This week, the NJ Appellate Division issued an unpublished decision, allowing the state to resume its review of medical marijuana license applications. The review had previously been put on hold while the court examined a challenge to the application process brought by certain applicants.
A majority of the challenges were due to issues regarding how the Department of Health handled certain electronic documents submitted with applications. A few challenges, however, dealt with uncertainty regarding regulatory language that requires an applicant to provide as part of their application package, “written verification of the approval of the community or governing body of the municipality….” When applicants provided letters of support from community members and other documents not from the municipal governing body, the Department of Health denied these applications.
The applicants argued, and the Appellate Division agreed, that the plain language of the regulations does not require a formal action or any action for that matter, from the governing body of the host-municipality.
The League is reviewing this ruling to determine what, if any, general municipal impact this ruling will have and to determine any appropriate action. We will keep you updated on this matter as we continue to examine the decision.
Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq. Associate General Counsel, FMarshall@njlm.org or 609-695-3481 x137.