EATONTOWN – The members of the Eatontown Borough Council have passed a resolution which supports the proposed location and operation of a business to be operated by Sweet Side, LLC, that would function as a cannabis cultivator and a cannabis manufacturer.
Representatives of Sweet Side, Neptune, are seeking approval to establish the business at 265 Industrial Way West, Eatontown, according to the resolution.
As stated in the resolution, council members recently approved a new marijuana business license application requirement for all potential cannabis businesses seeking to operate in Eatontown.
An application for a retail cannabis dispensary was filed by Sweet Side.
According to the website www.state.nj.us/treasury, the authorized activity for a cannabis retailer is to purchase recreational use cannabis from licensed cultivators, manufacturers or wholesalers and sell those items to consumers in a retail store.
However, Eatontown officials reviewed Sweet Side’s application and found it meets the criteria for the applicant to obtain a cannabis cultivator license and a cannabis manufacturer license from the borough, according to the council’s resolution.
According to the website, the authorized activity for a cannabis cultivator is to grow recreational use cannabis and the authorized activity for a cannabis manufacturer is to produce recreational use cannabis.
“It is in the best interest of the borough to provide a resolution of support to Sweet Side,” municipal officials wrote in the resolution.
Potential cannabis business operators are required by the state to submit a resolution of support from the governing body of the municipality in which they intend to do business to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The commission will then review the applicant’s documentation to determine if a license should be issued.
A conditional license application to Sweet Side was approved by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission in March, according to the resolution.
In 2021, state legislators approved the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act after New Jersey voters in 2020 approved a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana.
The state legislation legalized the recreational use (also known as adult use) of marijuana for certain adults; it decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana and hashish (a marijuana concentrate); and it removed marijuana as a Schedule I (high potential for abuse) drug.
The law established six marketplace classes of licensed marijuana businesses in New Jersey: cultivator, manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer and delivery.
Eatontown officials subsequently adopted an ordinance which established the locations where cannabis businesses will be permitted to operate and the standards by which a business operator may receive a license. Every marketplace class except cannabis delivery is permitted in the borough.
Under these regulations, up to two cannabis cultivator licenses and up to two cannabis manufacturer licenses may be issued in Eatontown. Cannabis cultivator businesses and cannabis manufacturer businesses will be permitted to operate on Industrial Way, west of Route 35.
The application fee for the cannabis business license will be $10,000 and each cannabis business that is approved to operate in Eatontown will be required to pay $2,500 annually to maintain the license, according to the ordinance, which will also subject a cannabis business to a 2% local cannabis tax (excluding wholesalers, which are subject to a 1% local cannabis tax).