Jersey City

A new lawsuit from two Jersey City police officers who were fired for testing positive for marijuana says that the city’s policy of punishing law enforcement for off-duty cannabis use—which defies a state-level policy—is merely an effort by Mayor Steven M. Fulop (D) to “win over more conservative voters needed for his gubernatorial campaign.”

The first service-disabled veteran and Latino-owned dispensary in New Jersey is open for business.

After launching The Cannabis Place as New York’s first licensed home delivery cannabis service earlier this year, retired U.S. Marine Osbert Orduna’s venture made its New Jersey debut, unveiling a flagship storefront Nov. 9 in Jersey City.

Jersey City, welcoming two new cannabis dispensaries. Ript Dispensary and FLWR are gearing up to launch their recreational sales, ending the anticipation of many eager users.

Ript Dispensary is poised to become the first recreational cannabis vendor in Jersey City.

Mayor Steve Fulop even attended the opening of Ript Dispensary last month when they initially began medicinal sales.

Their website extends an invitation to "get ript together," offering a range of products from flowers and prerolls to concentrates, vapes, and edibles.

The Friday ribbon cutting for Downtown Flwr on the Newark Avenue Pedestrian Plaza made history as the first minority/women owned dispensary in Jersey City.

With one entrance on the Pedestrian Mall and a second one on Columbus Avenue, Downtown Flwr is set to sell medical cannabis at first, but designed with the anticipation of opening as a source of recreational cannabis in the near future, possibly as early as a month, according to facility manager, Ken Oreslau. The owners also hope to eventually have a cannabis lounge for onsite consumption.

A Jersey City, New Jersey police officer was unlawfully fired over marijuana and must be reinstated with backpay, state officials said on Wednesday, adopting an administrative law judge’s earlier findings.

About two months after Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed the state’s cannabis legalization bill into law in 2021, the Jersey City Police Department announced a policy barring officers from using marijuana on or off duty. Norhan Mansour was among four officers who were later fired for testing positive for THC and proceeded to file suit challenging the termination.

About the Owner

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, an early supporter of legalized cannabis, cut the ribbon at 220 Broadway, which used to be Wilson’s Carpet, this afternoon.

“We were one of the state leaders advocating for legalization. We were the first to push for decriminalization. I’m excited we’re finally seeing the state move forward with licenses so the local governments can open,” Fulop declared.

“Ript has been committed to the neighborhood for some time. I think they’re going to do really well here.”

An administrative law judge has ruled that Jersey City should reinstate a police officer fired after testing positive for cannabis, rejecting the city’s argument that federal statutes trump protections in state law.

Jersey City terminated the officer, Norhan Mansour, in April for violating the police department’s drug policy which prohibited the use of cannabis by officers both on and off the job.

The city is still working to streamline its approval process to keep too many cannabis shops from ending up on the same popular drags like Central and Newark Avenues.

“We are trying to make sure we spread the love across the city so that the cannabis establishments are not clustered together,” said City Councilman Yousef Saleh, among other council members, to cap the number of new cannabis licenses at 48.

That is eight for each of the six wards of the city.

Shops already approved, like Leaf Joint, will not need to apply again and will not be counted against the cap.

The path has been cleared to develop a vacant lot in the heart of Downtown Jersey City into a standalone recreational cannabis dispensary as a business called Bud Space has been green lit for a corner of Newark Avenue.

During their May 9 meeting, Jersey City’s planning board approved an application at 270 Newark Avenue. The lot has been empty since 2018 when then-owner KABR Group tore down a historic building at the property in a seemingly sudden manner.