The Mahwah Township Council  (Mahwah, NJ) is proposing an ordinance that would permit the Licensing and Operation of a Retail Marijuana/Cannabis Business very close to many Schools (near the northbound Ramapo Avenue overpass in which many students walk to and from four of the district's six schools on Ridge Road, including Mahwah High School, Joyce Kilmer (Grades 4 to 5), Lenape Meadows (pre-K to Grade 3) and Ramapo Ridge (Grades 6 to 8)).

Many residents including myself oppose the sale of marijuana in Mahwah in general , but an overwhelming amount of residents OPPOSE THE SALE OF MARIJUANA NEAR SCHOOLS AND PLAYGROUNDS for obvious, common sense reasons!

However, the Mahwah Township Council is NOT LISTENING!  Only Councilwoman Janet Ariemma opposed the introduction of the ordinance.  And according to the December 17, 2021 article in NorthJersey.com, Mahwah Mayor James Wysocki spoke favorably about the proposal and stated the following: "The economic benefits to be gained are very positive ...The negative impacts were extra traffic, overcrowding and a slight spike in crime."  Mayor and Council, Let's not experiment with our children!!

THE HARD TRUTH:  IF RESIDENTS DO NOT OPPOSE THIS ORDINANCE, IT WILL GET APPROVED AND WE CANNOT TURN BACK THE CLOCK - MAHWAH WILL HAVE A MARIJUANA RETAIL SHOP NEAR SCHOOLS AND IT WILL BE HERE TO STAY!!!  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE --- YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION BY SHOWING UP TO APPROPRIATE MEETINGS (POSSIBLY IN PERSON OR ZOOM) AND PROVIDING TESTIMONY IN OPPOSITION TO THIS ORDINANCE.  EVEN WITH PUBLIC OPPOSITION, THE ORDINANCE MAY GET APPROVED IN WHICH CASE SOMEBODY OR GROUP WOULD NEED TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION TO  CHALLENGE THE ZONING ORDINANCE OR OTHERWISE PREVENT THE MARIJUANA RETAIL SHOP, AND OF COURSE, THAT WOULD COST MUCH $$$$ AND THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT WOULD EVEN BE SUCCESSFUL.  THAT BEING SAID, IF YOU ARE OPPOSED, THE VERY LEAST ONE CAN DO IS GET OUT THERE, SPREAD THE WORD, AND VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION AT APPROPRIATE PUBLIC HEARINGS.

Reasons Ordinance No. 1959 (An Ordinance of the Township of Mahwah, County of Bergen, State of New Jersey, to Permit the Licensing and Operation of A Retail Cannabis Business in the B-40 Zone At Block 59, Lot 20.01) SHOULD NOT BE APPROVED:

1.  New Jersey's school zone law [N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7] provides that distributing, dispensing, or possessing drugs with intent to sell on school property, within 1,000 feet of a school or a school bus, or while on any school bus, is illegal.  But here is the catch:  Marijuana is no longer illegal so this can happen if the residents do not take action and oppose this proposed ordinance!!

2.  Possessing, buying, or selling marijuana is still a US Federal Crime under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Despite the legalization of marijuana across the country, federal law still treats marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance reserved for drugs that have a high potential for abuse.  Additionally, even though cannabis is no longer illegal for  those persons over 21 years of age in the State of New Jersey, it is still illegal for those persons under the age of 21 years of age to possess or use cannabis.  Why are we proposing Retails Sales of Marijuana in plain view of those persons under the age of 21?

3.  The United States Supreme Court has noted the strong public interest in preventing drug use by children: 

School years are the time when the physical, psychological, and addictive effects of drugs are most severe.  Maturing nervous systems are more critically impaired by intoxicants than mature ones are; childhood losses in learning are lifelong and profound; children grow chemically dependent more quickly than adults, and their record of recovery is depressingly poor.  And of course the effects of a drug-infested school are visited not just upon the users, but upon the entire student body and faculty, as the education process is disrupted.  Vernonia Sch. Dist. 47J v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646, 661-662 (1995).

4.  According to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, administered by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the prevalence rates for marijuana use increased for young adults (18-25 years old) by over 10 percent after the commercialization of marijuana.

5.  The Colorado Department of Public Safety report from 2021 found that nearly three-quarters of youth (10-17 years old) in treatment for substance use report marijuana as their primary substance of use.

6.  According to data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, there were 187 exposures to marijuana edibles among kids 12 and under in the United States in 2016 and that number increased to 3,100 in 2020.

 7.  According to the Journal of Adolescent Health article from July 2019, enforcement compliance checks, in states in which recreational marijuana is restricted to adults, indicate that between 11%-23% of recreational outlets may sell to minors.

8.  A 2016 study by the Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies acknowledged that future research is needed to investigate indirect sales of marijuana. 

9.  While it remains illegal for an individual under the age of 21 to use marijuana, the new law intentionally makes enforcement difficult.  The New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association (PBA) advised Special PBA Members and All Law Enforcement Officers TO TAKE NO LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTION REGARDING MARIJUANA.  THE PBA further stated in an a Special Alert:

The legislation is treacherous to you because it creates a penalty of 3rd Degree Deprivation of Civil Rights if an officer uses the odor or possession of marijuana or alcoholic beverages as the reason for initiating an investigatory stop of a person. The new law states a law enforcement officer can not use the odor of marijuana or alcohol as reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate an investigatory stop. The new law states a minor CAN NOT consent to be searched and that a law enforcement officer no longer has probable cause to search a minor for illegally using marijuana or alcohol. And if an officer violates a minor’s rights by using pot or alcohol as the reason for a search then the officer will be charged with deprivation of civil rights. This bill dangerously ties your hands.... 

While marijuana is now legal for those 21 and older this language is an assault on our ability to do our job and to enforce the law. This language is an attack on law enforcement officers by making us the target of punishment rather than the individuals breaking the law. This language will have dangerous consequences for the public and the police.

So you may have adults legally buying marijuana, and then in turn selling the marijuana to children AND THE POLICE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE ACTION??!!

10.  Cannabis related businesses have a significantly higher likelihood of being burglarized than other businesses.

11.  The Mahwah Chief of Police opined that there were significant traffic and safety issues in the proposed location.  

12.  The use and sale of cannabis may cause traffic safety issues due to impaired driving which is exacerbated by the inability of police officers to easily enforce the laws.  The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in new research reports that the percentage of Washington drivers involved in a fatal collisions who tested positive for active THC (the drug’s critical psychoactive ingredient ) has doubled since the state legalized marijuana. 

Accordingly, the use and sale of cannabis near a school, educational facility, daycare center, park, playground, public recreational facility, or place of worship creates public health , safety and general welfare issues.