Lacey Township voters to decide if they want legal marijuana sold in their town

Some New Jersey voters will get to choose, again, if they want legal weed sold in their town on the upcoming ballot in Lacey Township.

News 12 Staff

Oct 22, 2021, 11:39 AM

Updated 1,128 days ago

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Some New Jersey voters will get to choose, again, if they want legal marijuana sold in their town on the upcoming ballot in Lacey Township.
The township wants the people to decide whether to allow marijuana to be grown, manufactured and sold.  
Last election, New Jersey voters chose to legalize marijuana on the ballot question overwhelmingly – 2-1 once the votes were tallied.
But Mayor Peter Curatolo says not so fast. Legalizing pot is one thing, growing and selling in the town is a whole other issue. 
“They voted yes to recreational marijuana, but they did not vote yes in our town to have it sold in our town or grown in our town and that's a very important distinction,” says Mayor Peter Curatolo.
An ordinance on the books already bans the sale and cultivation of marijuana in Lacey Township, but the mayor says committee members told him let the voters decide.
“I want people to know it's very different to have it at the state level, but to have it focused where the microfocus in our town, within our town, with our parkway access,” says Mayor Peter Curatolo. “My concern is I don't want us to become a hub for pot tourism.”
Mayor Peter Curatolo says at the urging of fellow committee members, the question was added to the ballot. If a majority vote yes, it will override a current ordinance banning sales and growing facilities of recreational use. 
The New Jersey CannaBusiness Association says it’s the only town it knows of leaving it to the voters to decide, and while they disagree on the mayor's standpoint, they recognize the efforts by council for a fair vote.

The CannaBusiness Association says a yes vote will bring safer access to cannabis, jobs, community investment, a broader tax base, and redevelopment.