New Jersey Legalization

Cannabis users in Ocean County will soon have a third place to purchase their cannabis, as the High Profile Dispensary prepares to open its doors.

The dispensary, at 145 Route 70 in Lakehurst, has posted "Coming Soon" signs and has added the location to its website.

An opening date has not been announced, but a Google listing for the dispensary says it is opening Oct. 30. Messages seeking information from the company have not been answered.

Two cannabis manufacturing licenses may be issued to Sweetspot Manufacturing LLC and Wiseco NJ LLC.

Warren, Rhode Island-based Sweetspot has a dispensary in Voorhees, Camden County.

Clifton, Passaic County-based Wiseco NJ is a grassroots, Black-women owned cannabis operator, according to its website.

The third cannabis license, which is for retail, may be issued to Bud Bazaar LLC.

John De Los Santos has a plan to open a new recreational cannabis dispensary in Paterson, his hometown; he was given conditional approval last year by state regulators for it. The only thing stopping him is city politics.

Paterson has a limit of three recreational cannabis dispensaries in the city and that quota has been filled. That leaves De Los Santos on the outside looking in, as he struggles to keep investors and a lease in place.

Queen City Origin Story

Morristown residents eagerly anticipating the official opening of the town's first cannabis dispensary were recently given an update on the time-consuming process.

The dispensary, which will be located on Ridgedale Avenue, will replace a defunct budget truck rental agency. The chosen location is on a busy route at the border of Morris Township, across from a former state motor vehicle inspection station, a bank, and a lumberyard.

West Orange has moved closer to having its first recreational marijuana business after the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved the application of Pure Natural Vibes.

Darnnelle and Nordia Gibbs, both long-time residents of the City of Orange, own the business that is transforming a former doctor’s office at 470 Prospect Ave. into a retail operation.

Two of New Jersey’s biggest and most established cannabis operators are facing fines of $100,000 and $50,000 after the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) board members voted to issue steeper than recommended penalties for their violations.

New Jersey legalized adult-use cannabis in November 2020, but the state is an outlier among legal markets in limiting edibles products to “syrups, pills, tablets, capsules and chewables,” according to the newspaper.

But under the regulators’ proposal, marijuana operators in the state would be allowed to produce baked goods, butters, drinks and other infused products.

The proposal can’t be approved until December.

Weed brownies and THC-infused drinks are coming to dispensaries across New Jersey after the state’s cannabis regulators voted to relax restrictions on edibles Friday, nearly a year and a half after legal recreational marijuana sales started in New Jersey.

When the Cannabis Regulatory Commission first drafted rules in August 2021, it opted not to allow the sale of edibles that resemble food, citing difficulties in regulating kitchen environments. At that time, commissioners approved the sale of only non-perishable edibles, like lozenges and gummies.

The Expungement Clinics at 420 Expo will be conducted by legal experts such as Andrew Cooper, chair, Cannabis & Psychedelics Practice Group at Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP.