Hillsborough Bans Marijuana Sales In Township

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough banned the sale of marijuana in the township last week. However, the vote was not unanimous as Jeffrey Wright was the only committee member to vote against the ordinance.

The ordinance prohibits cannabis establishments, delivery services and distributors from operating anywhere within the Township of Hillsborough, except for the delivery of cannabis and related supplies by a delivery service. It was passed with a vote of 4 to 1 during the May 25 meeting.

Hillsborough only had until Aug. 21 to enact these ordinances. If not, the township wouldn't be able to ban cannabis businesses from coming to town for 5 years. However, the township can reverse its ban at any time.

All of the committee members who voted in favor of the ban pointed to the fact that the state had not released rules regulating marijuana and didn't want to be "bound" by unknown rules.

"I want to see the rules. I think it's foolish for any municipality to enter into an agreement when you don't know what the rules are," said Committee Member Doug Tomson.

"We don't know what we are going to be bound to at this point," said Committee Member Frank DelCore. "It is government malpractice to lock ourselves in for five years. Five years, when we don't know what the rules will be. If we opt out, we can opt back in at any time. If we see the rules and they make sense to us we can jump outback in. But if opt-in then we are locked in."

Committeewoman Janine Erickson compared the situation to a ballgame.

"It's like being asked to go play a game and showing up and saying you don't know what the rules are but have to agree. And you walk in and get bombarded by with balls and that's the rules of the game and now you have to sit there for 5 years and get pounded by balls because you didn't know the rules until you got there," said Erickson.

She added that it would be "prudent" for the township to sit on the sidelines for now until they know what the rules of the "game" are.

Meryl Bisberg of Hillsborough spoke during the more than one and a half-hour discussion and noted that she was concerned about the ordinance. Specifically, because the committee is pointing to the lack of rules now but when they first announced the ordinance they were quoted as pointing to the "quality of life" in the township.

Wright also mentioned that the Cannabis Regulatory Commission is meeting on June 1 and wanted to table the ordinance until June 22 to be able to get additional input from municipalities before making a vote.

Wright's motion to table the ordinance failed.

"The employment and revenue opportunities in cultivation and manufacturing, both of which are suited to spaces in our township, deserve a second look. I don't understand how we can just toss out the will of the people, and opportunities for jobs, additional tax revenue, and occupied industrial/commercial spaces without open-minded research and discussion," said Wright.

The majority of the people who spoke during the public portion were against the ordinance with a few in favor.

Many were specifically worried that a vote to ban cannabis would not allow the issue to resurface later on.

"I would like you to modify the ordinance to show this will be addressed again and not fall off the deep end," said Hillsborough resident Tiffany Figgs.

Our Revolution Hillsborough, a grassroots political action organization, released a statement about the committee's vote.

"We are disappointed that the Hillsborough Township Committee decided to ban the adult use of cannabis," stated the group. "Their lack of extensive research on the subject before making a decision is troubling. The committee would not even table the ordinance vote to accommodate the multitude of townspeople who had concerns with the ordinance. They are responsible for inflaming stigmas associated with cannabis and downplaying the professionalism behind the cannabis industry."

Hillsborough isn't the first town in Somerset County to take such measures against marijuana businesses. Bridgewater, Basking Ridge, and Warren have all passed similar ordinances.

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