It seemed appropriate, as one board member remarked heading to the parking lot after adjournment, that the two applicants who appeared before the Plainfield Planning Board Thursday did so on April 20, or 420. The board voted in favor of preliminary and final site plan approval for both a cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility, as well as a retail location on South Avenue near Terrill Road.
The cultivation facility will be located at 1309-1645 West Front Street, encompassing over 130,000 sq. feet.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority will announce Wednesday morning that applications for Phase 1 of the $10 million Cannabis Equity Grant Program — which can provide startups with grants of as much as $250,000 — will open at 10 a.m. April 20.
That’s 4-20, for those who get the reference.
EDA officials said the Cannabis Equity Grant Program is focused on supporting businesses and startups in the recreational cannabis industry and ensuring communities that were adversely impacted by the War on Drugs have equitable access to the industry.
So many people noted the irony of the start date for buying weed legally here in the state. After all, you would’ve expected it to be April 20, not April 21. Some speculate that April 20 would’ve caused too much chaos.
I believe it’s just that they did not want to play along. After all, the date 4/20 is too closely associated with illegal weed and “potheads” you knew in high school.
Shortly after the state's announcement Thursday that people age 21 and up will be able to legally purchase cannabis without a medical card starting April 21, Mayor Steven Fulop said in a tweet, “Missed opportunity by not doing on 4/20.”
April 20, or 4/20 is often marked as a significant day in the cannabis culture.
Recreational cannabis sales in New Jersey will start April 21, the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission said Thursday.
For the uninitiated, that’s one day after 4/20, a day many have long celebrated as an unofficial holiday for weed lovers.
Specific locations where sales will start were not identified. Regulators said they would post on the CRC’s website a list of which locations will open next Thursday as soon as the medical marijuana companies notify the commission of their opening date.
James Leventis, executive vice president at Verano, one of seven Alternative Treatment Centers, or ATCs, that got approval Monday to enter the marketplace for legalized recreational marijuana, said, “I don’t think we’re going to launch on 4/20 but it will be at some point next week is my best guess.”