Recreational use of marijuana is NOT legal in New Jersey (yet) and the ordinance under consideration is subject to compliance with STATE law. The Bill, if passed would legalize the possession and personal use of small amounts of marijuana for people at least 21 years old. It also would create, regulate and tax a commercial marijuana industry in the state. Therefore, the Weed Ordinance under consideration by the City of Hoboken does NOT legalize recreational use of marijuana in Hoboken; it does anticipate probable passage of state law.
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When I heard that Hoboken may license the sale of weed I thought: do we really want Al Sullivan here every day? Oh, I kid... Al would be great for our weed-economy!
Seriously, Hoboken must decide: to bong or not to bong? That is the question. Because soon the City Council will consider an Ordinance permitting the licensing and operation of various kinds of wacky-weed establishments including, but not limited to, "medical marijuana dispensaries, retail marijuana stores, marijuana-infused products manufacturing facilities, marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana testing facilities, and/or marijuana storage facilities."
Oh, Mary Jane! You know what they say: where there's smoke, there's a marijuana testing facility.
My 2 cents: having dabbled in marijuana usage in my teens, who am I to say no one else can. But supporting pot retail stores in Hoboken: Bongs-R-Us, Potmart, Best Bong, or WeedCo?
I'm a NIMBY. At this time, I don't see an upside to a Potco or a Pot Depot in Hoboken. Do you? Why here? Take the PATH to Jersey City to get stoned. Or the Light Rail to Bayonne. Hoboken doesn't need to be a retail destination for holiday-weed shoppers. Do you see Brian Stack giving out nickel bags for Thanksgiving? No, he brings turkeys. (Yesterday, in fact.)
However, I am all for Hoboken permitting "medical marijuana dispensaries, marijuana-infused products manufacturing facilities, marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana testing facilities, and/or a marijuana storage facilities " in Hoboken. Why the hell not? Jobs, jobs, jobs.
Growing, selling, and distributing legalized weed will be a billion-dollar industry; why should Hoboken be left behind? Hoboken used to have a brewery- alcohol is a controlled substance- so why not a weed-ery? I'd love a weed-lab in Hoboken; and a medical marijuana dispensary; it should be easy for ailing Hoboken residents to buy medical marijuana. Those are my 2 cents. Now I'll get an angry phone call from a retail-marijuana investor friend. Pass me a joint.
Growing, selling, and distributing legalized weed will be a billion-dollar industry; why should Hoboken be left behind? Hoboken used to have a brewery- alcohol is a controlled substance- so why not a weed-ery? I'd love a weed-lab in Hoboken; and a medical marijuana dispensary; it should be easy for ailing Hoboken residents to buy medical marijuana. Those are my 2 cents. Now I'll get an angry phone call from a retail-marijuana investor friend. Pass me a joint.
Okay, tonight the City Council wants to hear your thoughts about all this.
PUBLIC MEETING TONIGHT
re: licensing, sale, research, cultivation, storage of marijuana in Hoboken- medical and retail uses
6:30 PM the Jubilee Center, 601 Jackson Street
Please, people. Read the underlined potions of the proposed Ordinance below. It is important to understand the details. Once again, the ordinance does not legalize recreational use of weed in Hoboken; which is pending passage by the state.
WACKY WEED ORDINANCE
Meh. I have no desire to consume or purchase myself, but the prohibition on marijuana was always absurd and unjust, based on reefer madness nonsense and racism. There's no evidence that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, and to the best of my knowledge, marijuana seems to be less dangerous than either of them. So, when thinking about how to regulate this, my touchstone is to compare it to alcohol and tobacco.
ReplyDeleteThere are probably around 30 stores in Hoboken that sell alcohol, not including restaurants or bars. Maybe a bit more or less, but there seems to be a liquor store or bodega that sells alcohol around every corner. I don't drink often either. But I'd be pretty annoyed if I had to go to Jersey City anytime I wanted to pick up a bottle of wine or some beer. So to me, three stores across all of Hoboken, none of which can be near each other, seems like a reasonable first step. Hoboken has a large enough population that people shouldn't have to commute out of town to get their marijuana. And less than three stores seems like it would be anti-competitive, and may bring accusations of corruption and favoritism.
It's important that any ordinance ban smoking marijuana in public places like sidewalks and parks. People shouldn't have to be exposed to the smoke if they don't want to. And for people who smoke indoors, if the smoke noticeably emanates from their home, it should be an actionable nuisance, like a noise violation, so that neighbors can also avoid undesired exposure. (For that matter, I wish we could have an ordinance banning tobacco smoking in most public places, like sidewalks, but I know that that'll be politically impossible for years to come.)
I'm not sure why the annual license fee for marijuana shops is set at $15,000 in this proposed ordinance. If it's not capped by state law, it seems like the City should set it higher. My guess is that the three marijuana stores in Hoboken will each have profits around or above seven figures. I think ideally, the City would auction off the permits to the highest qualifying bidder. The "winner" would then be required to keep paying their winning bid on an annual basis if they don't want their permit to be subject to a new open auction. I wouldn't be shocked if the permits each ended up selling for six figures at an auction.
I do not think it is a coincidence that the proposal to open these shops are NOT in any area where the Mayor or City Council actually live. Instead like most things they don't want near their own homes and families they push them on southern Hoboken.
ReplyDeleteThe massive residential building on the Hoboken-Jersey City border that Councilman DeFusco advocated for would be in one of the areas that permits would be sold. What may now be an industrial area in SouthWest Hoboken will soon be residential.
Perhaps this is one of those things that Councilman DeFusco was referring to when said the high rise development would encourage interconnectivity between the municipalities.
Union City has already declared it will not allow pot shops.
Maybe they'll activate the SW park by putting a dispensary in the middle of it. Ramos should be all over this if he hasn't been bought off -there is no reason to put an additional dispensary in the SW if they have one by the PATH. He is after all the 4th Ward Councilman and he actually does live in the SW.
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