Cannacurio #56: New Jersey’s 68 Conditional Licenses

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On Thursday, March 24, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission Board recommended the approval of 68 conditional license applications. This cohort includes 50 applications from Class 1 cultivators and 18 applications from Class 2 manufacturers. The regulator commented on the status of all applications received since the window opened on December 15, 2021:

As of March 11, 2022, the CRC has received 389 applications including:

• 239 class 1 cultivation applications
• 129 Class 2 Manufacturing Applications
• 4 applications in the test laboratory
• 17 ineligible license types submitted early (applications for licenses not currently accepted by the CRC)
• 133 diversity-owned companies (34%)
• 126 Social Justice Companies (32%)
• 189 Impact Zone companies (48%)

Of the 389 applications received, 371 have started the assessment process (number of all applications with at least priority examination). Of those who began the review process, 184 applications were found incomplete and returned to applicants to be cured and resubmitted.

As part of the rulemaking process, the Commission identified several categories of types of cannabis businesses and license applications:

• Applications can be made for either a conditional or annual license.
• A cannabis company can be either a full-size company or a micro-company. A micro business is limited to 2,500 square feet and 10 employees.
• License applicants may qualify as a Social Equity Business, Diversly Owned Business, or Impact Zone Business.

It is very important to note that licenses are conditional temporary licenses who are required to provide organizational and personal data to ensure they comply with the law, certify that they comply with a criminal background check and provide a business plan and legal compliance plan. At the time of application, all owners with discretionary authority of the conditional license applicant must demonstrate that they earned less than $200,000 in the previous tax year, or $400,000 if filing jointly.

If approved and a conditional license is issued, a conditional licensee must have a permanent location for his business, obtain control of the property by lease or purchase, obtain municipal approval, and file a conditional conversion application that includes standard operating procedures for the business an environmental impact plan, a human resource development plan and a safety plan.

Conditional license holders are important NOT authorized to grow, manufacture, sell or otherwise possess cannabis or cannabis related products. Conditional License Holders ARE eligible to proceed with the application process and submit conversion to a full annual license through an abbreviated application process.

winner

A dozen companies opted for vertical integration by obtaining cultivation and manufacturing licenses. Eight of the pairs are standard licenses while four are micro licenses:

And here is the entire list in alphabetical order:

The Commission provides little identification information, nor does the Secretary of State. Our research team will comb through the available information to see what connections are available to well-known companies in the industry.

About the author

Ed Keating is co-founder of Cannabiz Media and oversees the company’s data research and government relations efforts. He has spent his career working with and advising information companies on compliance issues. Ed has led product, marketing and sales while overseeing complex, multi-jurisdictional product lines in the securities, corporate, UCC, security, environmental and human resources markets.

At Cannabiz Media, Ed enjoys the challenge of working with regulatory bodies around the world as he and his team gather corporate, financial and licensing information to track the people, products and companies in the cannabis economy.

Ed graduated from Hamilton College and received his MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

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Cannacurio is a weekly column from Cannabiz Media featuring insights from the most comprehensive licensing data platform. Check out Cannacurio’s posts and podcasts for the latest updates and information.