New Jersey is the “linchpin” for coming recreational marijuana legalization on the East Coast, a panel of industry experts said Tuesday on the second day of MJBizConNEXT Direct, Marijuana Business Daily‘s three-day virtual cannabis business conference.
Panelist Rob DiPisa, partner and co-chair of cannabis law group Cole Schotz, called New Jersey a “hot market” that has continuously expanded its medical marijuana program and, therefore, has the infrastructure in place for a successful recreational program.
“It’s something of a linchpin. I think New Jersey ties the knot,” said Jeremy Unruh, senior vice president of public and regulatory affairs for Illinois-based cannabis firm PharmaCann. “It also places a tremendous amount of pressure on New York” to legalize.
Unruh pointed out that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo doesn’t want to see state revenue go to bordering New Jersey.
“The focus right now is certainly New York and New Jersey,” DiPisa added.
Unruh said the likelihood of New York legalizing recreational marijuana in the near future is “limited at best.”