There were no published opinions on land use or zoning this month, from the Appellate Division or the Supreme Court. There was one unpublished opinion from the A.D. last week, Montague v. Borough of Deal, which addressed board discretion about variances. The temporary New Jersey Courts link is alive for the moment, but the opinion will be archived at the Rutgers Law Library next week.
New Jersey
‘Breaking the Taboo’
Morgan Freeman narrates a new documentary called Breaking the Taboo — the latest to take on the Drug War. In other news, the Greenleaf Compassion Center is now open in Montclair, New Jersey.
‘Yes’ on More Humane Farming Practices
The Star-Ledger has an op-ed by Peter Singer and Paul Shapiro in support of a bill (A-3250) that is working its way through the New Jersey General Assembly. The law would ban the use of gestation crates for pigs on New Jersey farms. The companion bill passed the Senate in June, 35-1. According to the authors, similar laws are already on the books throughout Europe, and in nine other American states. Seems like a step in the right direction.
Medical Marijuana: A Dim Green Light
The New Jersey Department of Health is now signing up patients for the state’s newly minted medical marijuana program. The state law that established the framework for the program (N.J.S.A. 24:6I-1, et seq.) was signed by Gov. Jon Corzine in the last days of his outgoing administration, in early 2010. As LT has noted, the program has since been implemented with painful slowness by Gov. Chris Christie’s administration, and has also been subjected to a broad array of land-use obstacles from municipal authorities, as well. (Viz., although six dispensaries have been approved, in theory, only two have yet secured retail space: one in Montclair; and another in Egg Harbor, which is near Atlantic City.)
Update, 8/26: A third location has been secured on U.S. 1 in Woodbridge.