The Hudson reporter writes..
The Hoboken City Council has made headway in further regulating the local cannabis industry ahead of the statutory Aug. 21 deadline by introducing amendments to its cannabis zoning law.
The last-minute ordinance was one of six cannabis ordinances briefly discussed by the council during new business with the others scheduled to come before the council on first reading on June 2.
Through the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, municipalities may adopt legislation prohibiting or limiting cannabis retail, enacting a local municipal cannabis tax, or prohibiting cannabis consumption in public spaces not already covered by the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act, but they must enact legislation doing so before August 21.
If they don’t,the state default regulations will be used.
“Everyone has heard: what is this August 21, 2021 deadline?,” said Ron Mondello, Hoboken’s Cannabis Review Board attorney. “Well, essentially if you don’t take any type of action whatsoever with respect to cannabis, well then the state, the CRC – the Cannabis Regulatory Commission – essentially comes in and they’re going to permit every single class – and there’s six classes. It goes from cultivator to a delivery service will be permitted. The retail will be permitted in your retail zone and then the rest will be permitted in the industrial zone.”
He explained that from his discussions he believes Hoboken is interested only in Class 5, meaning a cannabis retailer license, noting that “it makes sense to prohibit those things that you think you may not want,” adding that it is his understanding that the city will be able to opt in at a later date if need be.
Councilman Phil Cohen asked if the council could wait on voting on the ordinances, noting that he and his council colleagues received the ordinances just two hours before the meeting and had not yet had a chance to read them fully.
Cohen noted that the council could wait two weeks to review the ordinances and then introduce them at the June 2 meeting, then on final reading at the end of June or July well before the August deadline.
Read more about the meeting at
