Would you like a recreational marijuana license in New Jersey? Applications are accepted from now on!

New Jersey has started accepting applications for recreational cannabis licenses through the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC).

On December 15, 2021, the CRC officially began accepting applications from cannabis manufacturers, breeders and testing laboratories and operators. This new step forward is in an attempt to break into the legal cannabis industry and put New Jersey on the map.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) announced that 500 people submitted their applications within the first four hours that the CRC website opened. CRC executive director Jeff Brown said the form was generating 155 users per hour by 1:00 p.m. on the same day. At the end of the day, more than 600 accounts were created on the CRC website.

In an interview, Jeff Brown claimed the CRC was delighted to reach such a milestone. He assured that new applications will continue to be added and that the platform will function optimally. When all necessary is in place, the commission can formally honor the New Jersey Recreational Cannabis Industry Commission. Jeff believes that licensing manufacturers, test labs, and breeders will help set the stage and offer for retailers who will begin licensing in the next year.

The application process

The entire application process is an introduction to recreational cannabis sales with the state of New Jersey. Recreational cannabis sales were previously approved by more than two-thirds of New Jersey voters in a vote held in 2020. Currently, the CRC is in full action preparing to sell recreational cannabis. However, no date has been communicated to the public when sales are due to start.

The recreational use of cannabis is very different from the use of medicinal cannabis, which was previously overseen by the Ministry of Health. There are no deadlines for submitting applications for recreational cannabis, but the sooner the better.

However, there is no limit to the number of licenses that the Commission can issue to pharmacies or testing laboratories and manufacturers. However, the Commission can only issue a total of 37 licenses to cannabis growers until February 2023.

As for state law, cannabis companies must comply with both local and state law. About 70% (400 cities) of all cities were quiet in the cannabis industry in mid-August when laws were passed banning all types of marijuana deals.

The CRC has noted that applications will be reviewed and licenses will be issued based on equity and inclusion measures. “Equity” applicants are individuals who have been convicted of cannabis crimes or who reside in economically disadvantaged areas. These applicants will be placed with the highest priority and before the line. Next are applications with different ownership and residents of impact zones. Impact zones are cities or towns with large populations and high unemployment, high crime rates, and past arrests of cannabis possession.

For each category, micro business and conditional applications will take precedence over standard annual license applications. Contingent applicants in this regard are entrepreneurs with a solid business plan but require government approval before soliciting investors.

Micro-businesses are licensed with restrictions on the amount of cannabis that can be grown and sold. It also limits the number of people that micro-businesses can employ. This approach is also intended to help entrepreneurs with small capital get a foot in the door. Ultimately, micro-business license holders can, but not be forced to convert to an annual license. However, conditional applicants will ultimately have to switch to the standard annual license.

Details on the application process

In mid-November 2021, the CRC held a State League Municipalities conference in Atlantic City to present the application process details. At the meeting, Dianna Houenou, Chair of the CRC, announced that accepted applicants will be issued either an annual or a conditional license. Overall, over half of New Jersey’s cities have opted out of cannabis licensing.

Houenou claimed that the annual license should be considered bread and butter when someone applies for a license. The annual license gives companies the ability to conduct cannabis deals all year round. The conditional license, on the other hand, is designed to give applicants enough time to get together. After the license has been granted, you then have 120 days to meet all additional requirements for acquiring the annual license.

Houenou also spoke about how the Commission will prioritize conditional license applications over annual licenses. Houenou cited that the need for property control has limited a handful of entrepreneurs looking to get into the cannabis business. She believes the Commission is prioritizing conditional license applications to ease the burden.

Diversity concerns

While licensing of recreational cannabis promised fair diversity considerations, licenses for medicinal cannabis growers did not. According to a report by NJ Advance Media, most of the recently awarded medical licenses went to white women, which left a handful of applicants wondering if they had received additional points for belonging to a minority group during the application process.

However, Brown made a few comments on the matter. He alleged that the commission had performed important roles within the Ministry of Health since the CRC was established. He assured that these tasks will help increase supply and give patients better access to drug markets. Brown believes that now that the Commission has started receiving applications, equity will be given priority under their new regime.

Former NBA athlete and founder of Viola Brands, Al Harrington, was one of the minority applicants unable to acquire a New Jersey license. Harrington’s candidate writer Jamil Taylor also acknowledged how difficult it is for black-owned companies to thrive in the cannabis industry. He confirmed that the structure built is sad and wrong. Taylor certainly understands the importance of regulations and licenses. However, he believes that the structure put in place limits vertical integration, while it has granted vertical integration to most white companies.

Conclusion

This new move will certainly give the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) New Jersey a strong foothold in the cannabis industry. And hopefully the diversity concerns related to licensing in the cannabis industry are adequately addressed.

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