South Jersey town to vote on rules for medical marijuana dispensaries

A South Jersey town is slated to vote tonight whether to allow prospective medical marijuana dispensaries to open shop in its community.

No dispensary is actually seeking a permit in West Deptford, but local officials want to have a zoning policy just in case, said Anthony Ogozalek, West Deptford’s lawyer who drafted the ordinance now up for a vote.

“I think that they wanted to be proactive and have these standards in place so they wouldn’t be accused of spot zoning in the future or bringing up regulations to prohibit them after the fact,” said Ogozalek.

He says the ordinance would not “zone out” possible dispensaries, but it would limit them to certain industrial zones, ones that are at least 1,000 a feet from schools and residential areas.

Dispensary operators reported challenges garnering local permits in several New Jersey towns. Three are currently operating in New Jersey, and three more have preliminary approval.

The only one open in South Jersey is in Egg Harbor Township, just outside Atlantic City.

West Deptford’s ordinance has a hearing and committee vote tonight at 7 p.m.

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West Deptford Ordinance 2014-08 (PDF)

West Deptford Ordinance 2014-08 (Text)