Wyckoff Committeemen Madigan And Shanley Lead The Way With Pot Sales Prohibition
July 19 2018
(Wyckoff, NJ ) With Township Committeemen Thomas Madigan and Timothy Shanley leading the way, Wyckoff’s governing body approved an ordinance this week banning the sale of marijuana in the township.
The ordinance, which supplements the town’s existing zoning code, prohibits the sale of marijuana, it’s derivatives and paraphernalia throughout the town. The ordinance does not prohibit the sale of medical marijuana prescribed by a physician and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.
The ordinance was approved in a 4-0 vote of the township committee; Mayor Brian Scanlan was absent from the meeting. The ordinance has the support of the local police department and the Wyckoff Planning Board.
Republicans Madigan and Shanley said they acted now to prevent retail marijuana sales in the township because they are anticipating that Trenton politicians, including Gov. Murphy will legalize marijuana sales after the November election.
“We wanted to take preventive action before someone began investing in setting up a shop to sell marijuana in town,” said Madigan, a long-time resident and community volunteer.
“Retail marijuana sales are likely to bring with it an element of the drug culture that will not fit our community and could cause crime problems,” added Madigan.
Committeeman Shanley, the father of three young children and a baseball coach, said the ordinance is necessary “to protect the township’s children from exposure to the negative influences that will likely arise from the retail sale of marijuana in our town. If the legislature makes pot legal, we don’t want it sold in retail establishments in our town. I believe we can protect our neighborhoods by prohibiting the retail sale of marijuana in our town.”
“While many residents of New Jersey want marijuana legalization for a variety of reasons, it nevertheless brings with it some negative social concerns that have to be dealt with. Tim and I thought it was in the best interest of Wyckoff to get out front and begin addressing some of the concerns of legalizing pot for retail sales,” said Madigan.
