When medical cannabis dispensaries hire lobbyists in Trenton, they’re not lobbying for us, the patients. They’re lobbying for themselves, usually against us. For example: to defend their marketshare, NJ’s medical cannabis dispensaries have aggressively lobbied against provisions for the home cultivation of cannabis.
That’s why cultivation remains extremely illegal in NJ where, despite a wildly successful recreational cannabis referendum, you can still go to jail for 5 years for a single pot plant.
The South Orange Village Board of Trustees passed an ordinance allowing for the retail sale of cannabis in the village at its Feb. 28 meeting tonight.
The ordinance passed by a 5-1 vote with trustee Karen Hilton being the only trustee to vote no. On the ordinance Hilton said, “I don’t think it’s what we need,” adding “I feel uncomfortable going against everybody, but I had to follow my heart.”
More than 100 Hoboken residents took part in the virtual hearing. Many who live above or near space – which was a restaurant and bar at one point – says that a recreational marijuana dispensary does not belong in such a residential area. But it leaves many others to ask where else could a dispensary be located in a city so densely populated?
“Hoboken is more complicated. Every block – the commercial and industrial – they all have residential in them,” says Councilwoman Tiffany Fischer. “I think that tension is what we are bumping into right now.”
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla is proposing changes to the city’s cannabis dispensary rules, in light of the local cannabis review board approving its first retail cannabis application despite criticism from the public.
Kashawn McKinley, director of constituent services for Atlantic City, made the request during a virtual meeting with the Cannabis Regulatory Commission last week, noting that Atlantic City is the convention capital of the East Coast and that the cannabis industry “will be driven by conventions.”
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which was created to establish and enforce the rules and regulations governing the licensing, cultivation, testing, selling, and purchasing of cannabis in the state, has announced regional hearings. The topic will be using social equity revenue for community good.
On Feb. 3, during Black History Month, the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission sent out a celebratory tweet.
It didn’t go over well.
The comments section was immediately barraged by a host of people asking one fundamental question: How many Black people had been licensed to grow and sell weed?
When adult use sales begin in New Jersey — which, according to the governor, will be in a matter of “weeks” — the products will look a bit different.
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission held a meeting on Thursday during which regulators gave licensing updates, talked about concerns related to cannabis smoke and air quality, and fielded testimony and questions from residents. Regulators also approved a resolution to adopt a universal symbol for cannabis packaging.
Hoboken’s Cannabis Review Board signed off on the city’s first-ever proposed retail cannabis business, which hopes to open in the 14th Street space previously occupied by Hudson Tavern restaurant.
During a virtual meeting Thursday night, the 3-person board OK-ed an application filed by Story Dispensary of Hoboken, LLC, which allows the proposal to proceed to the next step in the process — Planning Board approval.
The town council spoke about making changes to the existing cannabis ordinance. Liaison to the Cannabis Task Force Councilwoman Cindy Matute-Brown reminded the council that decisions need to be made soon because cannabis license applications submissions begin on March 15.
Council President Susan McCartney remarked that she wanted the ordinance to be updated as soon as possible, so potential cannabis business owners will have all the information they need to submit their applications.