After a year-long moratorium to address Jersey City’s chaotic cannabis approval process, City Council is set to vote Thursday (Oct. 17) on the second and final reading of the Cannabis Ordinance Amendment.Unfortunately, the updated proposal doesn’t resolve three major concerns that led to the pause in the first place.1.    Oversaturation of cannabis dispensaries2.    Close proximity of weed shops to schools3.    Transparent approval processWe ask the Council to oppose this amendment and seriously address these concerns. We are not against cannabis businesses but ask for common sense solutions that are fair to residents and the cannabis industry, especially small businesses. And just like Councilman Frank Gilmore (Ward F) said as reported by NJ.com, no one wants to see “dispensaries at every little corner of the ward.”Here is a deeper dive into the three major issues with the proposed ordinance:1. Oversaturation of cannabis dispensariesThe proposed cap is the highest in the nation and will turn Jersey City into the “Weed Capital” of the U.S. The proposed cap of 48 licenses, 8 per each ward, doesn’t include the 46 already approved licenses. In theory, Jersey City could have over 90 cannabis dispensaries in a city of 286,000 people. This would rank Jersey City top in the nation for cannabis retailers per 100,000 people. Even at a cap of 48 dispensaries, Jersey City would outpace every other metropolitan area across the country.Marijuana Retailers / 100K Residents (Fully Legal Cities)1.    Jersey City, NJ:            16.72.    Portland, OR:              13.73.    Denver, CO:                 10.44.    Boston, MA:                4.65.    San Francisco, CA:      3.46.    Seattle, WA:                 3.17.    Kansas City, MO:         3.08.    Phoenix, AZ:                 2.79.    Sacramento, CA:         2.710.  Buffalo, NY:                  2.5Source: https://www.realestatewitch.com/best-weed-citiesWhen factored in the approved 46 licenses, the total of 94 would be insanely high with 32.9 per 100K residents, which is 13x more than the nation’s average in fully legal cities (2.5). Clearly proliferation and oversaturation were not addressed.A common argument to let the market decide is an irresponsible approach. Not only does it flood a few neighborhoods with dispensaries, but it’s unfair and disadvantageous to small business owners who worked incredibly hard to finance expensive businesses to open and run their establishments and now have to compete with other cannabis retailers right next door like on Central and Newark Avenues [see map of cannabis retailers Jersey City Council approved].Cluster of eight approved cannabis dispensaries along Central Avenue in Jersey City Heights (Ward D) violated the city’s own ordinance to maintain a front door buffer of 600 feet between retailers.The Council can learn from problems of oversaturation in Oregon which forced many businesses to operate under low margins and extreme pressure causing the state to now adopt new caps to limit licenses. The damage is already done in Oregon with many smaller retailers going out of business while the big players always win. Let’s not let that happen to Jersey City small business dispensaries.2. Close proximity of weed shops to schoolsJersey City’s 200 feet is the lowest minimum distance from schools in the nation.When the State of New Jersey legalized personal-use cannabis, regulations were written with protecting children as the highest priority. The NJ.gov website cites a warning from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that, “cannabis use beginning in teen years or younger may affect brain development which may impair thinking, memory, and learning.” The school distance restriction is primarily used to limit youth exposure to cannabis.With this in mind, the Council should not put dispensaries right next to schools. At 200 feet, Jersey City currently has the lowest school distance in the nation [see data]. Many municipalities including weed-friendly Portland and Denver, adopted 1,000 feet distance rules which follow the federal definition of a “drug-free school zone.” Our neighbors in New York and Hoboken have a 500 feet minimum distance.Dispensaries should be out of reach from schools. The new amendment needs to create a larger buffer zone between schools and marijuana dispensaries to protect our kids. 3. Transparent approval processRemoval of the City Division of Planning from the cannabis approval process.The apparent removal of the City Division of Planning from the cannabis approval process which, from our understanding, would take away any requirement to notify citizens of plans to open a dispensary in their neighborhood. It would be logical if citizens were more involved in the process. But the nuances (or unclarity) of the approval process in the updated ordinance makes it hard to know how citizens will be informed, if at all, of any new cannabis dispensaries.  We ask the Council to explicitly include how the public and the immediate neighborhood will be notified and included in the approval process for any new cannabis dispensaries in the ordinance. Mayor Fulop and the City Council claim that they have been working hard over the years to implement thoughtful local guidelines that serve both cannabis business owners and citizens. The job isn’t done. They still have more work to do. The post Op-Ed: It’s Time For Common Sense Cannabis Regulation in Jersey City appeared first on Jersey City Times.