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Getting local officials to support the opening of a medical marijuana dispensary in their community is one of the biggest challenges cannabis entrepreneurs face.

The six licensees selected by the state Health Department 11 months ago are still not open, and local approvals are “a big limiting factor for the ability for these businesses to get up and running,” Assistant Health Commissioner Jeff Brown said during an New Jersey Business Industry Association cannabis forum earlier this month.

A state lawmaker believes he knows how to make that process move a little easier.

Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, D-Bergen, last week introduced A5794, a measure that would include cannabis shop as a retail use under the municipal land use law.

“A medical cannabis dispensary shall be a permitted use within every commercial or business district of a municipality, and any other zoning district within which a pharmacy, a drugstore, or a retail business is a permitted or conditional use,” according to the brief text of the legislation. It would take effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

Classifying medical marijuana businesses has been a challenge for zoning and planning officials, and as a result private investors have been reluctant to get involved, Johnson told NJ Cannabis Insider.

“This reduces risk for the person investing, clarifies the law where these (businesses) can be present, but does not prevent local jurisdictions from choosing what they want,” Johnson said.

“This does not prevent the municipalities from denying a medical marijuana from coming to their jurisdiction,” he added.

Despite these assurances, a senior official at the League of Municipalities said he doesn’t believe the bill is necessary, or even fair to communities that have already wrestled with these decisions.

“It’s like changing the rules in the middle of the game,” said Michael Cerra, assistant executive director for the League, which holds its annual conference next week in Atlantic City. “This is an issue that is best dealt with on a local level.”

Consulting with adult-use states like Washington, Cerra said, officials there say cannabis businesses resemble fast-food establishments in terms of their parking and traffic needs.

Municipalities may also want to consider that as New Jersey legalizes marijuana for adults 21 and older, the medical dispensaries are likely to seek permission to cater to that larger market. That may not be what local officials want, Cerra said.

“These are different from pharmacies. We have to think long-term,” he said. “It’s not productive to tighten the rules.”

The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing yet and does not yet have a Senate sponsor.

This story first appeared in NJ Cannabis Insider.

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Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.