Â
Only about 10 residents showed up at the extended Cherry Hill Township Council meeting on Monday evening to express their views on whether cannabis businesses should be allowed in town.
Several said they do not want cannabis firms in town. More public forums are planned in Cherry Hill before a decision is made by Council.
Cherry Hill Council members two years ago voted to ban the businesses, wanting to learn more about state regulations and how the businesses would operate. At the same time, about seven out of 10 municipalities in the state did not permit the businesses.
In the Cherry Hill area, Evesham, Mount Laurel and Voorhees allow retailers. One dispensary has opened in Voorhees and other cannabis retailers say they will open soon in the other two communities.
"I think it's a very, very bad idea," resident Daniel Cirucci said. "We don't need it in Cherry Hill."
Cherry Hill already is the commercial center of South Jersey, Cirucci told Council members, so why worry about letting marijuana firms set up shop in town.
"By the time this is finished, you are lowering the quality of life in our community," said resident Jeff Podowitz.
Podowitz said the maximum 2% tax a municipality can impose on retailers does not amount to much. If the businesses have $10 million in revenue, that amounts to only $200,000, he said.
Some other residents said the Township should permit businesses, particularly retail dispensaries.
"This is 2023. This is where we are at this point," said Jacquetta Seon. The Township should make it more convenient for people to buy legal cannabis, she said.
Resident Ray Croce agreed, nothing that 73% of Cherry Hill residents in 2020 voted in favor of legalizing cannabis in the general election. Overall, about 67% of state voters said yes.
Croce said it pains him to have to go to Edgewater Park or Bellmawr to purchase cannabis.
"We could easily accommodate five dispensaries," he said.
But Croce also commended Council members for spending time thinking about the impact. "Do exactly what you're doing, be careful with it," he said.
Nicole Nance said that when Council made its decision two years ago, she spoke in opposition to letting businesses open.
"There are too many variables involved in bringing recreational cannabis dispensaries to Cherry Hill," she told Council on Monday.
Council President David Fleisher and Cosmas Diamantis, the town's community development director, said the first question is whether businesses should be allowed. If the choice is to allow them, the other decisions would include what kinds of businesses (for example, retailers, cultivators, manufacturers), how many and where they would be able to operate.
"This will be a thorough process with an emphasis on: if we're going to do it, we're going to do it right," Fleisher said.
Diamantis made a presentation on the state law and considerations for the Township. The slide show, he said, would be available on the Township website, chnj.gov.
Even if cannabis businesses are not permitted, Cherry Hill residents would be able to use cannabis in their homes and also call on a delivery company based outside of town limits to deliver the marijuana to their doors, according to state law.
