Petition to Tell Twsp Committee to Opt-Out of Cannabis Licenses

[anon-r468]

The Cranbury Township Committee is deciding whether to opt-out of the NJ Cannabis Law in the next several weeks. Failure to opt-out by August 21 would require Cranbury to allow the cultivation, manufacture, wholesaling, distribution, and/or (and perhaps the most concerning) retail sale of recreational drugs in our town for five years.

Please fill out the form linked below to tell the Township Committee that you support the passing of an ordinance opting-out of all cannabis licenses permitted under the NJ Cannabis Law.

https://forms.gle/rmdLaqCqehaW11taA

[anon-ros1]

Interesting Paper showing a decline in crime in neighborhoods with dispensaries

https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/frbp/assets/working-papers/2017/wp17-19.pdf

[anon-ros1]

Another paper with several other references that shows the benefits of having these laws on the book.

Medical Marijuana and Crime: Further Evidence From the Western States
Edward M. Shepard, Paul R. BlackleyFirst Published January 13, 2016

[anon-7666]

[anon-ros1]

Dong, Xiuming, and Justin Tyndall. The Impact of Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries on Crime: Evidence from a Lottery Experiment. No. 2021-1. 2021.

Many North American jurisdictions have legalized the operation of recreational marijuana dispensaries. A common concern is that dispensaries may contribute to local crime. Identifying the effect of dispensaries on crime is confounded by the spatial endogeneity of dispensary locations. Washington state allocated dispensary licenses through a lottery, providing a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of dispensaries on crime. Combining lottery data with detailed geocoded crime data, we estimate that the presence of a dispensary has no impact on average local crime rates. However,
within low-income neighborhoods, we find an increase in property crime adjacent to new dispensaries.

2021 Paper - property crime limited to low-income neighborhoods.

[anon-n665]

Crime is higher in crappy neighborhoods.
It all depends upon where these places are located.
Of course, white collar crime is higher in better areas, so....

[anon-ros1]

In the 2020 Election in Cranbury the votes were
1449 in favor of legalization
974 against it

We have established businesses in town dealing with medical Marijuana. The dispensary opened in 2015.

Would a this petition against all licenses not hurt that local business?

[Guest 15127-psor]

The issue is not whether marijuana should be legalized but whether a retail shop in Cranbury is appropriate for our town. The final regulations and law have not even been finalized, but if the township committee votes in favor of a shop in town, we are saddled with it for at least 5 years. The prudent position would be to wait until the law has been finalized in all aspects. Then make a decision. I also question the impact of such a shop in Cranbury. We have dedicated years developing, and implementing policies that preserve our history and character of a small town. I believe that’s why many people have moved here (as well as excellent school system), and what would a marijuana shop do to undo much of what we accomplished? Those who want a shop because they partake in smoking marijuana do not need to worry about access. I’m convinced that there will be a shop within 10 miles of Cranbury if we choose not to have it.

[anon-ros1]

The Cranbury Township Committee is deciding whether to opt-out of the NJ Cannabis Law in the next several weeks. Failure to opt-out by August 21 would require Cranbury to allow the cultivation, manufacture, wholesaling, distribution, and/or (and perhaps the most concerning) retail sale of recreational drugs in our town for five years.

Will the opt-out impact the existing marijuana businesses in town?

[anon-2qn2]

Are the cultivation and manufacturing aspects also of concern? Can our farmland that be used in new/ different ways (greenhouse, warehouse farming) for this? I read some assumptions stated previously of why the landowner or lessor would not want to do this, but I don’t remember hearing that they couldn’t be used in the capacity of farming/ cultivation. the economics would seem to make that year round and environmental control desirable. Could this impact open views and what farmland looks like?

[anon-r468]