CAPE MAY – With little fanfare, Cape May City Council adopted a new ordinance banningmarijuana smoking in public areas. No one spoke during the ordinance’s public hearing.
The new restrictions prohibit marijuana smoking on the city’s Washington Street Mall, Promenade, beaches, and other public areas. State laws passed in February legalized the recreational use of cannabis products.
Police departments across the county will be challenged with the task of enforcing local prohibitions in ways that do not conflict with the new freedoms allowed in state law.
Municipalities were given 180 days to enact local restrictions on the retail sale, production, or manufacture of cannabis products. Cape May has not yet addressed the full range of issues, moving quickly on smoking marijuana in public areas due to summer’s imminent start.
The council said it would act on ordinances regarding the permitted presence, if any, of the emerging legal cannabis industry in the city before the 180-day period ends Aug. 22.
