Toms River Council To Discuss Ban On Cannabis Businesses

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Township Council is scheduled to introduce an ordinance on Tuesday that would ban any cannabis businesses within the township.

The council meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. in the L. Manuel Hirschblond Meeting Room at the Toms River town hall.

The agenda for Tuesday's meeting also includes the introduction of the 2021 township budget, and the introduction of an ordinance renewing the franchise rights of New Jersey Natural Gas to lay pipes in the town's roads.

The town in 2018 considered an ordinance to ban retail marijuana sales, but tabled it in the face of urgings from the public to hold off, and uncertainty about what and how the state was going to legalize recreational marijuana use. Read more: Toms River Council Tables Marijuana Ordinance

The newly proposed ordinance is in response to the state finalizing regulations on adult use of recreational marijuana; towns have been given 180 days — until August — to enact bans if they choose.

Toms River voters, like much of the state, voted to approve recreational marijuana use by adults in the 2020 election. The final vote tallies in Toms River showed 31,255, or 63.42 percent, in favor, and 18,024, or 36.58 percent, against. There were 49,279 votes cast on the question, according to the official results posted by the Ocean County clerk's office. Read more: How Toms River Voted On NJ's Marijuana Question

Click here to get Patch email notifications, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Toms River Patch on Facebook.