More than 70% of New Jersey municipalities have opted out of hosting adult-use cannabis businesses, according to the New Jersey Herald.
Roughly 400 of the state’s 565 total municipalities have banned adult-use cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, delivery companies and dispensaries, the news outlet reported.
Forty-one towns have prohibited dispensaries but allow some combination of the other five adult-use cannabis license types, according to the New Jersey Herald.
Ten municipalities opted out of the adult-use cannabis industry but made an exception for medical cannabis businesses.
That leaves 98 municipalities, mostly in South Jersey and Central Jersey, that have passed ordinances allowing all adult-use businesses within their jurisdictions, according to the news outlet, with many placing strict zoning regulations on retailers.
New Jersey’s cannabis law gave towns an Aug. 22 deadline to pass an ordinance to prohibit cannabis businesses or establish zoning regulations to outline which kinds of businesses are allowed and where they can operate. The law allows towns to opt back in to the adult-use cannabis program at any time, the New Jersey Herald reported, as long as they meet public notice requirements.
RELATED: New Jersey Adopts Initial Rules for State’s Adult-Use Cannabis Program
Municipalities cannot bar their residents from possessing or consuming cannabis as long as it is not on public property, according to the news outlet, and they also cannot prohibit delivery companies from making deliveries in—or stop the transportation of cannabis through—their jurisdictions.
Some local officials said the allotted six-month window did not allow them enough time to draft regulations for the adult-use industry, while others cited lack of guidance from the state as the reason they chose to opt out of hosting cannabis businesses, according to the New Jersey Herald. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), which oversees the medical and adult-use cannabis markets in the state, had the same Aug. 22 deadline to adopt its rules, which were unanimously approved Aug. 19.
The CRC must now set a date within 180 days for the first adult-use cannabis sales to launch in New Jersey.
