MAPLE SHADE, N.J. (CBS) - Township officials have rejected a plan to locate a medical marijuana dispensary in a former furniture store along Route 73 in Maple Shade.

Long Island-based Compassionate Sciences faced some tough questions from the zoning board, and from many of the approximately 50 people who showed up at a meeting.

The nonprofit organization had found an old furniture store on Route 73, away from homes and schools, but zoning officials  in the town voted down the proposal, citing everything from traffic concerns to the potential of patients driving under the influence.

The general consensus was yes, there is a need, but don’t come here.

Compassionate Sciences spokesman Andrei Bogolubeov says they had hoped to begin operations in the spring, providing palliative relief for people with debilitating diseases, but they have a plan B.

“It does set us back, timewise, but we have other options.  We’re going to look at those now, and we’ll continue to work at this,” he tells KYW Newsradio.

The organization is looking for another location in Burlington County — not just to dispense the drug but to grow and process it, too.

New Jersey is developing final regulations for a half-dozen licensees to handle medical marijuana under what’s considered to be one of the toughest such laws in the nation.

Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio 1060