Legal weed consumers will be barred from purchasing pot brownies, cookies, candies or any other marijuana-infused edibles "resembling food," under the rules and regulations adopted by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
The move, long on the radar of industry watchers, is a blow to customers and businesses that had hoped to jump headfirst into an increasingly popular aspect of the marijuana trade.
“I think that the information that we heard was very positive,” said Shaya Brodchandel, president of the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association. “Providing access and the equity part of it was all on point for us.”
Brodchandel is also CEO of Harmony Foundation of New Jersey, a medical marijuana dispensary in Seacaucus. With the new rules in place, he will be able to expand into the adult recreational marketplace. However, he will still need to maintain inventory for the patients his company serves with its medical license.
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission will meet Thursday at noon and plans to adopt rules then, according to the latest agenda. The legal cannabis law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in February set a deadline of Aug. 21 for the commission to establish its rules.
While the law lays out the types of cannabis business licenses that will be available in New Jersey, the commission still has a lot of power. It will oversee licensing of new businesses and the allocation of tax revenue to communities harmed by marijuana prohibition.
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission is just days away from laying out rules and regulations for the recreational adult-use marketplace, but some are worried that the tight deadline may make the budding industry less accessible.
Towns in New Jersey have until Aug. 21 to decide if they will allow the sale of recreational cannabis in their town. It is on that day that the commission will release the rules for the industry.
The state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will only partially meet its deadline. CRC chairwoman Dianna Houenou said the agency has “begun putting pen to paper” on draft rules that might change and that will not address every topic included in the state’s legalization law.
“Due to the timelines that are dictated in statute, developing regulations on every single topic that’s identified in the CREAMM Act is simply not very practicable,” Houenou said of the 166-page Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.