“New Jersey is only seeing the beginning of what is possible for cannabis” Jeff Brown, executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), said in a statement from the agency. “We have now awarded 36 annual licenses for recreational cannabis businesses to New Jersey entrepreneurs, including 15 for dispensaries. Those businesses alone will be a significant growth of the market. With more locations and greater competition, we expect the customer base to grow and prices to come down.”

New Jersey now has 20 dispensaries licensed to sell recreational marijuana, which was legalized with a referendum passed by voters in November 2020. Legislation legalizing commercial cannabis activity was passed by lawmakers the following month, and licensed sales of recreational marijuana began in April 2022.

“We are looking forward to seeing local, small business owners participate in this lucrative market,” said CRC chairwoman Dianna Houenou. “Our priority application process as well as new initiatives like the no-cost Cannabis Training Academy being launched by New Jersey Business Action Center in early 2023 are paving that path for them to be included.”

Another 10 dispensaries are licensed to sell medical marijuana to registered medical marijuana patients only. The medicinal use of cannabis was initially legalized in New Jersey in 2010, with subsequent legislation expanding the scope of the state’s medical marijuana program to encompass more patients and medical conditions.

George Archos, the founder and CEO of cannabis multistate operator Verano, said that sales were meeting expectations in New Jersey, where the company operates three Zen Leaf branded dispensaries.

“We’re thrilled to see the continued success of the cannabis industry in New Jersey,” Archos said in an email to NJ Advance Media late Friday. “The impressive revenue growth figures the Cannabis Regulatory Commission released from the third quarter are no surprise, given New Jersey’s large and dense population, robust summer tourism season, and proximity to other states without existing legal adult use cannabis programs.”

New Jersey Pot Retailers Now Face Nearby Competition

While sales of recreational marijuana in New Jersey have grown steadily since launching in April, the state’s weed retailers face new competition from New York, where regulated sales of adult-use cannabis began on December 29. But New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that he welcomes the expansion of regulated marijuana and that his state’s cannabis industry is ready for the competition from New York’s regulated operators.

“The Governor believes that a fair, regulated adult-use market for cannabis is a critical step toward advancing social justice on behalf of communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition,” Natalie Hamilton, press assistant to Murphy, said in a statement.

“The Governor is proud that New Jersey’s industry is serving as a model for other states in the nation and he looks forward to continuing our efforts to grow a cannabis industry that reflects the diversity of the state, protects access for medical marijuana patients, prioritizes justice, and promotes equal opportunities for communities of color,” added Hamilton.

Charles Gormally, an attorney specializing in cannabis law, said that the launch of retail cannabis sales in New York should be seen by New Jersey’s recreational marijuana industry as an incentive to produce high-quality products as a way to encourage consumers to buy locally.

“If a New York outlet has a great product, or a unique retail experience, or a great price — they certainly will attract market share from New Jersey sources,” said Gormally. “That said, New Jersey is the Garden State. We opened the market before New York, and I suspect when the start-up pain ends, there will be fantastic product, unique retail experiences, and consumption lounges — all of which might attract the New York cannabis consumer.”

“New Jersey should not view New York so much as a competitor but rather as a challenge to supply cannabis connoisseurs what they need to stay local,” he said. “Cannabis is not like a Broadway show after all,” adding, “In the adult use cannabis marketplace, the ultimate ‘spoils’ will belong to those outlets that have the most diverse product mix at the most competitive prices.”

The post New Jersey Q3 Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Top $100 Million appeared first on High Times.

The new grant program was approved by a unanimous vote by the NJEDA board at its monthly meeting last week. In a statement, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the grants will help level the playing field for entrepreneurs from underserved communities to participate in the new economy for recreational marijuana, which was legalized following the passage of a statewide referendum in 2020.

“My Administration is doubling its efforts to cultivate small businesses in burgeoning industries with massive untapped potential,” said Murphy. “The establishment of the Cannabis Equity Grant Program will help aspiring small business owners meet start-up expenses in a pivotal sector within our state’s ever-growing economy. Most importantly, the program will erode considerable barriers to access for communities of color, which this program will help to equip with the resources they need to not just enter, but thrive, in this exciting new industry.”

The program authorizes up to $10 million in grants to small businesses, including $6 million reserved for cannabis social equity applicants, such as those with past convictions for cannabis-related offenses and residents of economically disadvantaged areas. The pilot grant program was authorized by legislation sponsored by Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Budget Committee Chairwoman Eliana Pintor Marin and signed into law by Murphy in June.

“This program can have a positive impact by supporting diversity in New Jersey’s cannabis industry during its formative stages,” Scutari said in a statement. “As the market continues its successful growth, these grants will help provide more opportunities to a greater number of operators in a larger number of communities to participate.” 

$6 Million For Social Equity Applicants

Up to $6 million in grants will be awarded to businesses granted conditional operating licenses from the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) that are located in economically disadvantaged areas and plan to hire 50 or fewer employees. The grants of up to $250,000 can be used by businesses formed after March 2020 in designated impact zones to help cover the start-up costs of launching a licensed cannabis company, including rent, utilities, wages, and regulatory fees. 

“The Governor and Legislature made a commitment that the cannabis market would be accessible to women and minority entrepreneurs,” said Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson. “The cannabis market is meant to be a boon for equity, but we are finding that for some people the cost of entry is too high. It is our hope that this grant program will help to begin leveling the playing field. We want to ensure that those most impacted by the war on drugs and our underserved communities have the opportunity to be a part of the process.”

The impact zones are defined by the CRC as areas with zip codes that meet specified socioeconomic criteria including poverty and unemployment levels and were heavily impacted by arrests for marijuana offenses. Entrepreneurs awarded the grants will also participate in technical assistance and business education courses provided by the NJEDA. Businesses located in impact zones that apply for the grants can have the $1,000 application fee waived.

“Part of the impetus for passing legislation for legalization was recognition that the prohibition of cannabis has, for decades, disproportionately and negatively affected young people in Black and Latino communities,” said Senator Nellie Pou. “As Chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus, I am heartened to see NJEDA launch this Cannabis Equity Grant Program to help financially with start-up costs for new businesses in those very communities that have been so adversely affected. This is one more important piece of the social equity contract that remains at the heart of cannabis legalization in New Jersey.”

The remaining $4 million in grant funding will be made available to all business entities that have secured a site for the enterprise and been awarded municipal approval, which are both requirements that must be met to apply for an annual license from the CRC. The application window for the grants will be open for 180 days following the launch of the program, according to state officials.

“We realize how important it is to empower cannabis businesses, many of which have faced barriers to accessing financial capital in the past,” said NJEDA Chief Community Development Officer Tai Cooper. “Communities that suffered unfairly during the criminalization of cannabis need the chance to benefit from new entrepreneurial opportunities created by cannabis legalization and regulated sales. We want to see these opportunities extended to those businesses that will help fill storefronts, warehouses, and other commercial properties that closed their doors during the pandemic and bring new jobs to communities where there is the greatest need.”

The post New Jersey Announces New Cannabis Social Equity Grant Program appeared first on High Times.

Cannabis policy reform advocates had hoped to be able to pass meaningful reforms during the current lame-duck session of Congress before control of the House Representatives passes to the Republican Party. But Booker said that McConnell’s opposition to reforms including restorative justice for those harmed by decades of marijuana prohibition and a bill that would allow the legal cannabis industry access to banking services is influencing the stand taken by other GOP senators.

“They’re dead set on anything in marijuana,” Booker told NJ Advance Media. “That to me is the obstacle.”

The Republican party will take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the new session of Congress next year after gaining a slight majority in last month’s midterm elections. Cannabis policy reform is not likely to be a legislative priority for GOP leaders, who have been less enthusiastic about marijuana legalization than their Democratic counterparts. If cannabis policy reform advocates do not pass a bill before the end of the year, the change in House leadership makes progress on the issue a long shot for at least the next two years.

Republican Representative Brian Mast of Florida, the co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said that cannabis policy reform is consistent with traditional Republican values, but McConnell has failed to take a leadership role on the issue.

“It’s not something that he’s historically been interested in moving or seems to be interested in moving right now,” said Mast. “He should. Just as much as Republicans have been out there arguing states’ rights over Roe v. Wade for the last several months, this is just as much of an issue.”

Hopes For Reform Hinge On SAFE Banking Act

Cannabis policy reform is currently largely focused on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would ease access to traditional financial services for regulated marijuana businesses. Provisions of the bill have been passed by the House of Representatives seven times since 2019, but the measure has failed to gain the approval of the Senate. Most recently, language from the SAFE Banking Act was included in the House version of an annual defense spending bill, but the cannabis provisions were left out of the version released last week.

For the Republicans, bipartisan negotiations on cannabis policy reform are being led by Senator Steve Daines, with the goal of drafting a bill that includes restorative justice provisions championed by Booker while gaining the support of enough GOP senators to be approved in the Senate, where 60 votes from the nearly evenly split body of 100 lawmakers are needed to advance most legislation. 

“The senator is doing everything he can to get this bipartisan bill across the finish line this year for the sake of public safety,” said Rachel Dumke, a spokeswoman for Daines’ office.

But Booker thinks that opposition to marijuana policy reform from McConnell, who has been a leader in hemp legalization, is making his fellow Republicans hesitant to support the SAFE Banking Act or a comprehensive legalization bill.

“The caucus is clearly divided but the people in power in their caucus are clearly against doing anything on marijuana,” Booker said.

Cannabis advocate Justin Strekal, the founder of the marijuana policy reform political action committee BOWL PAC, said that he is hopeful that provisions of the SAFE Banking Act can be attached to an upcoming must-pass omnibus spending bill currently being negotiated in Congress. If the cannabis policy reform measures are part of a larger bill, which would fund the federal government through September of next year, Republican senators could vote for the bill without being forced to openly “defy Mitch McConnell in front of him,” Strekal said. 

The post Cory Booker Says Mitch McConnell Is Blocking Cannabis Bills appeared first on High Times.

Matthew Platkin, who was confirmed as the state’s AG last month, said that following the opening of the regulated marijuana industry in April, “many law enforcement agencies delayed the random drug testing of officers under the AG Drug Testing Policy to allow time for additional guidance and clarity.”

Under the directive that Platkin issued last Tuesday, law enforcement agencies “must conduct at least two random drug tests during the period from April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.”

In each of those two tests, the agencies must test “at least 10 percent of the total number of sworn officers within the agency, and every officer must have an equal chance of selection during each test.”

Those same testing requirements are in place for the period from January 1, 2022 until March 31, 2023, with Platkin’s directive noting that the “two random tests … conducted during the ‘calendar year’ of 2022 shall be extended and interpreted to include the period January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023,” and that the “two random tests … conducted during the ‘calendar year’ of 2023 shall be amended and interpreted to include the period April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.”

The directive continued: “If a law enforcement agency has conducted two random drug tests during calendar year 2022, and then conducts a test during the period, January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, that third test may count toward the 2023 requirement of two tests. To summarize, law enforcement agencies must conduct a total of at least four random drug tests between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023.”

Platkin said that in March 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the state AG’s office “sought to ease the administrative burden on New Jersey’s law enforcement agencies by suspending or delaying certain statewide reporting, training, and certification deadlines.”

Voters in the Garden State approved a ballot measure in 2020 that legalized adult-use cannabis. In April, New Jersey launched the regulated retail marijuana market. 

With the new changes in effect, state regulators have been forced to tweak certain rules and practices, including workplace drug testing. 

Last month, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which oversees the state’s legal marijuana program, announced updated guidance for drug testing, saying effectively that employers still have the right to test their workers.

“The purpose of this guidance is to clarify and explain the NJ-CRC’s understanding of the existing legal requirements under the governing law,” the commission said in the announcement at the time. “This guidance does not impose any additional requirements that are not included in the law and does not establish additional rights for any person or entity. Please note, however, that adverse employment actions may impact employees’ protected rights under various laws including, but not limited to, state and federal anti-discrimination laws. When incorporating this guidance, employers should ensure compliance with all state and federal employment laws.”

The commission said that “employees cannot be acted against solely due to the presence of cannabis in their body, but employers have the right to drug test on reasonable suspicion of impairment.”

Jeff Brown, the executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, said in the announcement that it was important to show that striking “a balance between workplace safety and work performance and adult employees’ right to privacy and to consume cannabis during their off hours is possible.”

The post New Jersey AG Issues Fresh Guidance on Drug Testing for Law Enforcement appeared first on High Times.

“This is the first program that Rutgers Law School has developed to support participants who are not [law] students or legal professionals,” a press release from the university said. “The curriculum has been developed specifically for New Jersey’s legal cannabis industry, making it highly specific to the needs of the local community.”

