Lawyer and lobbyist William Caruso recently spoke at a Rotary meeting about the economic advantages of cannabis sale.
As the state’s decision to legalize recreational marijuana hangs in the balance, a myriad of concerns trickle down to local municipalities.
At the latest Berlin Rotary Club meeting, lobbyist and lawyer William Caruso, a borough resident and longtime chief of staff for former congressman Rob Andrews, discussed some of the benefits that would unfold if a bill comes to fruition, as Caruso specifically delved into the economic effects legalization would bring.
Caruso, who served five years as the executive director of the state Assembly Majority Office in Trenton and currently works as the managing director of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, described how the borough would serve as a viable candidate for cannabis sales.
“I come back to this point that — in this community — we have a lot of the challenges that our state has,” he said. “We look for economical development. We’re looking to redevelop certain areas of the town … we want better jobs, more ratables.”
According to a study performed by the New Jersey Policy Perspective and New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, legalized marijuana use could bring up to $300 million in revenue, immensely increasing tax revenues if retail purchases were taxed at 25 percent.
This projection only includes licensed recreational sales, as Caruso says adding components such as revenue from packaging could earn the state up to a billion dollars a year.
Caruso, a counselor for Archer Attorneys at Law, debunked some of the stereotypes attached to legal cannabis, stressing the industry encompasses more ventures than solely dispensaries, such as medical laboratories and farmland opportunities.
“I think the beauty of what we’re talking about here is there are a lot of different opportunities in this,” Caruso said.
Drawing in young professionals as a small-business society, while simultaneously retaining its historical roots in agriculture, Caruso says Berlin holds particular promise as a retail town.
The benefits of Berlin echo the greater aspects of New Jersey, like the state’s proximity to wealth, education, population and transportation. Since the legalization of marijuana falls heavily from the federal level to the state, New Jersey’s viable elements could promise success, providing growth, manufacture, transport and retail all within state lines.
Caruso, who helped to write the 2009 state medical marijuana law, stresses the state revenue earned from cannabis sales, including all of the adjunct jobs, could mean less money coming from property, income and sales taxes.
“It comes off of people that make a choice that may or may not already be using this,” he said. “I’d rather have the people who are already using it, who are willing to pay for it, to subsidize our children’s’ education, subsidize more drug enforcement officers that are trained.”
He mentioned the current lack of funding for a school resource officer at Berlin Community School.
Caruso says if the borough were to ever have retail cannabis sales, the goal is for the effects to be cost-neutral. New revenue would come into town, but the borough should not have to pay for new drug recognition experts, as these funds and other similar programs should come from the state.
“If we are going to house a retail location on Main Street or 73 or somewhere in the confines of this borough, we should make sure that there’s going to be resources that are going to be attached to that from the state,” he said.
In a call with The Sun, Mayor Jim Bilella said it’s up to the state to authorize dispensaries in municipalities, and, even if Berlin is given the opportunity, it’s very preliminary in the process to make any decisions.
“Our approach at the moment is — let’s wait and see what actually is enacted in the state before we decide what we’re going to allow or disallow,” Bilella said. “Because there’s a lot of concerns at the municipal level about how this is actually implemented then ultimately enforced.”
He says the borough has been in contact with state legislators and the governor’s office, communicating concerns about the implications and ramifications of legalization, such as how the state would share cannabis revenues among municipals or how municipalities would cover costs with enforcement issues, such as driving under the influence.
Caruso also said there are various issues that would need to be addressed, including racial, social and judicial aspects, before anything came into law on the local level, presuming a law passes within the next couple of months. The governor is scheduled to unveil his first budget proposal on March 13.
“I want to get this right. There are a lot of questions. There’s a lot of questions related to safety … a lot related, like driving under the influence,” Caruso said “We need every voice at the table wherever you are.”
