{"id":13504,"date":"2018-10-03T03:36:57","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T07:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=13504"},"modified":"2018-10-04T02:43:04","modified_gmt":"2018-10-04T06:43:04","slug":"neighbors-of-proposed-medical-marijuana-dispensary-express-concerns-owner-offers-details-on-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2018\/10\/neighbors-of-proposed-medical-marijuana-dispensary-express-concerns-owner-offers-details-on-operations\/","title":{"rendered":"Neighbors of Proposed Brick Medical Marijuana Dispensary Express Concerns, Owner Offers Details on Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>

A rendering of a proposed medical marijuana grow house in Brick. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

A meeting led by the attorney for the Brick company hoping to gain approval to build a medical marijuana dispensary and grow house shed immense light onto the details of the proposed business\u2019s operations, but sometimes turned tense as neighbors faced off against marijuana activists who also attended.<\/p>\n

The two hour-long meeting introduced Anne Davis, the founder of Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care (JSTHC), and her staff to the community. It was led by John Paul Doyle, a local attorney who will represent the company at a zoning board hearing next week. JSTHC is seeking permission to convert an existing bank building into a dispensary for medical marijuana patients and build a 48,000 square foot grow house on the 6.7 acre plot, located at 385 Adamston Road. The project requires a use variance, the most difficult type of variance to obtain, from the township\u2019s Board of Adjustment. It is also subject to approval from the state Department of Health, which will announce the approval of six proposed dispensaries statewide Nov. 1.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The location where a medical marijuana facility will be proposed in Brick Township. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

The meeting was packed, with a line of attendees stretching out into the main hallway of the municipal building. Most of those who spoke at the meeting were medical marijuana patients \u2013 some from Brick, and some from other Shore communities \u2013 who shared stories of how cannabis relieved pain and helped them deal with chronic illnesses. The next-largest group consisted of residents whose homes are located near the proposed site. They questioned whether a dispensary and grow house constituted a security risk, could affect their property values, or could attract transient customers to local streets. On several occasions, the residents were met with heckling by some of the activists in the room, including one who was broadcasting a live feed of the meeting on Facebook. Still, the meeting was filled with detailed information on the project, and the JSTHC staff offered to work with homeowners and promised to be a good neighbor.<\/p>\n

The top issue was security at the site. Doyle said the company has hired Michael White, a now-retired 26-year veteran of the New Jersey State Police, to lead its security regime. White, who currently works in school security, said he has a background in homeland security assignments and assessing the security of buildings and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything in the facility is timestamped and recorded,\u201d said White, describing a network of 150 cameras that will be able to read license plates, identify those who come onto the property, and be available on a 24 hour live feed at the state Department of Health. \u201cWe will know the movements of everyone through that facility, 24 hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some neighboring residents said the very fact that so much security is required \u2013 White held up a 94-page operations manual \u2013 meant that the facility was not appropriate for an area so close to residential property. But Davis said many of the high-tech and comprehensive security measures are state requirements that were specifically put in place to assuage concerns of townspeople across the state.<\/p>\n

Joel Allcock, who will serve as the company\u2019s operations manager, said the dispensary will attract fewer patrons than the OceanFirst bank branch which previously occupied the site. The bank, he said, had been robbed five times over the years and the dispensary would be a much more difficult facility to rob.<\/p>\n

White said security guards will be present at all times. They will not be armed, however, to reduce the risk of any violence during a potential robbery attempt.<\/p>\n

A \u2018Jersey Shore Feel\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davis described the patient facility as being neatly and brightly decorated with a \u201cJersey Shore feel.\u201d The site will also be discreet, she said. There will be no signage besides simple lettering on the front door, and patients will have to pre-register for a medical marijuana card, declare the Brick site as their chosen dispensary, and have both the medical card and identification confirmed before they are allowed out of the lobby and into the dispensary itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope to keep it discreet because the only people who belong there are registered patients,\u201d said Davis.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A rendering of a proposed interior for a medcial marijuana dispensary in Brick. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A map of the site plan for a proposed medical marijuana dispensary in Brick. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

White said the use of marijuana is strictly prohibited on the premises and in the parking lot. Anyone who violates the rule risks being banned from the facility and anyone who drives after using the product will be reported to the police.<\/p>\n

Davis, who runs a solo law practice in Brick and has served as the former Executive Director of NORML\u00a0(National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) New Jersey, said her ultimate goal is to serve the community and contribute to medical marijuana research. She said she suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses medical marijuana to allow her to sleep despite chronic pain. She also serves as a Girl Scout leader and CCD teacher, and St. Dominic Catholic Church\u2019s recently-retired pastor Msgr. James Brady, was among those who wrote her a letter a recommendation to the state as part of the application process.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want this to be a good business, help our local patients, and I\u2019m not going to allow bad things to happen,\u201d she told neighbors who viewed the project with skepticism.<\/p>\n

