The commission, in its fourth month of operation, largely started from scratch when it was finally convened earlier this year.
"It will take a little while," Houenou said. "A lot of it depends on when these businesses can get up and running."
The CRC is required to provide at least 30 days notice before retail sales can begin.
The regulations released Thursday largely center around what will be required of the CRC and applicants looking for a cannabis license, particularly about the commission's process for handling "priority review" license applications.
Those priority review licenses will include applications filed by:
- Applicants from areas qualified as low-income, at 80% of the median income, or with a past marijuana offense;
- Minority, women or disabled veteran applicants;
- Applicants looking to hire from or open a cannabis business in one of 20 "impact zones."
The New Jersey legal weed laws designated as "impact zones" 20 cities with a combination of a large population with high unemployment, crime and marijuana arrest rates.