Zone would be east of Garden State Parkway
PETERSBURG — An estimated $20,000 a month was enough to overcome moral objections to the sale of cannabis in Upper Township.
“The only reason I’m entertaining this is for the revenue side of it,” Mayor Curtis Corson said Jan. 12, noting he was a hard no six months ago when they began researching the issue.
Township Committee rolled out three ordinances that evening that would allow for the sale of cannabis products, which would be permitted only in a special overlay zone between the Garden State Parkway interchange and the 34th Street bridge on Roosevelt Boulevard.
The governing body introduced amendments to allow one retail location. Changes had to be made to permit the use, create a license and impose a tax. Solicitor John Amenhauser said the township can collect a tax of 2 percent on gross sales.
Corson has said the township could use the tax revenue to offset rising costs, noting that as it stands, the product is being “delivered into our community from neighboring communities and we’re missing the revenue stream.”
Public comment
Marmora resident Diane Leo objected to allowing cannabis sales, saying in 2021 the governing body decided that it was in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the residents and visitors to prohibit all manner of marijuana-related land use and development.
“So why is that not a concern now?” she asked.
Leo said she feels the revenue would not be enough to offset what she perceives as the negatives.
“I do not think that it is a lot of money to be risking the safety and health of our citizens,” Leo said.
She went on to cite studies that state marijuana is a gateway drug that can lead to more serious and lethal drugs.
“One study stated that 40 percent of people using lethal drugs had started with marijuana.,” she said, adding that the product is much more potent than in the past.
Leo also said the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the cannabis plant for any medical use, and feared for the health of users.
“THC exposure can reduce brain matter, volume and the prefrontal cortex, impairing executive functions like planning and impulse control,” Leo said. “Other parts of the brain affected are the white matter and brain circuits. These all contribute to developing cannabis-induced disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety, depression and suicide.”
Thomas Drinkard suggested raising revenue through selling beach tags and charging for use of pickleball courts instead.
Corson said Township Committee would consider all forms of revenue but noted they have looked into beach tags and found it would not be worth the effort.
Drinkard asked why the location was chosen. Corson said there is a lot of vehicle traffic and no homes in the zone where sales would be allowed, noting there are seven properties there that could become the site of a dispensary.
Drinkard also asked for an estimate on the revenue.
“I think a conservative estimate, in my opinion, is probably about $20,000 a month,” Corson said.
He also said the township would collect a $10,000 application fee, with half returned to those who are unsuccessful, and a $7,500 annual license fee. Corson also believes the real estate taxes will increase for the property where the business is located.
Using a cane, Osprey Point resident Carole Griffiths said she was recovering from back surgery.
“I know that there are other people who are obviously very concerned about having a cannabis store near us,” she said.
Griffiths noted her doctor suggested she use CBD tablets to help deal with the pain while she was awaiting her operation.
She said she went to Shore House Canna in West Cape May and was impressed with the facility.
“It’s a very high-end store. … They have all kinds of people to help you,” Griffiths said. “I think that it’s not anything to be concerned about.”
She said she is more concerned about “the people who go into the liquor store down the road than people who go into the cannabis store.”
“I think that there’s much more of a problem with alcohol and alcohol-related diseases and alcohol-related crime than there is with this kind of CBD that you buy in these kinds of stores,” Griffiths said.
Township resident Spencer Belz, who noted he has been working in the cannabis industry for the past eight years, thanked Township Committee for moving forward to allow a retail store.
“I think you are not going to regret this decision by any means and we are all going to collectively benefit from it,” he said.
Belz said cannabis has been legal in New Jersey for four years, in Washington for 15 years and medical cannabis in California for 25 years.
“We have decades worth of data and proof to show that cannabis is not as dangerous as many people have foretold it to be and even our own government believes it to be,” he said.
Belz also referenced Leo’s statements about past studies showing 40 percent of those using lethal drugs started with marijuana, claiming the same ones state 67 percent of those same people were using alcohol prior to getting into harder substances.
“So that data will show that alcohol is a more dangerous gateway drug,” he said.
Belz also said that the intoxicating effects of cannabis do not make it bad or cause its users to be unsuccessful.
He said he was overseeing a $45 million operation when he worked for a dispensary in Egg Harbor Township.
“I have consumed marijuana in a daily basis for well over a decade. The fact that I am able to manage a budget of $45 million while being a frequent and regular cannabis consumer is proof within itself that it is possible to use these products safely,” Belz said.
The next step is for the Planning Board to review the use ordinance to determine whether it jives with the township Master Plan. Township Committee would then act on the board’s recommendation.
The Planning Board is set to meet again Feb. 5 and a second reading and public hearing on the ordinances is tentatively set for Feb. 23.
Amenhauser said the township would later need to adopt a resolution supporting the potential licensee before the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
Amenhauser said the township would collect the tax in the form of a monthly check from the dispensary.
“What we do with it is up to you,” he said.
Corson said he wants the revenue earmarked for specific purposes, with a third going to recreation capital costs, another third to beach maintenance and replenishment and the final third to the general fund.
Allowable hours of operation would mirror liquor stores, which operate from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff