The seven applicants, who are doing battle in state courts over alleged licensing application system issues, recently sent a letter to the state attorney general urging the suit to be settled, according to Law360.com.
Their suggestion: The state agree to reevaluate their applications and grant licenses based on merit. It was unclear whether the state would go for that.
“With the prospect of millions of eligible customers being added as a result of adult use, the current lack of licenses and resulting monopoly means that prices for cannabis will skyrocket, the black market will remain robust, patients will not be able to receive critical medicine and the state will miss valuable tax revenue,” the letter noted, according to Law360.com.
Industry experts have expressed concern that New Jersey will find it difficult to transition quickly to adult use because of its limited MMJ program.
State regulators requested applications in 2019 for 24 new licenses for vertically integrated and stand-alone businesses, including cultivators and retailers.
But a court halted the review of those applications after a lawsuit alleged that the system had technical glitches.