Matt fa*gan|NorthJersey.com
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Garfield city leaders were adamant in 2018 when they voted to banmarijuana sales.
Dispensaries could lead to panhandling, odors and worse, and the city wanted no part.
"The council wanted everyone to know this is a hard stance" against thesaleofmarijuana, City Attorney Chris Ditkas said at the time.
But Garfield has changed its tune.
Last week, the council votedto authorize the city manager to look into what areas in the city might be suitable for a dispensary.
Councilman Joseph Delaney saidcouncil members felt it was important to consider, because the tax incentives would benefit the city. "If it is something we can do, we’d like it,” he said.
Garfield is far from the only municipality taking a second look at marijuana sales.Upper Saddle River, North Haledon, Chatham Township, Oakland and Clifton, among others, have the issue on upcoming agendas.
When Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill on Feb. 22 that made marijuana sales for recreational use legal,towns were given six months to adopt local laws that proscribe sales, cultivation and the like within municipal borders.
This means municipalities that adopted anti-marijuana laws in 2018 will have to readopt ordinances by Aug. 21 — or wait five years for another opportunity. In the meantime, dispensaries that followed state guidelines can legally set up shop.
Many towns, but not all, plan to readopt bans.
Others are taking a look at the economic incentives and softening attitudes around marijuana.
Why your town is considering weed
One of the main enticements for towns that allow sales or cultivation of marijuanais a local tax of up to 2% for municipal offers.
Paterson just collected its first medical marijuana tax payment, a check for $50,514 from a Route 20 dispensary from two months of sales.
In Elmwood Park, Mayor Robert Colletti said his town, which initially was against the idea, has since "evolved."
"We must change with the times," he said.
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The governing body will sit down with the borough planner and try to find a suitable spot for retail within the municipality, Colletti said.
Ditto for Ridgewood.Village Manager HeatherMailander said the Village Council is considering the planning and zoning for potential sites and has it under review.
"They may be discussing it in the future,"Mailander said.
Montvale, which in August 2018approved an ordinance to prohibit marijuana establishments, including its cultivation, testing and manufacturing, is still split on the issue,Mayor Mike Ghassali said, and will hold a town hall in April.
But Ramsey, like many other towns,remains opposed. Mayor Deirdre Dillon said, "We are still against it and plan to introduce a new ordinance on March 24."
An argument in their favor, said the New JerseyLeague of Municipalities' Lori Buckelew, is that towns "which opt out can opt back in," but not vice versa.
The league in 2018 began studying potential legalization by comparing other states'experiences, while being careful not to take a position.
Itfound that keeping local control was paramount.
"Municipal governments are on the front line of enforcement, and that fact must be considered in the current discussion about marijuana legalization," the study found.
In other words, what works for Montclair might not work so well for Upper Saddle River.
When will recreational shops open?
The law signed in February allowsthe purchase and sale of legal weed at state-licensed dispensaries, though it could be many months before recreational sales begin, in part becausethere is a 180-day waiting period after the signing.There are 13 medical dispensaries now operating in the state.
The retail shops will be limited to sites that meet state guidelines, such as being far enough from a school.The criteria are easy to meet in sprawling municipalities likeWest Milfordand Montclair, which are welcoming weed businesses.
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Legal weed in cities
In Passaic, Mayor Hector Lora said his thinking has evolved, but not much.
He likes the idea of allowing growing marijuana and dispensing it for medical use. The notion of recreational use, however, is "nuanced."
"I appreciate our governor's heart and commitment for social justice along with our state legislators'," Lora said. "I am less confident with how it may play out for communities like mine."
All too often, the city's poorest were incarcerated for dealing.Nowhe'sgettingbombarded daily with calls from those who want to set up shops in his city.
"I worry that for all this talk of social justice, of equity and restoration, the ones that will benefit the most aren't the ones who lost the most," he said.
He's concerned that while places like Montclair will be lauded as the weed capital of New Jersey, a plethora of dispensaries will reinforce the notion that his city is among the most miserable.
He cites the inner cities' post-Prohibition experience with bars and liquor stores.
"Somewhere along the way they disproportionately popped up in much larger numbers and somehow became a universally accepted symbol of crime-ridden, impoverished and downtroddencommunities," Lora said.
What happened in other states?
New Jersey towns are not the first to grapple with the idea of hosting cannabis retailers, of course.
In Colorado, where recreationalmarijuanawas legalized in 2012, 176 of the state's 272 municipalities chose not to allow retailsales, Kevin Bommer, deputy director of the Colorado Municipal League, said in 2018.
For those towns that permitted shops, he said, some reported increased traffic around stores, an uptick in crime due to shop burglaries, and odor issues.
The website for the marijuana advocacy groupNORML says dispensaries in cities like Denver have been linked toincreased property values and reduced crime rates.
"A likely common mechanism is that “eyes upon the street” deter some types of crime," a July2017study from the Journal of Urban Economics found.
Matt fa*gan is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community,please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email:fa*gan@northjersey.com
Twitter:@fa*gan_nj
