The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission is just days away from laying out rules and regulations for the recreational adult-use marketplace, but some are worried that the tight deadline may make the budding industry less accessible.
Towns in New Jersey have until Aug. 21 to decide if they will allow the sale of recreational cannabis in their town. It is on that day that the commission will release the rules for the industry.
“By Aug. 21, they're supposed to drop interim rules and regulations. Then they have a 30-day window where they're supposed to hold info sessions in each county,” says Chirali Patel, the founder of the group Blaze Responsibly.
There are some concerns about tight applications deadlines that could make the industry less accessible and equitable for smaller businesses.
“The market opens up for anybody potentially to enter. When the people have large capital, they can come in and they can win these licenses and so it's leaving… the smaller players, because they don't have a team, because they don't have the resources, they can't compete,” says Patel.
