New Jersey’s recreational marijuana marketplace is open for business.
Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older are scheduled to start Thursday, with the first alternative treatment centers opening at 6 a.m. in part of the state.
“It’s a huge event. It’s a moment in time in American history where prohibition 2.0 is lifted,” said Ben Kovler, the chairman and CEO of Green Thumb Industries, which has two facilities opening Thursday, one in Bloomfield and another in Paterson.
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.”
Several amendments were introduced at the most recent Township Council meeting. The first would prohibit cannabis retailers from operating within 250 feet of another cannabis retailer. A second ordinance would allow cannabis to be sold within the commercial corridor of the Bloomfield Center Redevelopment District; the third amends the redevelopment Phase One plan to permit recreational and medical marijuana retailers.
In August. the township OKed up to six cannabis retailers to set up shop in the central business district and neighborhood business district.
A company that runs medical marijuana dispensaries in Paramus and Paterson recently opened a third location in Bloomfield.
Green Thumb Industries Inc., the owner of Rise Dispensaries, had planned to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new dispensary at 26-48 Bloomfield Avenue in Bloomfield on Wednesday. That event was canceled, but the new dispensary's opening still heralds a new shift in the landscape when it comes to medical cannabis in North Jersey.
Green Thumb Industries Inc. (GTI) (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF), a leading national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and owner of Rise™ Dispensaries, today announced it will open Rise Bloomfield, the Company’s third store in New Jersey and 65th in the nation. Profits from the first day of sales will be donated to the Bloomfield Youth Aid Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing services to Bloomfield youth, including scholarship funds, toy drives and summer youth programs.
Now, a second reading and public hearing is on the schedule for Monday, Aug. 16 in Bloomfield – and action is expected, officials say.
According to a public notice from the township:
Bloomfield will be holding a special meeting to discuss and potentially adopt an ordinance on allowing recreational marijuana businesses.
During their most recent meeting, the council decided to make several changes to the ordinance that was introduced at the end of June.
The original ordinance was referred to the planning board who returned a handful of suggestions.
Michael Parlavecchio, the township attorney, said the planning board recommended a 200-foot buffer to schools and houses of worship from where cannabis would be sold.
Recreational marijuana stores could be coming to Bloomfield after the Township Council introduced an ordinance to allow six cannabis retailers in the central business district and neighborhood business district.
Two retailers would be allowed north of Bay Avenue, two south of Bay Avenue and north of the Norfolk-Southern Railway line, and two south of the railway line under the ordinance introduced Monday. All the retailer licenses would be for a Class 5 retailer, allowing cannabis items and related supplies to be sold to customers.
Submitted by njlegalizeme on Sun, 09/09/2018 - 21:28