The New Jersey Governor Says We Should Start Selling Weed! Recreational cannabis sales to start soon?

Good news for cannabis users in New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy has confirmed that recreational cannabis could be made available this month. This news comes a full year and a few weeks after the law was signed. The Democratic governor made the announcement a few days after the proposed D-Day for the introduction of the cannabis market. Murphy didn’t give an exact date for that upcoming launch, but said it could begin before the end of March. He said if he could predict an exact date he would definitely make sure it falls in March.

The governor made this statement on his WBGO show on Newark Radio.

Murphy pointed out that the upcoming introduction of the recreational cannabis market would result in an implicit move in favor of medicinal cannabis in licensed dispensaries. He pointed out that some of these dispensaries may receive permits to sell adult-use cannabis until more operators are licensed. The governor explained that medical pharmacies in the state must demonstrate that they can continue to serve patients even as the recreational market opens up.

New Jersey Recreational Cannabis Legislation

Accredited voters in the state approved the bill legalizing recreational cannabis during the November 2020 general election. 67% of New Jersey voters approved question 1 on the ballot to show their support for creating an adult cannabis market.

Following this approval, the state established the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) to oversee activity in the proposed market. The committee also drafted the rules and regulations for the new market.

The law passed required the CRC to accept applications from interested cannabis companies beginning in September 2021. However, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission failed to meet that deadline. Instead, they pushed it back to December. The Commission justified this postponement by saying that it was still in the process of setting up a procedure for accepting, examining and evaluating applications.

Applications finally started on December 15th for growers, processors and laboratories. The CRC then announced that it would be accepting applications for recreational cannabis dealers starting March 15, 2022. Whether this is still feasible is not yet certain.

Another statutory deadline was missed.

Many cannabis advocates have complained that the CRC is failing in its duty to meet or meet the deadlines set out in the approved bill. According to the legislation, the regulatory committee must have initiated the official sale of adult-use cannabis by mid-February 2022, or at most within six months of the approval of the first regulations. The regulators have once again missed a deadline.

This late absence comes as no surprise to many, as Murphy mentioned back in September that the February launch was unlikely to happen. There is no specific date to look forward to other than seeing how the days go by this month.

When adult sales finally take off, the state’s medical cannabis stores will be the first to sell recreational cannabis to cannabis users. Currently, these dispensaries serve approximately 125,000 registered cannabis patients in the state. These stores are doing everything in their power to bring their supplies in preparation for the influx of recreational users in a couple of weeks. Once all applications were reviewed and applicants licensed, retailers would begin selling cannabis flower, concentrates, vapes, and other cannabis products or accessories in New Jersey.

However, the above plan to include medicinal cannabis dispensaries in the launch of the new market is subject to change. Gov. Murphy insists he would only allow those stores to participate in the upcoming launch if they can show they’re ready for the influx of customers. If not, interested residents who have waited so long for suitable retail facilities may have to wait longer for suitable independent cannabis retail facilities to be established.

Medical pharmacies have also applied

At least eight out of ten medical cannabis companies in New Jersey have submitted applications to obtain recreational retail sales permits. Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) Executive Director Jeff Brown said about five of those applications were found licensable. But other checks are still being carried out by the agency to be sure.

In January, Brown announced that license approvals were being delayed by several uncontrollable factors. He explained that approval from some local authorities would need to be obtained before final decisions could be made. Legislation requires that state municipalities approve the retail application offerings of existing medicinal cannabis dispensaries looking to expand into the adult-use market. The city would make that decision based on the services provided by the company’s medical cannabis businesses.

Brown mentioned that the biggest challenge with the applications is that many municipalities refuse to approve the applications. At the commission’s January meeting, Brown said the lack of municipal permits could escalate into a major problem. For example, the supply in these parts of the country would be limited. The CRC assured the audience that they are committed to bringing the adult market to market as soon as possible. Cannabis unions can also be part of the NJ framework.

Patrick Johnson, President of the North East Region of Curaleaf, has criticized the commission’s delay in implementing the provisions of the law. He said some medical companies that worked with the February date may have to start throwing away products if the new market doesn’t roll out soon. This loss would also lead to layoffs of workers. Johnson added that the Commission needs to understand that it cannot create a perfect market from the start. The long wait and lack of deadlines would only lead to the loss of better opportunities for the sector and its operators.

bottom line

Many are hoping the governor will keep his promise to launch the market later this month. Most notably, medicinal cannabis stores, which have doubled or tripled their stocks in preparation for the upcoming launch. The governor’s obsession with a perfectly established market has lasted too long. Fingers crossed if the market launches this month or not.

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