Watch 2nd Town Hall On Legal Marijuana In Livingston

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Livingston town officials held the second in a series of public meetings on Tuesday to discuss legal marijuana in New Jersey (watch the video below).

The panel included Mayor Shawn Klein, Deputy Mayor Ed Meinhardt, Council Members Al Anthony, Michael Vieira and Rudy Fernandez, and Township Manager Barry Lewis Jr., along with Livingston Township Attorney Jarrid Kantor.

• See related article: Nutley Is Pondering A Ban On Marijuana Businesses

The meeting set off a hail of internet commentary from community members, some of whom questioned the claims being made. Seen online:

• “We are a highly educated community. We need to put our heads together to come up with a way to capitalize on this. Emotional decisions have no place here.”
• “Cannabis delivery to your home is legal, and arguably much more convenient for medical users than driving to an out-of-the-way dispensary in town.”
• “How come when we talk about developments everyone worries about traffic, but no one is worried about increased traffic from these dispensaries?”
• “If one lives near SH/WO/Millburn borders and there is a shop in one of those towns and one way up on Rte 10 or Eisenhower, I bet one goes to the closest shop even it's is not in LIV.”
• “So much of this has to with parenting... teach your kids.”
• “Thank you, mayor. Fact checking the speakers is a true show of leadership.”
• “Other than guessing and hoping, does anyone have actual realistic estimates for sales?”
• “Wow. I guess we're back to the 1950s as far as attitudes toward cannabis. Plenty of info and education out there. Oh well... NIMBY.”

The clock is ticking on New Jersey towns if they want to pass local laws banning or regulating legal marijuana, including Livingston. Read More: 5 Things You Need To Know About Marijuana Legalization In NJ

When state lawmakers crafted the legalization bill, they left room for individual municipalities to ban or limit the number of cannabis businesses operating in their communities. This includes dispensaries, delivery services and growers. Read More: Marijuana Is Legal In NJ. But Can Towns Still Ban It?

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Sign up for Patch email newsletters. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Livingston Facebook page.