New Jersey’s recreational cannabis industry launched one year ago, and Dominic Rivera is nearly $1 million in debt.
The Camden man thought his drive-through dispensary would be open by now, but it took 13 months to get the state to OK his application — approval he received just last week. In the meantime, he is nearly finished with construction, has hired nine employees, and has spent thousands on electricity for a store that can’t have any customers yet.
“We’re happy and excited to start serving our community. But we’ve been paying rent for over a year and haven’t made a penny,” said Rivera, who is still weeks away from opening Organic Farms Dispensary. “It needs to go a little faster because this is people’s livelihoods.”
This is a story heard time and time again at monthly meetings of the Cannabis Regulatory Committee, New Jersey’s marijuana regulators. Cannabis entrepreneurs sound off about lost applications, delays without explanations, and their unopened stores collecting dust while they shell out for rent and salaries without knowing when they can open.