The program will be mostly online with two in-person sessions and has two certificate options for cultivators and retailers respectively. The entire course can be taken for $2,695 or individual topics of study can be purchased for between $600-$850. A limited number of scholarships may also be available to anyone applying for a cannabis-related social equity business license in New Jersey.

Rutgers Co-Deans Kimberly Mutcherson and Rose Cuison-Villazor said in a joint statement that “This new certificate is exactly the kind of work that we want to be doing as New Jersey’s state law school. Now that the state legislature has legalized the cannabis industry here, we want to ensure that we can provide crucial information to the citizens of New Jersey who want to enter this business, especially those from communities that traditionally bore the brunt of punitive outcomes before legalization.”

The six available class modules are as follows:

1. Fundamentals of cannabis regulation in New Jersey – The history of legal marijuana in New Jersey with an emphasis on the CREAMM Act
2. Regulatory compliance – Protecting your license by running a compliant cannabis business
3. Cannabis business operations – Banking, branding, licensing, and more
4. Locations and local government – A big challenge in New Jersey specifically where 70% of local municipalities initially opted out of allowing recreational marijuana
5. Retail or Cultivation – Students choose one or the other depending on what kind of business they want to open
6. Capstone project – A final project such as a business plan or an investor pitch with feedback from expert faculty

The announcement from Rutgers comes on the heels of New Jersey’s recreational cannabis market opening its doors in April, amid heavy speculation and concern surrounding the availability of product. However, other than some long lines, no one has reported running out of cannabis yet. That said, many in New Jersey have said that between licensing holdups, high property costs, and stringent zoning laws, New Jersey is not an easy place to open a cannabis business to say the least.

Rutgers is the latest in a relatively small number of universities that have elected to add cannabis studies of some kind to their class offerings. Though most cannabis-related college programs are either certificate-based or minor degrees; Cal Poly Humboldt, CSU Pueblo, and Lake Superior State University remain some of the few to create 4-year BA programs with the word cannabis in the title.

Not to be an ass or anything, but I feel obligated to disclose here that cannabis is still entirely prohibited from Rutgers University property due to its continued federal illegality, despite being legal for adult-use in New Jersey. To register for the program, click here.

The post Rutgers Law School Adds Cannabis Law, Business Certificate for 2023 appeared first on High Times.

The guidance from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, handed down on Wednesday, was meant as “a first step towards formulating and approving standards for Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert certifications,” the agency said in the announcement.

The commission said that the guidance, coupled with the Reasonable Suspicion Observation Report Form, “is meant to support employers’ right to create and maintain safe work environments, and to affirm employees’ right to due process.”

“The purpose of this guidance is to clarify and explain the NJ-CRC’s understanding of the existing legal requirements under the governing law,” the commission said in the guidance. “This guidance does not impose any additional requirements that are not included in the law and does not establish additional rights for any person or entity. Please note, however, that adverse employment actions may impact employees’ protected rights under various laws including, but not limited to, state and federal anti-discrimination laws. When incorporating this guidance, employers should ensure compliance with all state and federal employment laws.”

Most notably, the guidance affirms certain rights of employers under the new adult-use cannabis law in New Jersey, while also maintaining an employers’ rights to enforce certain workplace policies.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission said that “employees cannot be acted against solely due to the presence of cannabis in their body, that but [sic] employers have the right to drug test on reasonable suspicion of impairment.”

“Striking a balance between workplace safety and work performance and adult employees’ right to privacy and to consume cannabis during their off hours is possible,” Jeff Brown, the executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, said in a statement on Wednesday. “We have been doing that with alcohol without thought.”

The outlet NJBIZ reports that “an employer cannot use the test alone to take disciplinary action against the employee [and] the employer must combine the results with ‘evidence-based documentation’ of impairment during the employee’s work hours,” and that the “new guidance is intended to be used until the CRC implements WIRE certification standards, which will be used to detect impairment from cannabis or other substances for employees or contractors.”

WIRE, which stands for “Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert standards, are “to be issued to full- or part-time employees, or others contracted to perform services on behalf of an employer, based on education and training in detecting and identifying an employee’s usage of, or impairment from, a cannabis item or other intoxicating substance, and for assisting in the investigation of workplace accidents,” the commission said.

