FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – The Township Committee has adopted an ordinance that prohibits the cultivation, harvesting and sale of marijuana in Freehold Township.
The ordinance, adopted by committee members on Oct. 9, amends Freehold Township’s land use ordinance to include marijuana in its prohibited uses section.
The committee’s action prohibits retail or wholesale establishments, businesses, persons or entities from selling or offering to sell marijuana or marijuana products for medical or so-called recreational use, or paraphernalia that facilitates the use of marijuana, and it further prohibits the growing, cultivation or harvesting of any type of marijuana plant in Freehold Township.
Mayor Anthony Ammiano, Deputy Mayor Thomas Cook and committee members David Salkin, Barbara McMorrow and Lester Preston voted to adopt the ordinance.
In New Jersey, the possession and distribution of marijuana for recreational purposes is illegal. Gov. Phil Murphy has said he will take action to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The issue has been debated by legislators in the Assembly and the Senate in recent months.
“The legislation presently pending for the legalization of marijuana has an opt-out provision for municipalities,” Amminao said prior to the Oct. 9 public hearing. “There has yet to be a definitive law adopted. Since there is still controversy, even among supporters of legalization, Freehold Township is opting out until it has determined the laws and regulations create a regulatory environment that safeguards Freehold Township’s history of being a family town.”
The ordinance was met with opposition from members of the public supporting marijuana legalization, including medical marijuana patients who advocated for the benefits of the drug for treatment.
Cancer survivor Jeff Oakes of Oceanport said, “I have successfully used cannabis for my cancer for three years. The conversation for anyone who has cancer is about cannabis. Not just for pain management or appetite stimulation, it’s for its anti-tumor effects. Please at least reconsider medical cannabis.”
“It’s very tough dealing with the restrictions of having to travel very far to (medical marijuana) dispensaries,” said Brick Township resident Mike Vintzileos.
He said he was able to end an addition to opioids through marijuana.
“You spend a lot of money, spend a lot of time, take a lot of effort just to be taking something that’s non-lethal, that’s not addictive, that can’t kill you. Understand that these are real issues for people like myself and my fellow patients. It’s not easy, it’s not getting easier,” Vintzileos said.
“I’m not for total legalization, I’m for patients’ rights,” East Hanover resident Edward Grimes said. “Right now in New Jersey, everybody is forgetting about people in wheelchairs, they are forgetting about sick people who are dying and need your help. We need to support medical cannabis.”
“I see you (committee members) want to be proactive and control it, but we want to control it and invite it in for seniors in nursing homes, people with MS (multiple sclerosis), cancer and epilepsy,” Eatontown resident Jeffrey King said. “If you want to control it, invite a reputable operator in to set up an establishment that you can have in a zone of your choice. I’m asking you to please end the drug war and begin a drug peace.”
Army veteran Joshua Blanco of Asbury Park said marijuana helped him recover from chronic pain he dealt with and improved his life.
“I was diagnosed with cluster headaches in 2005,” Blanco said. “That moment pretty much changed my life because I was suffering from severe chronic pain. For 10 years, depression, anxiety, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The one thing that really helped me was cannabis. And because of the limited access to it, I don’t have access to the right type of cannabis.
“I used to be in a VA (Veterans Affairs) substance abuse homeless program trying to put my life together,” Blanco said. “Now I’m a professional chef, I’m doing good. I am a medical marijuana patient now.”
Hugh Giordano, a representative of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 152, which represents cannabis workers, voiced his union’s opposition to the Freehold Township ordinance. Noting a potential negative impact on marijuana workers and patients, Giordano asked the committee to table the ordinance and work with the union to create a marijuana program that could benefit the township.
He reasoned that township officials could use marijuana to create a tax that could help to control property taxes, a position shared by township resident Steven Goldsholle.
“This is 2018, not 1950,” Goldsholle said. “People are making a living out of it. Why not make it so the government makes money out of it and not the dealers dealing this stuff illegally?”
Resident Tony Graziano voiced support for controlling recreational marijuana, which is also referred to as adult use marijuana, in Freehold Township.
“I have nothing against medical marijuana if it can be controlled,” Graziano said. “The recreational stuff I have major issues with. There is an increase in drug driving fatalities in some states where this has been legalized, there have been increased emergency room visits, increased worker accidents and an increase in absenteeism. This all occurred after the legalization. There have also been increases with short-term, long-term memory effects on youth.”
Graziano said his brother became addicted to drugs after using marijuana in 1975, which led to him overdosing in 2005.
Red Bank resident Jessica Pendleton, a medical marijuana patient, said her sister overdosed at the age of 33 because she did not have access to marijuana, which Pendleton said was an exit drug.
“I’m off of 13 harmful pharmaceuticals now,” she said. “People are dying and recreational (marijuana) will fix that. It takes away the anxiety, it takes away the depression, it staves off manic periods.”
In adopting the ordinance, the Township Committee members emphasized they are not opposed to medical marijuana and said the ordinance was intended to assist Freehold Township in preparing for the potential legalization of marijuana in New Jersey.
“I have zero problem with people using marijuana for medical purposes,” Salkin said. “There is no argument about the uses of medical marijuana. The purpose of this ordinance is to control our own destiny when the state makes legislation that can negatively impact our residents.
“We just want to be in control of what is going to happen in our own town. That’s not to say that if you are a patient and you need access to medical marijuana you can’t get it in Freehold Township. It’s just planning ahead for state legislation which is going to cause changes we have to be prepared for,” Salkin said.
“This is a land use ordinance, so part of the debate we are hearing tonight is about topics that have nothing to do with the actual land use ordinance,” he said. “The federal government and the states don’t agree and the states are possibly going to do something in contrast with the feds. When they do that, we don’t know where that puts us.
“By having a land use ordinance in place, it protects us and keeps us in control of our own destiny. It is much easier to amend the land use ordinance after the state makes a change than trying to do it the other way around. The land use ordinance is designed to protect our citizens,” Salkin said.
Cook added, “Everything I have heard tonight, other than a few points here and there, I don’t disagree with. This is a land use ordinance. As my colleague said, it’s to protect this community.
“To say the state is going to make a change and we are going to rely on the state, we are not going to trust the state. They have failed us miserably for decades, so we have to protect our interests. Should the state, the feds or all move forward, we can adapt the ordinance in the blink of an eye,” Cook said.
