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The motion to change the June decision passed 3-1, with Commissioner Charles Barker voting no. Barker, often the lone ‘no’ vote, defended the initial one-year timeline as a move that would have helped people most harmed by marijuana prohibition. He emphasized that New Jersey’s marijuana legalization law is “about righting the wrongs of the failed drug war, period, hard stop.”
Chairwoman Dianne Houenou argued Black and brown business owners would have been shut out if the commission retained the one-year priority period.
Curaleaf can continue selling recreational cannabis at all of its New Jersey locations after the state’s cannabis regulators reversed a decision they made Thursday that would have sharply limited where the company can sell weed.
During the meeting, commission member Sam Delgado, a former Verizon executive and retired Marine Corps Reserve Combat Communications Officer, was elected as the group’s vice chair.
“I will strive to ensure that this commission runs and operates with the same level of professionalism, diligence and commitment that we expect from our industry operators,” Delgado said, who then recalled a story about the time he was arrested in 1975 for marijuana possession in New York.
For Sam Delgado, who was elected vice chair, the memory at the front of his mind when accepting the job was his own 1975 arrest for marijuana possession in upstate New York.
For Krista Nash, it was helping prisoners re-enter society while working as a social worker: "These are men and women that have been directly impacted by the war on drugs," she said. "I was a witness to the numerous barriers they faced as they tried to reintegrate back to the community."
The five-member commission met remotely, kicking off what Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has said could be a six-month period until recreational marijuana hits the market.
Chair Diana Houenou said it will take several weeks for staff to be hired and procedures to be developed.
The commission voted to confirm commissioner Sam Delgado, a former Verizon executive, as vice chair.
The CRC is set to meet at 2 p.m. Monday, where its five members will begin the process of overseeing legal weed, medical marijuana and the industries expected to grow around them.
The agenda for the meeting, held virtually, is light. CRC chairwoman Dianna Houneou and executive director Jeff Brown will make remarks. The panel will elect a vice chair. They will adopt an official logo and set a meeting schedule.
The five members of the CRC are:
Governor Murphy today announced three additional appointments to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), completing the five-member commission after previously announcing the appointments of Commission Chair Dianna Houenou and Krista Nash. The Governor will appoint Maria Del Cid and William Wallace to the CRC. The Governor will also appoint Sam Delgado as a member of the Commission, upon the recommendation of Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge) announced he would recommend former Verizon vice president of external affairs Sam Delgado to sit on the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission Friday.
“Sam Delgado’s professional and military service is outstanding and I strongly believe he is the best person to serve on the Cannabis Regulatory Commission,” Coughlin said. “Sam is an expert in the fields of community leadership, business management, strategic planning, supplier diversity and regulatory policy. He will bring these talents to the Commission and is a valued addition.”
