Columbia Care, one of NJ’s first and largest cannabis dispensaries with locations in Vineland and Deptford, just got a lot bigger after a merger with Cresco Labs, an Illinois-based multi-state cannabis behemoth.
NJ regulators approved the merger by a 4:1 vote last week.
It’s a curious development for Columbia Care, a company that sells America’s most expensive medical cannabis here in New Jersey. Columbia Care also has a track record in other states that clashes with the oft-repeated equity goals of NJ’s cannabis regulators.
For starters, Cannabist (Columbia Care’s retail name in NJ) is home to the costliest legal medical cannabis you’ll find anywhere. A cursory glance at their menu reveals a strain called “Red Velvet” marketed for medicinal use which currently retails for $560 per ounce, an eye-popping figure that’s 3x what medical cannabis users in other state might pay. (For weight comparison, a slice of bread weights roughly an ounce. For price comparison, this past MLK weekend, I paid $100 for an ounce of high quality buds from New Jersey’s robust, thriving black market.)