Secaucus has established a process to apply for cannabis licenses and has set up a Local Cannabis Control Board.
Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the Secaucus Town Council voted unanimously to adopt two resolutions at its September 13 meeting. The move comes after the town rescinded its ban on recreational adult-use cannabis establishments in May of this year.
At 9 a.m. on Friday, the doors finally opened for legal weed sales at Zen Leaf Neptune, the 18th medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey to begin recreational marijuana sales and just the second retail pot shop in Monmouth County.
“It took a little longer than we anticipated but, if we were going to do it, we were going to do it right — the first time,” Neptune Mayor Nick Williams said. ”This highway (Route 66) leads to four major highways. This location will bring people in here to get the product, get out of here and back on the road.”
As this reporter drove up to the shop nearing sundown, there were no other vehicles waiting for the drive-thru. There had been issues with the online ordering function, but an employee said it had since been fixed. However, upon returning home, I encountered the same issue when I tried again, just to check.
But while preorders were "encouraged," according to company spokesperson Briana Chester, they were not necessary.
The 5,000 square-foot dispensary, located at 200 NJ-17, features a spacious showroom and interactive “bud bar”, where shoppers can see and smell the product prior to purchase. Patients and consumers can order online or through the Apothecarium app to experience New Jersey’s first-ever dispensary drive-thru. The Apothecarium Lodi is located in one of the most populous regions of Northern New Jersey, 14 miles outside of Manhattan and adjacent to the iconic Satin Dolls “Bada Bing” Club, as featured on The Sopranos.
On Monday, the city’s Cannabis Review Board OK’d Terrapin’s request to offer recreational cannabis alongside medical marijuana in its not-yet-opened storefront at 86 River Street.
According to the plans filed with the board, Terrapin will occupy a 5,000 square-foot space on the first floor of the building. The proposed total occupancy, including employees, will be 48 people and the store will have a large waiting room to accommodate customers.
A medical cannabis dispensary licensed to operate in Hoboken is hoping to get approval to sell marijuana to any adult 21 years and older.
On Monday, the city’s Cannabis Review Board is scheduled to review Terrapin’s request to offer recreational cannabis alongside medical marijuana in its not-yet-opened storefront at 86 River Street.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will be streamed online. Click here for the agenda and details on how to tune in.
Since Secaucus reversed its ban on recreational cannabis establishments, the existing medical cannabis dispensary in town has been looking to enter the adult recreational market.
Harmony Dispensary is a tenant in a warehouse in the light industrial zone at 600 Meadowlands Parkway, Suite 15. The town is permitting facilities in the other lots that make up the warehouse space at that location, the kind of uses that officials say meant it would be unlikely that anyone other than Harmony would open up shop in town.
Some Black and brown marijuana entrepreneurs say they are still finding it challenging to attract investors to start their small businesses but hope that will change soon.
Tahir Johnson got conditional approval on May 24 to start his dream business and open a retail marijuana location in his hometown of Ewing, but he is having a hard time.
"I'm looking at purchasing property that all in you know, all in I'm looking at a couple hundred thousand dollars, and I can't go to a bank to get a loan for it," says Johnson.
The first legal weed sales in central New Jersey are set for Wednesday morning.
The three Garden State Dispensary locations in Woodbridge, Eatontown and Union Township will begin selling marijuana to adults over 21 years old at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, parent company AYR Wellness announced on Monday.
The medical marijuana dispensaries were approved to convert to recreational sales by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission on May 24.
A few people were lined up on Bloomfield Avenue outside Ascend on Tuesday, June 7, as the medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors at 10 a.m. to its first recreational customers — without municipal approval.
But by 1:15 p.m., sales stopped after the interim Montclair Township attorney notified Ascend if it didn’t stop recreational sales, the township would send code enforcement and police, Caitlin Fleishman, Ascend’s director of public affairs, said.