 New Jersey residents are ready for recreational marijuana, but the state isn’t quite there yet. Despite a February 22 deadline the state gave itself for sales to begin, recreational marijuana is not yet available.
The state regulators are still finishing the process of reviewing applications. Currently they are only close to completing about handful from existing medical providers. There are others who have been approved, including four vertically integrated medical marijuana licenses, 10 cultivation permits and 30 dispensary licenses but none of those are yet in operation. Currently, the only providers capable of putting product on the shelf once the state gives the green light are the five medical providers with approved applications. Co-chair of the cannabis law practice at Cole Schotz in New Jersey Rob DiPisa said, “we could have only five operators trying to meet the initial demand of the entire state.” He added that, “we won’t know until the doors have opened,” he said. Ed DeVeaux, president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association, said current medical cannabis operators have assured him that they have adequate supply to serve both the medical and adult-use markets. State officials have teased that the first dispensaries could be able to provide recreational product within weeks, but no firm dates have been set. Once the recreational marijuana is launched, sales are projected to exceed $2 billion. Comments are closed.
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