Cannabis committee gives recommendation to council

Monroe Township Council takes another step toward bringing cannabis to town

With two weeks between meetings, the cannabis committee of Monroe Township had plenty of time to do its due diligence. The committee, comprised of Councilwoman Katherine Falcone and Councilmen Cody Miller and Greg Wolfe, gave its recommendation to council last week.

In the work session, Miller summarized the committee’s findings.

“Our committee was tasked with weighing the pros and cons of the medical marijuana grow facilities and dispensaries in town,” he said. “Multiple businesses have contacted the township in the last year seeking a letter of support in addition to showing us plans for what they intend to do in our township. Our goal was to be as unbiased as possible and fully weigh our options in addition to doing our research and fact-finding.”

Miller then listed the pros and cons to medical marijuana. In the pro column were reducing symptoms of clinical depression, lowering anxiety in patients who suffer from social anxiety disorder, reducing symptoms in schizophrenia, decreasing pain and nausea while stimulating appetite in recovering cancer patients, helping control spontaneous seizures and epilepsy, easing the pain of Multiple Sclerosis, easing tremors in patients suffering from Crohn’s disease and helping people with chronic pain who may otherwise need to depend on opioids.

In the cons column were the potential for mental dependency, since it is viewed by some as a gateway drug and, in some cases, it can cause schizophrenia. It may increase anxiety depending on the quality of the cannabis, the predisposition of the consumer and the social environment.

After listing the pros and cons, Miller brought up two counterpoints to bringing cannabis to town — it could lower property values and increase crime.

“Upon our research of other towns and numerous studies that have been conducted in other states that we reviewed reports of, there was no increase in crime or decrease in property values,” he said. “What is most notable is the increase in revenue for the municipality.”

In the end, the committee’s recommendation was to support and welcome the facilities to town.

“The pros outweigh the cons, and medical marijuana has many positive benefits,” Miller said. “It is also our recommendation that we craft a letter of support that will be issued as an open invitation to attract that general business to our area.”

A new ordinance will be in the works for the township before any business can break ground in town. According to Miller, the ordinance will include restrictions, such as minimum lot sizes, zones they’re permitted in, setbacks and buffer zones around residential areas, schools, parks, churches, behavioral health facilities and residential detox centers.

“After any interest is received, with a new ordinance to be created, the township will have the control to accept or reject any business,” Miller said.

In other news:

• Patrick McDevitt, chair of Sustainable Monroe Township, gave a presentation to the council, outlining some of the highlights of 2018 along with some of the goals for 2019. This year, they were the lead applicant on a grant application to Sustainable South Jersey for $5,000 that would help fund three bike repair stations along the bike path. According to McDevitt, they applied along with the Pitman and Glassboro teams. They applied for a $2,000 grant from Sustainable Jersey that would go toward the community habitat project and their general expenses. In April, Sustainable Monroe Township will host a “Drive Electric Earth Day” at the Pfeiffer Center where more than a dozen electric cars will be on site to check out. A date is to be determined.
• Mayor Rich DiLucia appointed Angie Matese as the director of real estate.

“She’s going to be a real asset to us in terms of identifying properties we own, identifying some of the outstanding tax debts that were owed on the properties that we hold tax liens on and anything at all that involves real estate that interacts with our town. Angie, thank you and welcome aboard.”

DiLucia also appointed Frank Kopaczewski and Deb Polisano to the parks and recreation commission. There are four more openings on the commission.

• Veronica Adepeju was voted to the open space advisory committee.
• The next council meeting is March 11. A work session is scheduled for 7 p.m. with the regular meeting at 8 p.m. Both sessions are open to the public and take place in the municipal building.