According to Paul Josephson, a team lead for the Duane Morris cannabis industry group in New Jersey, a spotlight needs to be put on section 37 of the Cannabis Regulatory Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization (CREAMM Act).
In addition to regulating medical and recreational sales in New Jersey, the law lays out the rules for companies that want to buy property to use as a dispensary or grow/production facility. It partly reads:
"A person or entity issued a license to operate as a cannabis cultivator, cannabis manufacturer, cannabis wholesaler, cannabis distributor, cannabis retailer, or cannabis delivery service, or that employs a certified personal use cannabis handler to perform work for or on behalf of a cannabis establishment, distributor, or delivery service shall not be eligible for a state or local economic incentive."
And therein lies the problem, Josephson says.
"New Jersey already presents the most difficult real estate market for cultivators and retailers nationwide," Josephson told Patch. "Our industrial market is red hot statewide, with rents in excess of $10 per square foot – and rising. Compounded by the unwillingness of most institutional owners and lenders to rent to cannabis companies, it is almost impossible to find quality cultivation space anywhere."