“A scientifically reliable objective testing method that indicates the presence of cannabinoid metabolites in the employee’s bodily fluid alone is insufficient to support an adverse employment action,” the commission said in its guidance. “However, such a test combined with evidence-based documentation of physical signs or other evidence of impairment during an employee’s prescribed work hours may be sufficient to support an adverse employment action.”

Legal adult-use cannabis sales in New Jersey officially launched in April following the passage of a ballot measure in 2020 to legalize recreational pot in the state.

In August, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission said that the state generated almost $80 million in the first ten weeks of legal marijuana sales.

“The market is improving. It is performing as we expect with the current number of dispensaries, the spread of locations, and the high prices,” Brown said in a statement at the time. “As more cannabis businesses come online, consumers won’t have to travel as far to make purchases, and prices will fall with increased competition. The market will do even better.”

The post New Jersey Lays Out Guidance For Cannabis Rules in the Workplace appeared first on High Times.

The state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission released the sales figures in a report last week. Between April 21, when sales launched in the Garden State, and the end of June, tax revenue from recreational pot totaled $4,649,202. There was $79,698,831 in total sales on recreational cannabis during that same time frame.

Jeff Brown, the executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, said that the numbers indicate a healthy market with room for growth.

“The market is improving. It is performing as we expect with the current number of dispensaries, the spread of locations, and the high prices,” Brown said in a statement on Friday. “As more cannabis businesses come online, consumers won’t have to travel as far to make purchases, and prices will fall with increased competition. The market will do even better.”

Dianna Houenou, the chair of the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission, echoed Brown’s optimism.

“New Jerseyans are looking forward to supporting new businesses – which will increase sales figures and generate more revenue to be reinvested in our communities,” Houenou said. “We are working to make that happen. We are issuing awards to start new businesses on their path to operation and look forward to the industry growth we see coming in the near future.”

After a long, oft-delayed rollout, New Jersey’s recreational cannabis market finally opened for business on April 21. Thousands of customers showed up for the grand opening, generating nearly $1.9 million worth of recreational pot sales on the first day.

“We expected sales to be substantial and the data shows that the market is effectively serving both adult-use consumers and patients,” Brown said in a statement at the time. “We continue to monitor inventory and access for patients and are prepared to take enforcement action against any [medical cannabis dispensary] that does not meet the requirements for patient access and supply.”

Voters in New Jersey approved a ballot measure in 2020 that legalized recreational pot use for adults aged 21 and older. The state legalized medical cannabis a decade prior.

In its report issued last week, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission said that medical cannabis sales in New Jersey “ticked up to $59,262,014” after suffering “a small decline to $55,838,072 in the first quarter of 2022.”

The $59.2 million figure, the commission said, “is more in line with sales figures the last quarter of 2021.”

“The demand for medicinal cannabis continues to be strong and we are committed to ensuring access for patients,” Brown said.

Although recreational pot sales have been strong in New Jersey, the road to launch was anything but smooth.

Adult-use sales were initially supposed to begin in February, but the state missed the deadline, prompting Nicholas Scutari, the president of the New Jersey state Senate, to call for hearings that looked into the reasons behind the delays.

“These delays are totally unacceptable,” Scutari said in a statement at the time. “We need to get the legal marijuana market up and running in New Jersey. This has become a failure to follow through on the public mandate and to meet the expectations for new businesses and consumers.”

In May, Brown testified at a hearing called by Scutari that lasted five hours.

Scutari said at the proceeding that his public pressure may have been the impetus for the market to launch the month prior.

“I’m confident that if we did not start this process, the adult weed market would still not be open in New Jersey,” Scutari said at the hearing.

The post New Jersey Cannabis: Almost $80 Million Sold in First 10 Weeks appeared first on High Times.

Public comment on proposed updates to the rules for New Jersey’s adult-use cannabis marketplace is now open from the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC). New Jersey residents have until September 30 to provide input.

The proposed rule amendments—contained in a 325-page document—provide changes to licensing processes for delivery, distribution, and wholesale operations. The proposed amendments also cover safe-use information, waste management, and advertising and promotion.

