Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that the state Department of Health received 146 applications from 106 organizations looking to join the state's growing medical marijuana program.
Officials announced July 16 that the state was requesting applications for six new medical marijuana dispensaries to add to the existing six operational ones, including Compassionate Care Foundation in Egg Harbor Township.
South Jersey investors and companies have been working for months to secure growing and dispensing sites, partner organizations, municipal approval, financial resources and more to put forth applications that will be reviewed and scored by state officials.
Those investors include the team of Dr. Ira Trocki, owner of Egg Harbor City Boat Co. and Northfield-based plastic surgeon, and Dr. Jon Regis, CEO and president of Reliance Medical Center.
Jon Regis is a black gynecologist who heads Reliance Medical Group, a medical practice with offices throughout South Jersey. His business partner, Ira Trocki, is a Jewish plastic surgeon who once sewed up boxer Mike Tyson’s right eye after a brutal match in Atlantic City. The pair jokingly refers to themselves as "Salt and Pepper" — a play on their racial differences.
But they’re now hoping to use the interracial nature of their business partnership as a selling point in a new venture: creating a Disneyland for adult recreational marijuana on the Jersey Shore.