STONE HARBOR – Stone Harbor Borough Council April 6 introduced an ordinance prohibiting the sale of cannabis products and the operation of any aspect of the emerging legal cannabis industry within borough limits.
The move is the borough’s first reaction to the state’s February legalization of recreational cannabis use.
State law gives municipalities 180 days to decide if licensed cannabis operators will be permitted to do business within municipal boundaries. The ordinance introduced is a broad-based ban on all such activities. It also prohibits the smoking and ingesting of cannabis in all public areas, including the borough’s beaches.
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour said borough attorneys urged a strict and sweeping set of restrictions. The new state law permits municipalities to establish such restrictions, but it does not allow new, more restrictive rules for five years after the 180-day period ends.
Davies-Dunhour said the borough elected to implement a complete ban, knowing that “we can dial it back later if we want to do so.”
