At last week’s Township Council meeting, on Monday, March 13, the Council and the public were shown a report from an ad hoc Livingston Cannabis Subcommittee focused on potentially permitting certain classes of cannabis business in town. The subcommittee has been researching the matter for over a year, and presented its findings and recommendations during the meeting.In November of 2020, a referendum passed in New Jersey approving the legalization of cannabis by a two to one vote. Governor Phil Murphy signed adult use cannabis reform bills into law in February of 2021, and towns had 180 days from when the bill was signed to pass an ordinance instituting any restrictions; otherwise all classes (cultivator, manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer, and delivery) would be approved for the next five years. That spring, the Council held multiple public forums to hear from residents on the issue. And in July of 2021 the Council passed a ban on all classes, on a four to one vote, with then-Council member Michael Vieira not in favor of the ban.At the time the ordinance was passed, the Council members stated that the ban was temporary, a protection so that they could permit the business on their terms, without having to rush into a decision. They pledged to study the issue, see how other towns who approved the business were affected, and reassess the ordinance at a later date.Well, it took nearly two years, but we now have that study. In the report, which looked into all classes except for retail, the subcommittee recommended that all five of those classes be permitted in three industrial areas of town, away from residential buildings.The Council can now choose to accept these recommendations, filling in details such as the number of licenses the town would like to issue, and then draft an ordinance, which would take a minimum of two meetings to pass. If that ordinance is ready to be introduced at the next meeting on March 27, then it could be approved as soon as April 10. If the Council wishes to discuss the matter further at future meetings before drafting an ordinance, then that approval could take some time. Either way, it seems that the non-retail cannabis classes will likely be permitted in Livingston within a matter of months.This is progress, but there is more left to do. When twothirds of New Jersey voters elected for cannabis business to ...