WHYY reports that under the proposed rule amendments, cannabis retailers and delivery services would be able to sell or deliver no more than one ounce of usable cannabis, five grams of solid cannabis concentrate or five milliliters of cannabis oil. Retailers could also not be able to sell vape formulations containing more than five milliliters of cannabis oil, ingestible cannabis products containing more than 1,000 milligrams of THC, or more than one ounce of any combination of usable cannabis and cannabis products.

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement, Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, also known as CREAMM Act, was passed on December 27, 2020. New Jersey is one of 18 states to legalize adult-use cannabis.

The CREAMM Act authorizes the CRC to expand the existing Medicinal Cannabis Program, and develop, regulate, and enforce adult-use rules and activities. The public comment period will provide insight into the outstanding issues that may arise.

“The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission has submitted updated rules for the state’s personal-use cannabis market for public comment,” CRC posted in a news release. “New Jersey residents are being invited to give their feedback on the proposed rules up to Friday, September 30, 2022.”

“The rules, which amend the initial regulations adopted by the NJ-CRC in August 2021, establish licensing instructions for cannabis wholesale, distribution, and delivery businesses. They also clarify the working space for microbusinesses to exclude the square footage of bathrooms, enshrine the adopted Universal Symbol, and simplify labeling requirements for cannabinoids to ensure consumers can make informed choices.”

The CREAMM Act requires that the CRC’s 2021 rules be adopted, amended, or readopted prior to an expiration date that takes place on August 19, 2022.  But a notice of proposed readoption extended the expiration date to February 15, 2023. Public input collected during the 60-day comment period may have an actual effect on the rules as they are currently written.

New Jersey 101.5 reports that some of the new changes include reformulated classes of licenses for delivery and manufacturing operations. Local accountant Todd Polyniak, from Parsippany-based Sax LLP, provided some insight.

“You can go from growing it to manufacturing it to wholesaling it to distributing it, and then finally selling it in retail or delivering it to a final customer,” Polyniak said.

He said that problems remain, such as social equity startups that have little time to convert a conditional license into an annual license.

“I think the state still needs to come through with some type of way of funding these startups, especially the social equity startups,” Polyniak said. “They have 120 days plus 45 days to actually execute on that conditional license and convert it into an annual license. So that’s not a whole lot of time to get everything done.”

The full language of the rules and the link to register to provide feedback are available on the website. Residents who wish to comment can register through the CRC’s website.

Updated on August 11 for clarity.

The post New Jersey Opens Public Comment Period for Proposed Cannabis Rule Amendments appeared first on High Times.

On July 25 The Medicine Woman New Jersey, a proposed dispensary co-owned by Ice T and Charis B, was approved by the Jersey City’s Cannabis Control Board meeting, along with three other proposed dispensaries. The news was posted on Instagram the following day.

The Medicine Woman Jersey City will encompass 5,000 square feet of retail space featuring local New Jersey cannabis brands, limited edition merch, and provide the necessary education. Medusa NJ, Oceanfront Holding, and The Other Side Dispensary were also approved by the board. Jersey City Cannabis Control Board oversees rules and regulations over licensing, cultivation, testing, and retail, and getting approved is no easy feat.

Charis B, or Charis Burrett, founded The Medicine Woman originally in California before eying the East Coast.

“It’s super, super exciting for us because New Jersey is many years behind where we are in California in terms of legalization,” Burrett tells High Times as she waited for her cab. “And it’s exciting to bring it to a state that is really [motivated] and looking forward to the growth of the cannabis industry in general in their state.

“And in terms of New Jersey and the fact that, you know, Ice is a resident, so Jersey City and the state of New Jersey means so much to him personally. And he is a long time personal friend of my husband and myself. And, you know, obviously, this synergy and everything coming together.”

Burrett’s dispensary will follow the same mindset of other Medicine Woman locations, which initially began as a non-profit delivery service. “Our mindset is to bring global medicine to local areas at an affordable price for everybody,” says Burrett. “We believe that cannabis should be available to everybody that needs it. You know, it is a beautiful medicine. It’s been around for centuries. And we love being able to educate people and communities, have healthy debates and like I said, bring global medicine to local communities at affordable prices.”

Ice T, aka Tracy Lauren Marrow, lives in Edgewater, a community relatively close to Jersey City. He’s well aware of the problems the cannabis industry faces locally. In New Jersey, Black people are over three times more likely to be charged with possession of cannabis than white people, despite similar rates of consumption. With that in mind, initial partnerships include The Last Prisoner Project, Jersey City Mural and Arts Program, Jersey City Employment and Training Program, Hudson County Community College, with more to be announced.

