Cannabis, over the years, has been derisively called the “Devil’s Lettuce” by some, but in Brick, the co-owner of a would-be medical marijuana farming operation has switched her focus to lettuce – actual lettuce, that is.
Two days before the township’s zoning board was (and remains) set to determine whether the growing of cannabis or hemp is permitted in the Rural Residential zone, in which the proposed farm is located at 385 Adamston Road, the applicant’s counsel wrote a letter to the board’s attorney saying his client now wants to grow lettuce and leafy green vegetables on the site. The board, however, decided that the hearing would go on anyway, despite “conventional farming” being considered a permitted use in the zone.
Anne Davis, of Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care (JSTHC), which was previously proposing a medical marijuana dispensary, plus a 48,000 square foot cultivation facility, told Shorebeat that because the state’s laws on medical marijuana access and licensure are currently in flux, research prompted her to find another crop. Neighbors of the property, who have vehemently argued against the presence of a marijuana-related facility in their neighborhood, were skeptical of the lettuce plans after they received letters about the change earlier this week. But they also lobbied the township council to ban medical marijuana and hemp cultivation in the rural residential zone now that, technically, JSTHC’s application to do so is off the table.
“You’re capable of amending ordinances altogether,” said Diana Diaz, one of the objectors to JSTHC’s application who addressed the township council Tuesday night. “There is no existing application to speak to that – they’re growing lettuce.”
Read more at brick.shorebeat.com
