Prospective businesses laid the groundwork in anticipation that lawmakers would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in New Jersey.
They scouted locations, talked with municipal officials and worked with consultants. Some even secured real estate.
But with a recreational market now still a ways off as legislators abandoned ship on their efforts to legalize it, these prospective businesses now feel let down. However, their time and expense haven’t necessarily been squandered by the measure’s apparent demise, experts said.
“Certainly, there are people from all sides who are disappointed whether they were looking at (adult use) as a social-justice remedy or business opportunity,” said Scott Rudder, president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association.
“That being said, medical marijuana is moving forward, and that’s good news,” he added. “The industry remains energized because the opportunities for medical marijuana expansion are significant in New Jersey.”
Indeed, now that adult use has stalled, businesses can refocus efforts on the state’s medical marijuana market with the hope that position will provide them a priority position in an eventual recreational market.