Enthusiasm within the industry was palpable.
Dispensaries in Bloomfield and Paterson, which are both about 20 miles from Midtown Manhattan, were making plans to entertain customers waiting in line with a D.J., doughnut truck and a steel drum band.
“The end of prohibition is coming to New Jersey,” said Ben Kovler, chief executive of Green Thumb Industries, which operates both dispensaries. “We’re prepared for a tidal wave of demand.”
He estimated that New Jersey, the second state on the East Coast to begin adult-use sales, could eventually become a $3 billion industry.
“The war on drugs was a failure for people of color,” he said. “This is going to create a lot of wealth, for a lot of people.”