My friend Will Sirois, who is part of the Bloom Wellness venture, recently lived in California. He was accustomed to a state that has ample cultivators and dispensaries to supply a full-fledged recreational market. Here on the East Coast, we are far behind. At the current rate, it will take years to build up to a sustainable market. With the trajectory we’re on, things are not very promising.
Our team has spent years and hundreds of thousands of dollars putting together our application. Now, we sit idle on the sidelines waiting for next steps from the newly established Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Meanwhile, the existing, licensed medicinal-use distributors — usually large multi-state operators — are given the freedom to expand at their leisure.
Before we began this endeavor, we were promised that the New Jersey government would look out for the little guys like us. The way the state handled the corrupt-file issue — a technology problem that forced the state to halt reviewing new applications — plus the new regulations and restrictions, it is nearly impossible for small businesses to succeed.