6/2/21
By: Carolyn Maxwell
PERTH AMBOY – The Cannabis Forum Panel consisted of: Chief John Zebrowski from the Sayreville Police Department, Dr. Cynthia Vuittonet from the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center who is Chief Medical Officers who specializes in addiction, Dr. Bonnie Nolan from the Division of Addiction Services of Woodbridge, NJ and Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University, and Nicole La Chapelle, the Mayor of East Hampton, MA (who participated via Zoom). Rev. Dr. Danielle Brown from the Cathedral International was the moderator. The forum was held at the auditorium at Perth Amboy High School and through teleconferencing on Zoom.
All questions had to be submitted via email or on index cards which were distributed to those who attended in person.
An opening statement was made by Perth Amboy Business Administrator Edward Remsen. He noted that this was an educational forum and not a public hearing. “This will determine the choices the city has to make regarding the marijuana law that will go into effect August 20, 2021. There will be an exchange of ideas.”
Remsen then introduced the moderator: Dr. Brown.
Dr. Brown opened up by saying, “It is an honor and a privilege to be your moderator for the Cannabis Summit.” She also mentioned that Leslie London will be the city’s legal representative tonight. “You (the audience) will get answers to your questions. I am asking those in attendance to be respectful. If not, you will be escorted out of the building and those who are disrespectful on Zoom will be silenced.”
Each speaker was afforded an opportunity to make an opening statement.
There was an interpreter who translated everyone’s remarks in to Spanish.
Mayor La Chapelle spoke first. “East Hampton is located on the western part of Massachusetts. Our population is 16,000 with a Mayor and City Council (with 9 members). Our process started early with cannabis. In 2017, we received guidance from the Cannabis Association. 67% of our population voted to have cannabis. It’s like any other industry, but it does have unique features. We went through a long process with the council and our citizens. We talked about planning, signage, public safety, the six different licenses associated with cannabis which includes retail, dispensary, growing, and by-products. Each business can only have one type of license. There are five license agreements. Some agreements can be signed with outside vendors. The Planning Board has to be involved. The Statewide Cannabis Commission also gave us some guidance.”
The second person to speak was Dr. Nolan. “I have been working with Woodbridge Township helping people who are addicted to opioids. There have been over 200 OD’s so far this year on opioids. Medical Marijuana can help these people. No one overdoses on marijuana, but it is harmful for an adolescent’s brain. I have no problem with adult usage, but I am worried about it: for and against. We need to educate our adolescents and teach them why it is not good for them to use if they are under the age of 21. The dangers of use is in their adolescence and their teen years”
Chief Zebrowski spoke next about how the laws will affect law enforcement and public safety. “There is a revised bill which will expand opportunities for medical marijuana by prescription. The bill also addresses recreational marijuana for New Jersey to vote to decriminalize the use of recreational marijuana if you have 6 oz. or less and are over the age of 21. For those who are 20 years of age and under, we can only give them a warning. Even if we smell marijuana on their person or in their vehicle, this will not warrant doing a search or making an arrest. For the recreational marijuana marketplace, you can have the opportunity not to opt in or opt out. A lot is involved in this law. It deals with cultivation, law enforcement, land lease, and economic development. There are a lot of stakeholders involved.”
Dr. Vuittonet spoke next. “My job is to save lives. There is an epidemic in opioid addiction. I am from California and a lot of my relatives struggled from addiction. A lot of marijuana (sold on the streets) is laced with fentanyl and there is a need to have safe marijuana. Since it changes the brains in adolescents, I am not for use (for that age group), but that age group also suffers effects from cigarettes and alcohol. I have helped people by having them use medical marijuana which is safe. It has helped them in many ways, especially to get employment. A lot of my patients have to travel to get safe marijuana. If they have to travel a long distance, there might be triggers on the way to cause them to relapse.”
The forum was then opened up to the public for questions.
Question: What are the cons of having a medical marijuana dispensary?
Mayor La Chapelle: There are advertisements targeting those under the age of 21 and there is an impact on our roads with more traffic coming in.
Question: What are the effects of marijuana on the youth?
