DISPENSARY

To prohibit a term that is not only in common use to characterize such establishments, but which actually appears in a number of references on the “Recreational Use” page of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), might seem like a somewhat startling departure from what has by now become accepted practice in the ongoing commercialization of a substance that until recently could not be legally sold in the state.

But that is just how the intent of the ordinance in question — actually one which would amend Chapter 160-75 entitled “Sign Regulations Related to Cannabis Businesses”— was described by Kevin Rijs, the township’s director of Community Development, when asked by Mayor Jaclyn “Jackie” Veasy to explain what it meant.

“During the course of the Planning Board review,” Rijs explained, “…there was a recommendation that the code be updated to prohibit use of the word ‘dispensary.’ That is what this does.”

The proposed measure, Rijs noted, is one “based on applications they’ve reviewed,” and was “coordinated with the planning board attorney,” who currently is Ronald Cucchiaro, a Red Bank-based lawyer specializing in real estate and land-use law.

The exact basis for that recommendation and the proposed amendment that resulted was not clarified by Rjis, whose office told the Pine Barrens Tribune that it would have to be provided by Evesham Public Information Officer Zane Clark. In a subsequent email to this newspaper, Clark noted that “the Planning Board has reviewed several retail cannabis applications at this point in time, and some members have noted that some applications did attempt to use words in their signage other than (or) in addition to ‘the name of the entity only’ (which is all the sign ordinance permits), one of the most commonly proposed additional words being ‘dispensary.’”

“As Mr. Rijs referenced, this change to specifically prohibit the word ‘dispensary’ will make the sign ordinance clearer for any future applicants and further promote the intent of this portion of the sign ordinance, which is to allow retail cannabis locations in Evesham Township, while also simultaneously protecting the character of the township,” Clark added.

In response to an email inquiring whether the CRC might be contemplating any similar change, Toni-Anne Blake, the agency’s director of communications, sent this newspaper a list of its rules, highlighting one specifying that “the signage shall be compliant with local ordinances related to the real property where the cannabis business is located.”

Strictly speaking, however, the definition of “dispensary,” according to the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, is “a place where medicine or medical or dental treatment is dispensed,” which would certainly seem applicable to establishments operating under New Jersey’s Medicinal Cannabis Program but might not be considered appropriate terminology to describe their recreational counterparts, at least from a regulatory standpoint.

Just how familiar the term has become in that regard, though, was exemplified by the fact that both Veasy and Councilwoman Heather Cooper continued to refer to such businesses in that manner even after having voted for the amended ordinance.

“I tell my kids cannabis is legal and its medicinal and people need it, so it’s not just about the recreational cannabis dispensaries,” Cooper noted during the council comment period. “I’m not a fan of saying let’s put the cannabis dispensary somewhere else.”

The mayor, in remarks that followed, told a resident of neighboring Mount Laurel who earlier expressed concerns about the township’s and the area’s growing number of proposed cannabis businesses that he “might not have been aware of all the processes we went through as a council and a town to the point where we got to approving retail dispensaries to be here in Evesham.”

On another matter, in response to a suggestion made by local resident Stephen Kavalkovitch that ethics training be made mandatory for the township council, Veasy asked Township Attorney Christopher Orlando whether members of a governing body are required to take it (as state officials now are), to which Orlando replied, “I will look into that,“ adding that he must do so every year in his role as an attorney.

Kavalkovich, a planning board member and local shamanic practitioner who began by apologizing for his remarks at a previous meeting when he first made that demand, proceeded to again castigate the three council members — current Deputy Mayor Eddie Freeman III, Patricia Hansen and Ginamarie Espinoza — for having voted at a January reorganization meeting to switch the township’s legal representation back to Orlando’s firm, Parker-McCay of Mount Laurel, a move opposed at the time by their fellow Democrats Veasy and Cooper, with Township Manager Robert Corrales having been in favor of retaining Malamut Associates as the township’s legal firm.

“It’s really gut wrenching to see the positive progress, the servant leadership and integrity that you (meaning Veasy and Cooper) have displayed being dismantled, brick by brick, three people who are supposedly on the same team,” contended Kavalkovich before proceeding to ask if any of them cared to explain their reasons for voting the way they did.

Another speaker, Andrew Farrell, who had also previously addressed the council, was highly critical of Parker McCay for what he called a “conflict of interest” involving an “evergreen clause” he said the firm had previously inserted in an ongoing lease agreement it had arranged for the Police Department parking lot without notifying anyone, calling it a matter of “grave concern” to him (although without specifically mentioning why).

