When New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, the state allowed municipalities to decide if they wanted to participate in the cannabis industry. Nearly two-thirds of the state's 564 municipalities voted to "opt out" and bar adult-use operations. Dozens of towns later reversed their positions. But on Jan. 30, New Jersey State Senate President Nicholas Scutari introduced a bill that could give the state the power to override local opt-out decisions in certain cases.
The proposed Bill S4074 would overhaul several aspects of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), streamlining the application process, lowering barriers to entry, and imposing stricter deadlines for application decisions. Business advocates have welcomed the reforms for promising greater predictability in the approval process, according to legal experts and industry groups.
Critics argue the proposal would let state officials and cannabis companies bypass local ordinances — allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to sell recreational cannabis without local review.
"This is legislation targeted at one politically connected dispensary, and to force Paramus and our residents to allow a recreational shop is wrong. If the bill passes, we are ready to go to court and fight," said Paramus Mayor Christopher DiPiazza. The North Jersey town, which opted out of adult-use marijuana, has one of the state's five medical marijuana–only dispensaries.
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