New Jersey receives more than 170 applications from cannabis dispensaries on day one

New Jersey on Tuesday began accepting applications from individuals hoping to gain a foothold on the ground floor of the state’s upcoming recreational cannabis industry. By the end of the day, state regulators had generated a lot of interest.

NJ.com reported that the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission said it had received 172 applications from people interested in opening a retail cannabis business as of 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

“Today is the day that the CRC (Cannabis Regulatory Commission) portal will open and applicants who wish to apply for a retail license to sell cannabis will be able to do so,” said Michael DeLoreto, director of the Division of Governmental and Regulatory Affairs by Gibbons, as cited by NJ.com. “This is a day many companies have been waiting for.”

New Jersey voters legalized recreational cannabis use by adults in 2020 when they approved a ballot measure (three other states — Montana, Arizona, and South Dakota — also passed legalization proposals when voting this year).

In December, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission began accepting applications from recreational cannabis growers, manufacturers, and testing labs. The commission said that in the early afternoon of the first day of the application period, “the application platform had an average of 155 new users per hour”.

Within the first four hours, applications were received from almost 500 people, the commission said.

“We are pleased to have reached this milestone,” Jeff Brown, executive director of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, said at the time. “Applications are coming in, the platform is working well, and we can officially mark the launch of the state’s recreational cannabis industry. Licensing and running growers, producers and testing labs will set the framework and ensure supply for retailers who will begin licensing in March 2022.”

Late last month, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said he believes adult product sales would begin “within weeks.”

“If I had to predict, within weeks — March, I would hope — we would see an implied movement in medical dispensaries, some of which are capable of selling recreational products,” Murphy said at the time. “They have to prove they have the supplies for their medical clients. My hope is that independent recreational marijuana operators will emerge shortly after that.”

Along those lines, NJ.com reported that Tuesday “also marked the day that the state board was expected to complete the review of approximately eight years of applications [a] A dozen alternative treatment centers selling medical marijuana looking to expand into the recreational market.”

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission has stated that it will prioritize applications from “specific target communities, for people with cannabis convictions (disabled or not), and for minorities, women, and disabled veterans.”

The three groups given priority consideration by the commission are “minority-owned, women-owned, or disabled veteran-owned,” businesses, “owned by people who have lived in an economically disadvantaged area of ​​the state or for which there are convictions for cannabis-related offenses (erased or not)” and businesses “that are located in, are owned by, or employ residents of, an Impact Zone”.

Expanding access to the cannabis industry for disadvantaged groups has become a common feature of recreational laws across the country. New York announced last week that at least 100 of the first adult-use cannabis dealer licenses in the state will be for individuals convicted of a prior cannabis offense or for a family member of an individual with a cannabis offense .

Tremaine Wright, chair of the Cannabis Control Board in New York, said last month that the state is trying to “build a supportive ecosystem that allows people to get involved regardless of their economic background, and we want everyone to know that.” he has a real opportunity license as well as support so that their businesses are ongoing businesses that thrive and have opportunities for growth.”