Dr. Nolan: Up until age 2, there is a lot of heavy growth in the brain. The brain starts to strengthen after the age of 2. Also, heavy adolescent smoking has an effect on the brains of our youth.
Question: Is weed addictive? Will legalization make them fall off the wagon? Do we have enough facilities to treat people?
Dr. Nolan: A lot of people are self-medicating. There are many addictions such as gambling, alcohol, and even shopping. They are all addictions. There are traumas that make people become addicted (to many different things). People become addicted to help them cope. There is a Middlesex County Hotline that operates 24/7. There is a Marijuana Center that can help with outpatient treatments.”
Perth Amboy Police Chief Roman McKeon was asked if he could make some remarks. “The law decriminalizes if a minor uses marijuana or alcohol. Only giving out warnings ties our hands in place. Parents of minors who are caught with marijuana or alcohol can speak to a counselor or someone from the county. We cannot do a search of cars if anyone is under the age of 17. The voters approved this. There are no ramifications to protect minors. I can’t even call their parents. I’m here to tell the truth and not to be politically correct.”
The City’s Legal Representative Leslie London spoke up, “This can be voted on as a referendum. This law is over 300 pages long and you are giving an unrealistic timeframe to review all of these pages. You can prohibit all 6 licenses. The Cannabis Commission is now working on other laws which include the hours and days of operation, advertisements, and who they would be targeting, the kinds of operations which includes products. The process is through an ordinance, but something has to be adopted by August. If you don’t do anything, you would automatically be in and have to abide by all state rules. You have to be concerned about production of contaminants in the air from secondhand marijuana. It is similar to those laws in place for cigarettes. The state will be more restrictive as well as a municipality ordinance, and the current smoking regulations.”
Question: Will the values of our homes drop with influx of alcohol and marijuana?
Chief Zebrowski: As far as home values, you would have to ask someone from the Office of Economics to answer that question. I’ve been to California and Canada. Things change when you have marijuana legalized. A lot depends on the type of community and if there has to be tightened enforcement. Dispensaries will do best if they work with law enforcement. You need to have the right laws on the books and an ordinance where standards are met and complied with. Marijuana is different because it is difficult to detect. It is not like alcohol which can be measured by a Breathalyzer machine. A threshold level to detect the level marijuana (in a person’s system) has been discussed, but it doesn’t exist. There has been no consent when it comes to dealing with marijuana. Statewide we have 100 Drug Recognition Officers that can analyze if someone may be under the influence of marijuana. We don’t have viable tools for those who may be impaired due to marijuana.
Question: What are the benefits to opting in?
Mayor La Chapelle: We have received additional revenue. 98% was collected compared to what we had in 2019.
Question: What was the impact to your neighborhood and property values?
Mayor La Chapelle: Our values went up and our businesses grew with marijuana as well as our existing businesses. We had a 60-day opening plan. There was consumer confidence from other communities and states. We didn’t expect this positive impact.
Question: How will it be determined how marijuana businesses can be placed within the city?
Perth Amboy Legal Representative London: It will be off-limits to locate marijuana businesses near school zones, houses of worship, food markets, nursery schools, and liquor stores. Regarding online sales, it can only be done through a state delivery license such as Uber, Doordash, etc. which will be state regulated. It cannot be launched locally.
Question: Can Police Officers and Firemen smoke marijuana off-duty?
Chief McKeon: No.
Perth Ambo Legal Representative London: The ordinance will decide what a violation, the penalty, and the consequences are for a violation.
It was noticed that Senator Joe Vitale was logged in via Zoom.
Dr. Brown said, “Senator Vitale wanted people to know that there are bills in the legislation that parents will be notified when their underage children are using marijuana. Marijuana will not be allowed to be smoked in as many places as cigarettes are allowed.”
Senator Vitale then spoke via Zoom, “I want to have a message, especially for Perth Amboy Residents. The law was laid out, especially for underage use and its effects. It had benefited those with medical needs such as marijuana being use for opioid use. Tonight has been very educational.”
The audience was reminded that August 21, 2021, is the deadline for the council to make their decision. The forum was over at 9 p.m.
