GDBS Distributors LLC, headed by Neptune resident Jay Smith, is now in line to become the first certified minority-owned company in the state to take the step from having a conditional license to a standard license.
Smith, an engineer and CEO of GDBS Distributors LLC, praised the township's vision after the Nov. 28 vote.
"I am excited by the opportunity the State of New Jersey has afforded me. My passion for the science of the cannabis industry is what has driven me to follow this path. It not only opens a gateway for success of a minority-owned company, but a value to the communities of color. Neptune's vision to have local participation in the cannabis industry is why this is happening," Smith said.
GDBS operates a Class-II manufacturing facility.
Jersey Shore Ventures Group, LLC also won approval for a cannabis manufacturing business.
The firm is a Class-I cultivator owned by Neptune resident Virginia Papa-Horning, who operates the business with her son Chris Horning.
"Jay (Smith) is a Black minority and I am a female minority. So both of the operations are minority owned," Papa-Horning said