WARETOWN, NJ - The Ocean Township Board of Education is wasting no time. Although there is no official tally yet, New Jersey voters have approved legalizing recreational cannabis. And - the local school board plans to study its impact on the district.
Board President Shawn Denning, Junior introduced the formation of a Marijuana Impact Committee at the board’s monthly meeting last night. Denning and the board’s vice president, Sue McDowell will make up the two-person committee.
“We want to know what impact it will have on the district from a zoning point,” Denning shared. “The township does not currently have an ordinance regarding recreational marijuana.”
Denning pointed out that some municipalities have local laws banning cannabis sales. Ocean Township passed an ordinance earlier that permits legal medical marijuana sales in the C-1 general commercial zone. No one has yet applied for the limited permit to set up a dispensary in the area.
The school board would like to be involved in discussions with township officials should someone try to set up a recreational cannabis shop in town. The first concern would be to work towards keeping access as far from the schools as possible. This would mean a change in local zoning ordinances.
“We also have to look at how we discuss changes to the curriculum within DARE,” said Denning. “We are going from a substance that is dangerous and illegal and telling children not to do it. Now that it’s going to be legal, students may be seeing parents consuming it (marijuana) and this may suggest an educational change.”
State legislators have already started the legalization process with bills introduced in both the state senate and assembly. It will take some time between the actual laws fall into place as far as licensing and even the possibility of onsite consumption. Legal cannabis use in New Jersey will not include growing and cultivating plants at home.
Board member Kelly Zuzic pointed out that some of the issues with school districts will likely be addressed by state authorities.
“I think it’s a good idea for us to brainstorm and see what we can come up with,” Zuzic suggested. “We may want to also wait a little bit and see what guidelines the state gives to us.”
The Board’s Marijuana Impact Committee plans to report its findings to the entire board. They may subsequently come up with a position and present it to the governing body.
According to Board Attorney Andrew Brown, Esquire, the committee’s opinion would not be binding on the township. It represents a means for the Board of Education to express their formal position as far as the impact of marijuana on the school district.
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November 11, 2020 at 06:54AM
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Ocean Twp. School Board Forms Marijuana Impact Committee - TAPinto.net
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