Chatham Borough To Trenton: Slow The Recreational Marijuana Roll

CHATHAM, NJ - Posting a 5-1 vote, the Chatham Borough Council approved a resolution opposing the state's upcoming vote on the recreational use of marijuana.

Council President Len Resto, Councilman Peter Hoffman, Councilman Thad Kobylarz, Councilman Bob Weber and Councilman James Collander voted yes on Tuesday. Councilwoman Vicki Fife voted no.

According to officials, a certified copy of the resolution will be sent to the legislators that represent Chatham Borough and Morris County as well as Governor Phil Murphy.

"I thought it was important to let the State Legislature know they are moving way too quickly to legalize the recreational use of marijuana," Council President Len Resto told Patch. "I have learned more about 'cannabis' over the past three months than I ever thought possible. What makes this a tough issue is for every study telling us how 'harmless' cannabis is, there are other studies that tell us how 'harmful' it is, especially for developing brains of people age 25 and under."

Resto said that since he serves as the Council Liaison to the Municipal Alliance of the Chathams (MAC) and the Madison-Chatham Coalition (MCC), which both help school aged children and teens avoid drinking, vaping and opioids, he thought it best to vote yes on asking the Legislature to slow down and consider all the ramifications of legalizing marijuana before they act.

"The states that have legalized marijuana have had unintended consequences of legalization such as increases in crime, higher automobile accident rates and use of marijuana by children as young as elementary school," Resto said.

Councilman Bob Weber, a former prosecutor who has been outspoken against marijuana legalization said he was happy to acknowledge that a majority of the Borough Council has recognized that the legalization of marijuana for recreational use is a bad policy choice for the residents of Chatham Borough and the State of New Jersey.

"The safety of our residents, especially the youth of our community, and protection of the public’s health should be paramount. All one needs to do is look at the preliminary results in other states that have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, like Colorado, to conclude that full legalization is not the appropriate solution to address the concerns expressed by the bill’s sponsors," Weber said.

Peter Hoffman said that on the state level officials are not considering how complicated the subject matter is.

"I believe the message from the Council is that despite the complexity of this subject, the Governor has decided to force legalization down the throats of NJ residents without fully analyzing the health and social costs and benefits as well as the experiences of states which have legalized marijuana, both positive and negative," Hoffman said. "Legalization is not all good and we can’t be blinded by the promise of tax revenues which will probably pale in comparison to the law enforcement challenges and social problems that legalization could create. I don’t believe the majority of residents of Chatham favor legalization, and I was happy to be their voice in last night’s vote."

For his part, Weber said that Tuesday's resolution was only the beginning.

"Last night’s resolution is only the first step," Weber said. "Should full legalization become law in NJ, as appears likely, it is my hope that the newly constituted Council will agree to ban marijuana-related businesses from the Borough.”

(Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

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