“I’ve dedicated my life and career to giving back and paving the way for minorities. As a New Jersey native, I’m excited for the opportunity legalization offers our community and I look forward to ushering in a new era for Cannabis in the state,” Ice T said in a statement. “I’ve partnered with my friend of over 25 years, Charis B who is an authority in cannabis and founder of The Medicine Woman to ensure a premium experience for our customers and community.”

Burrett said that she’s “100%” in favor of expungement and helping people that have gone to prison over pot—some people for life, for cannabis offenses and cannabis-only offenses is something that is very important to both the community and Jersey City.

Burrett says she has been reading the magazine for longer than most, when buying a magazine was an actual concern over drawing too much attention to ones’ self. “When I was 15, all I wanted to do was get a subscription to High Times magazine,” she admits. “But I was just worried about being on that same government list that everybody would get in. It was the 80s. And to be here today like, you know, 30 to 33 years later talking to you. I couldn’t be more proud of where the industry has gone and kind of, you know, that I’m here. I am. So thank you.”

The Medicine Woman Jersey City is set to open in the fall of 2022 and the team is currently accepting applications for employment for a variety of positions. To apply, send your resume to HR@themedwoman.com, they are committed to sourcing a local workforce with a focus on providing opportunities for former cannabis offenders. 

The post Exclusive: Ice T and Charis B’s New Jersey Dispensary Gets Green-Lighted appeared first on High Times.

While putting social equity first and allowing people of color and those affected by the War on Drugs a chance to enter the industry is nothing new, this state is taking things one step further and actually giving priority to those with convictions. 

According to a video by VOA News, Tahir Johnson and Jon Dockery, two lifelong friends, have been arrested multiple times for cannabis possession. Now, thanks to this new law, they will be some of the first who will be able to sell cannabis legally in the state. 

The program was set up by New Jersey’s cannabis regulatory commission, and it also creates priority status for other folks, including minority-, woman-, disabled-, and veteran-owned businesses certified as such by the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, and those who have businesses owned by folks located in an impact zone, a low-income area more impacted by the War on Drugs.

Then there is the social equity piece. This includes businesses owned by people who live in economically disadvantaged areas of the state, as well as those who have expunged or non-expunged prior cannabis convictions. 

“Social equity businesses, diversely owned businesses, and impact zone businesses will be prioritized in the licensure process so that their applications are reviewed before other applicants—regardless of when they apply,” the state’s website explains. “Applications from entities that meet criteria for more than one priority status will be reviewed, scored, and approved in accordance with the status of highest priority.” 

Johnson and Dockery received two of the 11 priority licenses given out so far because of prior cannabis convictions. Both men have been arrested multiple times for cannabis possession. 

“We’ve been arrested for cannabis, and now we have a chance to share in the market and the wealth being created here,” Dockery says regarding their second chance and their new foray into the industry. 

According to the ACLU, Black people are four times more likely than whites to be arrested for cannabis use, possession, and sale. This is why many states are taking this disparity into account when it comes to laws and regulation. 

Wesley McWhite of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission says in the video, “We wanted to make sure that we are addressing the negative social impact of cannabis prohibition, so it was important to make sure that those who have the most barriers have an easier time getting licenses and into the industry.”

However, not everyone is happy with this rule. Unsurprisingly, a police group spoke out against this allowance. Patrick Phelan of the New York Association of Chiefs of Police feels that doing this is “rewarding if not encouraging criminal activity.”

Of course, this argument ignores the fact that most people would much rather have never gotten a life-impacting cannabis conviction, whether or not it helps them get into the legal industry now, and that the whole point of measures like this is to rebuild a society in which cannabis is a legitimate industry and not a criminal one.  

New Jersey’s closest neighbor, New York, has set aside a social equity fund of $20 million for similar reasons, hoping to rebuild an industry in the image of the folks who were the most impacted. 

While this will in no way completely erase the harm done by the War on Drugs in New Jersey, it is a positive step towards filling the industry with the folks who are already familiar with it and suffered because of illegal cannabis in the past. 

The post New Jersey Gives Licensing Priority to Convicted Offenders appeared first on High Times.