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Recreational Marijuana Photo by mastma on Pixabay
The debate over recreational marijuana in New Jersey continues to garner strength. While the governor persists in his endeavor to legalize marijuana, most anticipate that a bill will not reach his office until the end of the year. All the while, the debate continues. Cities and towns are also beginning to take sides. Some locations are embracing the concept of recreational marijuana and researching how they can implement the law once it is in place, while other areas are gearing up to prohibit the legalization.
Longstanding Tradition
Since marijuana was made illegal through the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, the subject has become taboo. To overcome this long-time belief, it will take a lot of conversations and education. In the end, most want to convince people that the recreational use of marijuana is not harmful. Or, at least no more harmful than the recreational use of alcohol. While supporters continue to make inroads with the approval of marijuana for medicinal purposes in many locations throughout the United States, recreational marijuana in New Jersey continues to face significant opposition.
Oversite of Marijuana
Regarding recreational marijuana, taxation issues remain the most significant areas of contention. Other issues of concern include who can grow the cannabis, and how many different businesses can be in operation. Furthermore, the current legislative proposals leave room for municipalities to develop an ordinance to restrict the cultivation, manufacturing, and testing of the drug. They can even restrict the retail operations involved.
What happens if a town or city fails to enact an ordinance to prohibit the operation of a marijuana business within their city? As a result, the local government will not be able to restrict the operation for five years. Moreover, local governments will be able to review the operation of a marijuana business every five years. As was previously indicated, many cities and towns are deciding which side they support, when and if the bill passes.
Asbury Park
There is at least one city that is looking to greet the legalization of recreational marijuana with open arms. That city is Asbury Park. There are several reasons that the city is interested in the legalization. A huge benefit of legalization is the increase in tax funding that the city will receive due to taxing the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and retail sales of marijuana. Unfortunately, many only see the potential for disaster by legalizing marijuana. However, Asbury Park believes that if they strongly regulate the operations, the positives will outweigh the negatives.
In the state of New Jersey, only medical marijuana is currently legalized. There are many who depend on this drug for medical reasons. If that’s you, then you most likely want to know the future of recreational marijuana as well. It could future implications for medical marijuana as well. If you have further concerns or questions, contact us at 732-887-2479, or email Leon Matchin at [email protected].
