| The Princeton Council has heard a lot of comments about cannabis and kids. Nobody wants our kids to be drunk or high. The issue at hand is about cannabis stores.
The stores are serious about following the law. They have an entry room with security cameras where you show your ID, which they add to a database. It’s more Big Brother-y than license plate readers or buying beer. Then you are allowed through a locked door into the showroom. Who will be selling weed to kids? Not the stores. It doesn’t matter if stores are 500, 1,000 or 2,000 feet away from schools, kids will still get weed from a friend of a friend, possibly at school – 0 feet away. Opponents say, “Drive to another town,” but some folks can’t drive, or want to shop locally. Opponents say, “just get it delivered,” but with a wide choice of new products, knowledgeable retail salespeople are almost required. Either we welcome good local small business retailers, or not. Allowing three cannabis boutiques in Princeton will help fill storefronts, help retail traffic in general, and help the adults who choose to buy there. The stores won’t sell to teens, who will still get their weed elsewhere. We could tweak the 500 feet to 2,000 and share the tax with the schools, as school board members suggested, but let’s proceed. Bob Schwartz Princeton |
