabis distributor or cannabis delivery service that is not prohibited from operating within the municipality as being permitted to operate therein .”
“ at the end of a five-year period following the initial failure of a municipality to enact an ordinance prohibiting the operation of one or more classes of cannabis establishment or cannabis distributors or cannabis delivery services , and every five-year period thereafter following a failure to enact a prohibiting ordinance , the municipality shall again be permitted to prohibit the future operation of any one or more classes of cannabis establishment or cannabis distributors or cannabis delivery services through the enactment of an ordinance during a new 180-day period ,” the legislation states . However , any such ordinance will be prospective , and “ not apply
Wednesday , April 7 , 2021 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
Town has until August 21 to create marijuana ordinances
to any cannabis establishment , distributor or delivery service operating in the municipality prior to the enactment of the ordinance .”
“ the town is evaluating the various options , and will make a decision before the 180-day timeframe ,” Michael Malinsky , Hammonton ’ s town solicitor , said .
Councilman thomas Gribbin said that Mayor Stephen DiDonato and the members of town council have been in contact with Malinsky regarding the legislation .
“ He has represented that there are members within his firm that have experience and have been advising clients in other municipalities with regard to the law . We ’ re interested in having a more detailed discussion on what this means for our town ,” Gribbin said .
Recreational marijuana legalization began on November 3 , 2020 , when voters in the state of New Jersey overwhelmingly approved New Jersey Public Question 1 , the Marijuana Legalization amendment . according to information available on the website of the atlantic County Clerk , the total certified votes cast from Hammonton were 4,313 in favor and 2,383 against .
“ the town , the county and the state voted in favor , two to one , which means that , as an elected official , it ’ s my responsibility to do my due diligence into this issue effectively ... Our community has voted in favor of it , and i believe it ’ s my responsibility — and mayor and council ’ s responsibility — to take a deep dive into it , and show that it could be , or would not be , successful ,” Councilman Jonathan Oliva said . Gribbin concurred . “ Our town voted overwhelmingly for it , and i think that ’ s an important aspect : to listen to the concerns of the residents . that was to approve the plan ; i know there are other aspects about what that means , as far as dispensaries and the like , and growth . i don ’ t know if the vote in favor also meant the vote in favor of having dispensaries , having growth ; i think we still need to look at all of those aspects . it ’ s certainly not going to be lost on me that it was overwhelmingly approved in our town , in our county and in our state ,” Gribbin said .
Councilman William Olivo conceded the results of the vote , but questioned what precisely that meant for the town .
“ i know the people in the town voted for it ; i think it was about a 2,000 vote margin in the town of Hammonton , but did the people know what they were voting for in that respect ? i just want to get a little bit more research behind me before i make a decision as to
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