{"id":12988,"date":"2019-04-26T01:56:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T01:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/?p=12988"},"modified":"2019-05-11T03:48:40","modified_gmt":"2019-05-11T03:48:40","slug":"trenton-voices-speak-for-trenton-as-the-nj-marijuana-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/2019\/04\/trenton-voices-speak-for-trenton-as-the-nj-marijuana-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Trenton Voices Speak for Trenton as the NJ Marijuana Capital"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWest 8th<\/sup> Street is the birth canal of New Jersey medical marijuana,\u201d says Leo Bridgewater, co-founder of NJ Cannabis Commission, Sub-Committee Chair of Minorities with the NJ Cannabusiness Association, and former Iraqi War veteran. He is also a local Trenton resident who serves as an activist for the therapeutic benefits of marijuana. \u201cPeople are completely oblivious to [this].\u201d<\/p>\n

If the issue of medical, and recreational, marijuana will remain a hot-button issue in New Jersey, then Trenton will be the geographic focus of this ongoing debate. As New Jersey stalls in its plans to legalize medical marijuana (the next vote will be sometime in May), its legalized medical marijuana program is a booming enterprise. Since medical marijuana\u2019s legalization in 2010, New Jersey has witnessed the creation of the New Jersey Medical Marijuana Program, which expanded affordable access to the drug for patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Since then, access to medical marijuana has only grown as cutbacks in bureaucratic red tape, decreased membership payments, and the expansion of the qualifying medical conditions has swelled the membership numbers (the Department of Health expects 50,000 members to be enrolled within the upcoming months). There are currently six operating medical marijuana dispensaries in New Jersey: Bellmawr, Cranberry Township, Egg Harbor, Montclair, Secaucus, and Woodbridge. Six more are planned to be opened within the upcoming year.<\/p>\n

However, despite its epithet as \u201cNew Jersey\u2019s medical marijuana capital,\u201d Trenton seems to be not playing an active role in New Jersey\u2019s medical marijuana boom. For example, Trenton still does not have an operating medical marijuana dispensary that can cater to patients within New Jersey\u2019s southern region. Tracy Syphax, the founder of Phax Construction and Design Group, recently tried to acquire a license to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Trenton, Trenton Metro LLC, but was unsuccessful. \u201cI don\u2019t why I didn\u2019t get a license,\u201d says Syphax. \u201cI can\u2019t speak for the state.\u201d He remains a little critical at the state\u2019s decisions, though, stating that \u201cRahway [who received a license to operate in central Jersey] is not central Jersey.\u201d He also states that \u201cit takes one hour and ten minutes to go to Cranberry [the closest dispensary from Trenton] and get back right now using mass transportation.\u201d Trenton, on the other hand, would be \u201cprime location\u201d because of its proximity to transit lines and highways.<\/p>\n

\u201cSyphax is not a time appropriate candidate\u201d says Bridgewater. \u201cYou need pedigree in identity.\u201d Bridgewater\u2019s comments are, to some degree, accurate. The most recent application process for six new licenses was given to mostly out-of-state franchises (the first application process, on the other hand, favored NJ-owned businesses). Thus, Syphax\u2019s bid was not \u201ctime appropriate\u201d because of his relative lack of prominence in the national medical marijuana industry.<\/p>\n

Another Trenton resident, NJ Weedman, a restaurateur who made state-wide news for his arrest and incarceration for illegally identifying a police informant, has also been received skeptically as a reputable candidate for Trenton\u2019s marijuana movement. Whereas Syphax did not have a suitable pedigree, NJ Weedman “does not have any pedigree.”<\/p>\n

Aside from a lack of suitable leaders, there is also a lack of community initiative. According to Bridgewater, \u201cthere is a lack of young people,\u201d given that less than 9,000 people voted in the last mayoral and city council elections. \u201cThis is an indictment to anyone who considers themselves a leader or a politician.\u201d He has also been critical of the African American community in their lack of participation. He told me about a visit he made to the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York to engage with community members. \u201cThe black church is the gatekeeper to the African American community. They have been absent from the conversation.\u201d Since our conversation in late March, several New Jersey reverends have voiced their criticism for legalization of marijuana.<\/p>\n

The other problem is local government. \u201cThey [city council] are Flintstones writing rules for a Jettson\u2019s subject,\u201d says Bridgewater. His main concern is the generational language that councilmen, as well as representative at the state legislature, have used to describe marijuana. The use of the term \u201cgateway drug\u201d implies that marijuana\u2019s hallucinogenic properties are illicit and dangerous qualities. Instead, Bridgewater supports the use of the term \u201cexit drug\u201d for medical marijuana’s therapeutic affects. As an Iraqi veteran, Bridgewater’s use of marijuana products provided relief for his post-traumatic-stress disorder symptoms. \u201cIt\u2019s an outdated term [\u201cgateway drug\u201d]. It\u2019s like their [city council] in Season 1, Episode 6. They need to catch up.\u201d Syphax, on the other hand, stated that he received complete support from the mayor and city council. City Council President Katy McBride did not respond for a comment.<\/p>\n

Despite these protestations, these Trenton voices remain hopeful that New Jersey\u2019s capital city will live up to its new epithet. Bridgewater retains trust in Mayor Reed Gusciora, who, as he consistently reminded me, is the author of the industrial hemp use bill in New Jersey. \u201cLand is cheap,\u201d said Mayor Gusciora at a Cannagather NJ event in Trenton in October 2018. The Trenton 250 Economic Development Report notes the abundance of industrial properties, especially \u201cshovel-ready\u201d sites available for industrial development. These sites include the vicinity of Route 1, New York Avenue, and Capital Health\u2019s 760 Brunswick Avenue, areas that \u201care ideal to accommodate . . . med\/tech companies, small manufacturers, and startups.\u201d  Recently, NJ.com stated that Trenton has the ninth lowest property taxes. And, as Bridgewater states, \u201cTrenton was ranked 18th<\/sup> in the most IT prepared city in the country,\u201d referring to a 2018 report by CompTIA.  So, Trenton does have the manufacturing capabilities to serve the state-wide marijuana boom and industrial hemp opportunities. Concerning medical marijuana dispensaries, next-door neighbor Ewing recently obtained a license to open up a dispensary. But, for Trenton, Syphax states he will continue his efforts to open a medical dispensary in Trenton. \u201cI will continue to keep going on. I\u2019ll push on in the next round.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWest 8th Street is the birth canal of New Jersey medical marijuana,\u201d says Leo Bridgewater, co-founder of NJ Cannabis Commission, Sub-Committee Chair of Minorities with the NJ Cannabusiness Association, and former Iraqi War veteran. He is also a local Trenton resident who serves as an activist for the therapeutic benefits of marijuana. \u201cPeople are completely oblivious to [this].\u201d If the issue of medical, and recreational, marijuana will remain a hot-button issue in New Jersey, then Trenton will be the geographic focus of this ongoing debate. As New Jersey stalls in its plans to legalize medical marijuana (the next vote will be sometime in May), its legalized medical marijuana program is a booming enterprise. Since medical marijuana\u2019s legalization in 2010, New Jersey has witnessed the creation of the New Jersey Medical Marijuana Program, which expanded affordable access to the drug for patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Since then, access to medical marijuana has only grown as cutbacks in bureaucratic red tape, decreased membership payments, and the expansion of the qualifying medical conditions has swelled the membership numbers (the Department of Health expects 50,000 members to be enrolled within the upcoming months). There are currently six operating medical marijuana dispensaries in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2738,"featured_media":12989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2738"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12988"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14606,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12988\/revisions\/14606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}