N.J. bill could speed approvals of medical marijuana farms
01/13/2012 10:45 PM
By Jan Hefler
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
A New Jersey assemblyman, saying he feels a "moral obligation" to help alleviate the pain and suffering of "deathly ill" people, plans to introduce legislation to make it easier for medical marijuana businesses to get local zoning approvals.
Since October, governing bodies in Maple Shade, Westampton, Upper Freehold, and Camden have rejected plans for pot farms and marijuana dispensaries. The votes were taken after crowds of residents at town meetings expressed fears of increased crime and a stigma against their communities.
Those fears are unfounded because strict state regulations will require the marijuana operations to be secure, said Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (R., Monmouth). The bill he plans to introduce next week would assist the state's six medical marijuana operations in getting up and running.
"My goal is to help people get through their fears and reset the debate to get this necessary and efficacious drug into the hands of people that need it," O'Scanlon said.
His bill would classify marijuana growers as farmers under the state's Right to Farm Act, which, according to the Agriculture Department's website, would protect them against "nuisance actions and unduly restrictive municipal regulations."
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