N.J. towns wonder how to handle legal weed now that they won't get more time to decide

The state Legislature is out for the summer, and its members left without touching a bill that would have extended the deadlines for municipalities to act on cannabis.

The measure, proposed by Assemblyman Christopher Tully, D-Bergen, sought to give cities and towns an extra 60 days from the current August deadline to pass ordinances allowing, restricting or banning cannabis businesses.

It’s a popular idea. The problem: it came too late.

Janice Kovach, president of the League of Municipalities and mayor of Clinton, said the league appreciated the intent of the bill. But it did not guarantee that local leaders would have time to decide on cannabis businesses after seeing the regulations.

“I don’t know that it would have gotten us what we needed,” she said. “If the [Cannabis Regulatory Commission] doesn’t meet their deadline, we’re still in the same boat.”

Read more: https://www.nj.com/marijuana/2021/07/nj-towns-wonder-how-to-handle-legal-weed-now-that-they-wont-get-more-time-to-decide.html