Harvest Health and Recreation, a vertically integrated cannabis company, announced Tuesday it will acquire CannaPharmacy which owns or operates (through management companies) cannabis licenses in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland and holds a minority interest in a pending licensee in Colombia.
For New Jersey the acquisition includes one of six operational – and 12 awarded by the state – fully vertical licenses, permitting cultivation, retail sales and manufacturing.
A vote expected to come as early as March 25 could be a case of “light up” or “lights out” for a landmark bill that aims to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use across the state of New Jersey.
The state legislature is on the brink of this historic vote after the bill was approved by two legislative committees Monday, though local state Sens. Vin Gopal (D-11) and Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) are split on whether it has enough support pass.
If the bill does not pass, it could set the legalization effort back months.
Though the applicant was not identified in discussion at the council’s workshop meeting Wednesday, redbankgreen has learned that the owners of the Galleria at Red Bank office and restaurant complex on Bridge Avenue at West Front Street made the filing last month.
The application called for creating an alternative treatment center called Breakwater in the space now occupied by Siam Garden restaurant, according to the filing. Breakwater operates an ATC in Cranbury, one of only six allowed statewide under New Jersey’s medical marijuana law.
Though the bill now awaits a full vote in the state legislature, state Sens. Vin Gopal (D-11) and Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) say they aren’t convinced it’s strong enough to pass in its current form.
“There’s a lot of discussion that has yet to be had and I don’t think the votes are there yet,” O’Scanlon said in a Nov. 27 interview with The Two River Times. “Both sides need to take a breath and focus on getting answers to legitimate concerns and questions and then legislate on those answers, whether those answers perpetuate our beliefs or not.”
The Township Committee has adopted an ordinance that prohibits the cultivation, harvesting and sale of marijuana in Freehold Township.
The ordinance, adopted by committee members on Oct. 9, amends Freehold Township’s land use ordinance to include marijuana in its prohibited uses section.
More towns took a stand or plan to take a stand against marijuana.
The Freehold Township Committee voted unanimously to bar all sales of marijuana in the township, the Asbury Park Press reported. The ban included medical marijuana in addition to recreational.
According to the Department of Health, more than 5,500 registered New Jersey medical marijuana patients live in Monmouth or Ocean counties, about 17 percent of the total patient population in the state. Only Camden County has more patients than Ocean County, and Monmouth County has the third-most patients.
But the closest dispensaries to the Jersey Shore — Garden State Dispensary in Woodbridge, Breakwater in Cranbury and Compassionate Care Foundation in Egg Harbor Township — are nearly an hour away for most of the area.
Expectations are high that picture will soon change
The Township Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to ban marijuana sales, both medicinal and recreational, while legislators figure out what weed legalization will look like in the Garden State.
It probably didn't come as a shock to anyone in the meeting room Tuesday night. What was perhaps more surprising was that the hour-long discussion ended in a spat about decorum and resources for veterans.
The planning board approved an ordinance banning marijuana-related sales and businesses Thursday night. Now the proposal goes to the township committee for review.
The planning board is preemptive since New Jersey legislators have not yet voted on a marijuana legalization bill, Mayor Anthony Ammiano said.
Freehold Township might make up its mind about marijuana long before a legalization bill gets to Gov. Phil Murphy's desk.
The township planning board will vote Thursday night on a proposal to ban businesses, entities and establishments that sell marijuana-related products, according to the meeting agenda.
The proposed ban covers marijuana sales for both medicinal and recreational use, as well as drug paraphernalia.