Orando, responding to Farrell’s accusation, said he wanted “to assure council and the mayor that there is no pending conflict,” although he acknowledged there had been a situation in which his firm represented a landowner in the lease agreement to which Farrell referred prior to representing Evesham, something he cited as an example of why municipalities retain lawyers known as “conflict counsels.” In fact, Orlando said he had advised Farrell following the latter’s previous remarks that if he had questions about the lease, to contact the township manager who would “get it to the conflict counsel” for the township.

The attorney also emphasized that “we have an ethics counsel at the firm, a former (state) Supreme Court justice (Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina), who reviews all ethical questions to make sure we are always in ethical bounds.”

Espinoza, during the comment period reserved for council members, also addressing the concerns raised by Kavalkovich, maintained that she had based her vote for retaining Parker-McCay on having scrutinized the requests for proposal (RFP) responses submitted and determined that the applicants she chose were the best ones for the job.

“My decision was hard, it was complicated and quite frankly communication previously was lacking,” she declared.

She added that while some of her colleagues may have felt differently,” she knows they all “care deeply about the community” and that she didn’t question their ethics.

Espinoza added that she agrees ethics training is informative, takes it every year herself, is “keenly aware that some individuals may have concerns,” and assured those in attendance that she had “done my due diligence.”

(Hansen addressed why she voted as she did at a previous meeting, but Freeman, who introduced the resolution in favor of ParkerMcCay at the reorganization meeting, has so far refrained from commenting on the matter.)

And the latest application before Pemberton council is somewhat unique in that, to date, when cannabis entrepreneurs have requested letters of support from opted-in municipalities in the Pines to present to the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), the requests for what essentially amounts to the town’s blessings have been for prospective, new operations that haven’t yet received state approval, but in this particular case, Eastern Tiger, LLC, is already the “awardees of a Personal-Use Cannabis Class I License” from the CRC and is looking for a letter of support so that it can “submit a location change waiver” to the state regulatory authority.

That, it was explained, would enable the cultivator to change its operational location from Irvington to Pemberton.

“Our focus is on high quality cannabis cultivation and processing,” Daniel DiCapite, co-founder and chief executive officer of Eastern Tiger, told council on March 15. “We aim to construct a state-of-the-art facility, focusing on sustainability and environmental processes, reduction of waste and improving the surrounding community. Our products consist of in-house brands, premium products from around the country and use some of the finest materials and ingredients, delivering high-end and safe cannabis in the New Jersey marketplace.”

By having been granted a Class 1 license from the state, he said, Eastern Tiger is “authorized to possess, propagate, geminate, plant, cultivate, grow, harvest, dry, cure and package cannabis” and “may have a facility up to 50,000 square feet,” as well as is “authorized to transport and so on.”

In presenting “renderings of a ‘farm’” at 195 North Pemberton Road to Pemberton council, the CEO asked the governing body to take note that a proposed barn for the parcel would be about 40,000 square-feet in size, and that “inside the barn, we are looking to layout operations inside 5,000 square-foot increments.”

“Everything will be done in the barn,” DiCapite maintained. “… We are looking to really develop a farm here. That is the point.”

In response to a later question from Republican Councilman Joshua Ward, Eastern Tiger’s representatives revealed that the crops inside would be “mostly” grown in “elevated pots and trays.”

In pointing to the barn rendering, DiCapite, who maintained he has designed brands and buildings for 20 years, argued he has given the concept “huge attention to detail.”

“And what we are looking to do here is have the community drive by something that is beautiful,” DiCapite contended, pointing to plans to also grow a “bunch of evergreens” in the front of the facility. “So, I hope you feel the same.”

Then in presenting “another picture of the cultivation facility” that is planned, DiCapite alluded to there being a “Phase II” of the project in which the firm would “add a series of offices to support the growing workforce.”

“I really tried to model something after the beauty of a winery, using wood and natural materials,” the CEO contended, noting the design is similar to those found in a wine community located on the North Fork of Long Island, where he is from originally.

Ryan E. McWilliams, chief financial officer of Eastern Tiger, after recognizing “how many millions of dollars of investment are required to build such a beautiful campus that Dan created,” revealed the firm’s plan to hire 20 employees in year one and 50 additional ones in year two, maintaining the company would be “sourcing local talent with deep AG experience.”

Some “75 percent of those jobs” anticipated