Monday’s decision applies only to the seven existing medical-marijuana companies, which are run mainly by large multistate and international cannabis corporations.
Smaller entrepreneurs also hoping to open recreational cannabis shops in New Jersey have filed 327 applications for retail licenses since March 15, but decisions about those applicants are not expected for at least another month. And it is likely to be a year or more before the smaller retail shops are up and running.
The exact timing for the first legal sales and the locations of each of the 13 medical-marijuana dispensaries remains unclear. But it is possible that at least some of the companies will have satisfied all the requirements before April 20, an unofficial cannabis holiday made famous by a group of teenagers in California.