Point Beach Council Adopts No Pot Ordinance

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ - Borough Council members recently adopted an ordinance that bans medicinal or recreational marijuana sales or distribution within the borough.

Council members unanimously approved the ban at the Dec. 19 meeting, much to the chagrin of some of the members in the audience, according to a report in the Ocean Star.

Point Pleasant resident Eric Karsh told the council about how he uses marijuana for his medical issues.

"Medical cannabis should be available to everyone," Karsh said. "It should not be kept out of your town."

Borough Councilman Thomas Toohey said the ordinance gives the borough the ability to control the sale of marijuana within Point Pleasant Beach. It does not prevent anyone from obtaining marijuana for medicinal purposes elsewhere, he said.

"... whereas there is no area in the Borough that can safely house a business selling medicinal and recreational marijuana and/or the paraphernalia that facilitates the use of such marijuana," the ordinance states.

That puts the all-GOP Borough Council at odds with Governor-Elect Philip Murphy, who campaigned on making marijuana available for recreational use for residents 21 and older.

Businesses selling medicinal and recreational marijuana require special security concerns, and will be considered "prohibited uses," the ordinance states.

The borough wants to make sure those facilities are not allowed within a quarter of a mile within schools,, churches, playgrounds, in commercial or marine commercial areas or in any residential zone, according to the ordinance.

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