To the Editor:

When I voted for marijuana legalization, it felt good to make a virtuous decision. Last year, cannabis became legal in New Jersey and municipalities began deciding whether to opt-in/out of hosting recreational dispensaries. The Princeton Cannabis Task Force (CTF) unanimously recommended opening up to three recreational retail cannabis dispensaries in town. Then the Princeton Board of Education publicly voiced practical concerns, which the CTF elected to dismiss. This unusual turn of events seized my attention. Here’s why we should all be concerned:

Opt-in Rate: Many of our neighbors opted out of retail cannabis dispensaries, including Montgomery, West Windsor, Plainsboro, Robbinsville, and Hopewell. Some shop supporters explain N.J.’s high opt-out rate of 71 percent as “temporary caution,” being that cannabis is so new in N.J. However, 67 percent of California towns, over 75 percent in Michigan, and 48 percent of Colorado opted out, and these states are years ahead of N.J. So, the answer isn’t a simple matter of caution. What are some lessons we can learn from markets that are way ahead of N.J.?   

Price of Hosting Dispensaries: The New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM) found that 3 percent tax is not enough to recoup municipal costs. Yet, N.J. law allows municipalities to charge up to 2 percent. The CTF intends to allocate the entire 2 percent toward undefined social justice causes and does not commit to invest these monies locally in our community. To further complicate matters, municipalities with retail cannabis shops have seen  litigation for a host of reasons. Why would Princeton be spared? Litigation is not cheap and will come out of our municipal budget. Combined costs are above and beyond the 3 percent of hosting dispensaries.

Parking and Sustainability: As observed in other states, traffic and parking challenges abound around dispensaries. Princeton already has parking challenges, where will so many new visitors park — there is no explanation in the CTF report — and is the increased car pollution good for Princeton, a town that prides itself on being green?

Potency Regulation: THC content of the marijuana in the ’80s was less than 2 percent. Today, it is normal to find marijuana with a THC content of over 20 percent. There are no clear guidelines or regulations from government officials. We do know that the higher the THC potency, the stronger the possibility of addiction and the more likely the person will continue to purchase and use the product. Guidelines are critical because, according to the Yale Medicine Cannabis/Marijuana Use Disorder homepage, 10 percent of people who begin smoking cannabis will become addicted, and 30 percent of current users meet the criteria for addiction. Additionally, people in mid-to-late adolescence are most likely to begin using cannabis. Do we want to make addiction problems worse in our town by making an addictive substance, that is without guidelines, even more accessible in our community?

Neighbors, please visit princetonnj.gov to email Council and the mayor to urge them to reject the current CTF recommendation report.

Rita Rafalovsky
Library Place