Freehold Township, NJ Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

Chapter 251, Recreational Cannabis, was adopted May 25, 2021 by Ord. No. L. 2021, c. 16. A. 26:3D-57, other than by smoking, vaping, or aerosolizing, since those inhalation methods are separately covered by the state's smoking restrictions rather than this local chapter. A violation carries a civil penalty of up to $200. Section 251-3 separately addresses underage persons on private property: possessing or consuming a legal amount without authority draws a $100 civil penalty for a first offense, $200 for a second, and $350 for a third or subsequent offense, while possessing an amount exceeding the legal limit, or consuming any cannabis item at all as a minor, draws a $250 fine for a first offense and $350 for later offenses.

The chapter's definitions carve cannabis items away from medical cannabis under the Jake Honig Act and from hemp products under the Hemp Farming Act, so those remain outside the ban. Because the ordinance implements a state licensing and use framework rather than creating an outright commercial ban, it should be read as a use restriction, not a prohibition on licensed cannabis businesses operating in the Township.