Patients will sign a \u201cgood neighbor agreement,\u201d said Allcock.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think it\u2019s an end-around so people can get high,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a hell of a lot easier to get cannabis at Brick High School than it is as a patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Medical Marijuana in the Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Doumas, whose home neighbors the property, said he fully supports the availability of medical marijuana, but reiterated calls to locate the facility in a more defined commercial district.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a long history, from sea to shining sea, of violent robberies at these facilities,\u201d he said. \u201cI just can\u2019t fathom how this is ending up in the middle of a neighborhood full of kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

There has been little to no data produced on the nexus between a medical marijuana dispensary to crime issues. Some residents pointed to a robbery at a dispensary<\/a> in Egg Harbor Township in Dec. 2017 as an example of what they would like to avoid seeing near their homes.<\/p>\n

Aubrey Conway, of Sayreville<\/span>, attended the meeting and said better access to medical marijuana could alleviate dependence on opioid drugs in the community, which has been ravaged by heroin addiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a parent and as a patient, I can tell you that I feel safer not having opiates in my house, and I feel safer educating my children about the differences,\u201d she said. \u201cNobody wants our children to be on drugs \u2013 that\u2019s not the goal \u2013 but I hope, as a parent of football players, that if they get a concussion they will have the same medical choices that I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Weiss, another resident, said he was skeptical himself about trying medical marijuana to help alleviate pain from MS.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t smoke marijuana prior to that for many, many years \u2013 since I was a kid,\u201d he said. \u201cI decided, when medical marijuana became available, to talk to my doctor about it. She said it would benefit me \u2026. For the first time in many years, I was able to get a full night\u2019s sleep. It also helps with the pressure and anxiety from dealing with a chronic condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

None of the residents who spoke criticized the legality of medical marijuana, but said they were uncomfortable with a facility in close proximity to residential zones.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce it moves out of your parking lot and people are smoking up on our street, it\u2019s out of your hands,\u201d one resident opined from the back of the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve looked outside of Brick, inside of Brick, a multitude of places \u2013 and they did not work,\u201d explained Davis, adding that she considered the former Work Out World site on Brick Boulevard. \u201cWe did find some other properties that didn\u2019t work. This particular location worked the best for cultivation, security \u2013 it\u2019s discreet \u2013 all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facility will operate as part of a \u201cclosed loop,\u201d Allcock said, and no odor will be emitted into the outdoors. In fact, it is essential that inside and outside air do not mix, as it can affect the health of the plants.<\/p>\n

Davis assured members of the public that the facility would never become a recreational dispensary should the state legalize a recreational market. She said she is willing to stipulate before the zoning board that she has no intention to do so and would accept a board requirement that the facility always remains for medical patients only.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no intent on going recreational,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a medical program and we want to expand clinical research and programs that we create there. We believe, as a business model, even if it goes recreational [medical] will not pay taxes and the patients will still come to us. We\u2019re going to be fine even if there\u2019s a recreational market out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recreational dispensaries in other states are often larger and are affiliated with large-scale growers, research shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to be all over the state or be mega-millionaires, we just want to help people,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Timeline Uncertain<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dispensary\u2019s application will be heard Wednesday, Oct. 10 by the township\u2019s Board of Adjustment. Public comment will be accepted by the board following the testimony of witnesses and any formal objectors to the project.<\/p>\n

Even if the board votes in favor of allowing the project to proceed, it still requires the OK of the state Department of Health. On Nov. 1, the state will announce the approval of six more dispensaries, formally known as \u201calternative treatment centers.\u201d There will be two each approved for the northern, central and southern portions of the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very confident, but no one will know until November 1,\u201d Davis told Shorebeat following the meeting. \u201cThere\u2019s no indication as to what they\u2019re doing, but we\u2019re super confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allcock said construction would begin shortly after approvals, but a cannabis product would not be available until about this time next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to cultivate the first harvest, build out all the rooms, and the cultivation process takes a while,\u201d said Davis.<\/p>\n

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A meeting led by the attorney for the Brick company hoping to gain approval to build a medical marijuana dispensary and grow house shed immense light onto the details of the proposed business\u2019s operations, but sometimes turned tense as neighbors faced off against marijuana activists who also attended. The two hour-long meeting introduced Anne Davis, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,1649],"tags":[24,3480,2804],"class_list":["post-13504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","category-local-business","tag-brick-nj-news","tag-dispensary","tag-medical-marijuana"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/mmj_rendering.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-3vO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}