Recreational cannabis sales started in New Jersey yesterday with long lines forming outside the state’s thirteen licensed dispensaries.
Almost a year and a half after New Jersey voted to legalise recreational cannabis, sales have finally begun across the state.
New Jersey voted to legalise recreational cannabis in November 2020 after years of campaigning from the state’s cannabis advocates. In early 2021, Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy signed the adult-use cannabis reform bills into law. On April 10 this year the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission finally approved personal-use cannabis sales in the state, announcing that sales could commence from April 21.
For the time being, only existing medical marijuana dispensaries can sell recreational cannabis in New Jersey, with just seven licenses issued to multi-state operators (MSOs) that are already trading across the state. The thirteen dispensaries entitled to sell recreational cannabis products are owned by Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc, Columbia Care Inc, Acreage Holdings Inc, Green Thumb Industries Inc, Curaleaf Holdings Inc, Terrascend Corp and Verano Holdings Corp.
Anthony Coniglio, CIO and President of NewLake Capital Partners – a real estate investment trust for the cannabis industry – told Cannabis Wealth that the approval of adult-use sales in New Jersey is likely to create a domino effect in the Northeast region that could result in over $1 billion of sales in the state over the next 12 months alone.
“The New Jersey’s legalisation of recreational cannabis is particularly attractive to the Northeast limited licenses, multi-state operators and their investors,” Coniglio said. “We think approval by New Jersey voters will be a catalyst for coordination with New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, creating an adult-use region with a population of nearly 45 million people.
“We believe New Jersey is an attractive long-term investment in business and we look forward to supporting the industry in the coming months and years as this steady pace of growth continues.”
Ascend Wellness Holdings opened its doors in Rochelle Park for recreational users for the first time yesterday but assured that its medical patients will remain a priority.
“Ascend Rochelle Park has served thousands of New Jersey medical patients since opening last year,” said Chris Melillo, Chief Revenue Officer of AWH. “Existing patients can rest assured that they remain a priority and will continue to enjoy our top-tier services without disruption as we welcome adult-use consumers to the New Jersey Ascend community.
“We are excited to serve all New Jersey cannabis consumers and look forward to commencing recreational sales in our other locations across the Garden State. We look forward to continuing to partner with the town of Rochelle Park and bring great jobs to this dynamic area.”
The Curaleaf dispensary in Bellmawr also began serving adult-use customers on Thursday, with its locations in Edgewater Park and Bordentown to quickly follow. With lines wrapping around the entire dispensary, Curaleaf estimates that it served upwards of 2,500 customers on the 22 April alone.
“It truly was a historic day in the state, with our first customer waiting in line starting at midnight on the 21 [April],” Joe Bayern, CEO of Curaleaf, told Cannabis Wealth. “This legalisation of recreational cannabis in NJ is a significant milestone that will increase access to cannabis, de-stigmatize the plant, and generate much-needed tax revenue, jobs and business opportunities for the communities most impacted by the war on drugs”
With a population of over nine million people and just thirteen dispensaries to serve them, New Jersey is set to face a huge spike in demand. Keeping shelves stocked is set to be a major “pinpoint” for cannabis dispensaries, Coniglio said.
To cope with the demand, New Jersey has so far awarded 37 conditional cultivation licenses and 70 conditional manufacturing licenses. A conditional license allows the holder, for a period of up to 165 days, to secure and obtain municipal approval of a site for the cannabis business.
In anticipation of increased demand, Curaleaf has tripled its cultivation capacity and, like Ascend, the company has stressed that the needs of its medical cannabis customers will remain a priority in the event of a product shortage. Despite concerns, Bayern said he is confident that its adult-use sales will continue “without interruption”.
The multi-state operator AUDACIOUS announced this week that the company was rewarded both a provisional cultivation licence and a provisional manufacturing license in the state. AUDACIOUS CEO Terry Booth said the successful licence application will play a key part in the company’s strategic expansion on the US East Coast.
“With projects underway in New York, Massachusetts and now New Jersey, our footprint is rapidly expanding in what we believe will be some of the most significant and profitable markets in the US,” Booth said. “We have more up our sleeve in the states mentioned, and we look forward to informing the market as we continue on our rapid growth trajectory.”
An important next step for New Jersey is its social equity programme which seeks to prioritise licence applications from people of colour, women, people with disabilities, people from economically-disadvantaged areas and those with previous cannabis convictions.
Industry players are also getting involved in the push for a fairer cannabis sector. Curaleaf, for example, has partnered with twelve social equity partners to help provide mentoring, raw materials and products for their businesses. Meanwhile, venture capital firm Vencanna has been working alongside community leaders and social equity-owned organisations to develop grassroots partnership initiatives.
These initiatives include the joint submission of cannabis business applications in newly opened jurisdictions like New Jersey. This week Vencanna announced that the New Jersey CRC awarded one of its community groups a Conditional Standard Tier III Cultivation License, with a canopy grow area up to 50,000 square feet, as well as a Conditional Standard Manufacturing License.
