VIDEO: New Jersey Pot Entrepreneurs Take A Hit From Government
Mike McQueeny, chair of Cannabis Practice Group at Genova Burns, explains why it is taking so long for New Jersey to launch medical marijuana businesses.
Mike McQueeny, chair of Cannabis Practice Group at Genova Burns, explains why it is taking so long for New Jersey to launch medical marijuana businesses.
A lawsuit by 25 New Jersey medical cannabis business applicants has forced regulators to halt its application review for the expansion of the state’s medical cannabis program, according to an NJ.com report. The expansion bill was signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in July after lawmakers failed to pass comprehensive recreational legalization reforms.
A crowd of officials were on hand Friday, to witness Mayor Andre Sayegh cut the ribbon at Rise Paterson.
“This, I can say — on those three different levels — will be beneficial for us: the jobs, the revenue and the convenience for the constituents that really need it,” Sayegh said.
Tight regulations under former Gov. Chris Christie limited New Jersey to just six medical marijuana dispensaries statewide, including facilities in Montclair and Secaucus.
Demko, the Clifton resident, said he buys his medical marijuana at the Secaucus dispensary. But sometimes the lines there are two hours long and the center runs out of marijuana, Demko said.
Paterson’s long awaited marijuana medical dispensary is set to welcome its first patients Saturday.
Originally announced in December, 2018, the facility is owned by Green Thumb Industries (GTI), a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer. The Paterson location, called Rise Paterson, is GTI’s first medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey.
GTI's store, Rise Paterson, is scheduled to open on Saturday. A ribbon cutting event and open house will be held on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon.
Attendees can tour the store, meet workers and learn more about New Jersey's medical marijuana program, according to GTI. Special guests include Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh and New Jersey Assistant Commissioner of Health Jeff Brown.
GTI Issued Permit to Dispense Medical Marijuana in New Jersey
The Facility is Now the Seventh Alternative Treatment Center to Operate
The New Jersey Department of Health today issued a permit allowing the GTI in Paterson to operate and dispense medical marijuana. GTI is now the seventh Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) dispensing marijuana for medical use in New Jersey.
GTI is the first ATC to open among the awards made by the New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP) in December 2018.
Five applicants denied last month for medical marijuana business licenses because state officials couldn’t open files in their applications could get a second shot if a state appeals court rules in their favor.
But such a ruling could delay an expansion of the state’s strained medical marijuana program.
More marijuana plants are finally growing in the Garden State, as one of the six new medicinal dispensaries obtained its permit to grow the plant this week.
The state Department of Health announced that Green Thumb Industries (GTI) in Paterson has passed several site inspections and background checks, as well as reviews of its security operations and cultivation facility.
“We’re very pleased to be the first ones,” said Devra Karlebach, the CEO of GTI New Jersey. “We are very honored and humbled that we were awarded a license initially."
Following roughly three hours of testimony and questioning, the Township Land Use Board unanimously approved plans allowing an established medical marijuana company to operate a growing and processing facility on Route 94.
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