The first sale of recreational cannabis for adults in New Jersey is expected to begin next Thursday, the culmination of a years-long effort to legalize marijuana and shorten the racially imbalanced penalties for possession of the drug.
About half a dozen medical marijuana dispensaries are set to open their doors to all adults on April 21, after receiving final approval this week from New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission Governor Philip D. Murphy. announced on Thursday.
The enthusiasm within the industry was palpable. Pharmacies in Bloomfield and Paterson, both about 20 miles from Midtown Manhattan, were making plans to entertain customers waiting in line with a DJ, donut truck and steel drum band.
While eager for the additional revenue, political leaders said they are bracing for the potential for additional crowds and car traffic.
In Maplewood, where a high street medical marijuana dispensary was preparing to open to all adults, the mayor, Dean Dafis, said he had called a meeting Thursday afternoon to finalize the council’s strategy.
“The only problem we’re really dealing with is traffic,” said J. Christian Bollwage, the mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey’s fourth-largest city, where a pharmacy is expected to open on Route 9 about three miles from Newark Liberty International Airport. † He said the pharmacy was responsible for hiring and paying off-duty police officers to direct traffic near the store, which has a parking lot by a supermarket.
Cities that allow cannabis businesses to operate may charge an additional 2 percent tax in addition to state taxes and fees.
“The revenue is a good thing for the City of Elizabeth,” said Mr Bollwage, a Democrat. “We’re surrounded by it, so why not get the revenue?”
Voters in New Jersey approved a referendum in November 2020 legalizing marijuana, but it wasn’t until this week that the committee set a path for the first legal sale of recreational cannabis for adults. On Monday, 13 medical marijuana dispensaries were given the green light to sell their products to all adults, but not all are expected to be ready to open April 21.
Each pharmacy had to demonstrate that it had sufficient stock for both medical and recreational customers, and that there were plans in place to ensure that patients were not deterred by the influx of customers expected in the early days of legal sales in the densely populated region.
Ken Wolski, a nurse and the executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana, said he was pleased that New Jersey had prioritized the state’s 170,000 registered medical marijuana patients.
“I’m glad the sale is now starting,” said Mr. Wolski. “The goal of our organization is to get this essential drug to the most people.”
Still, one of the largest cannabis companies in the state, Curaleaf, suggested that medical marijuana users may want to avoid the crowds by stocking up on marijuana this week.
“The Garden State is about to get greener, so if you’re a medical patient, make sure you shop now to avoid the lines — and get the medicine you need,” one ad read.
New Jersey’s first legal sale will only take place at medical marijuana dispensaries, which are primarily run by large multinational and international cannabis companies.
But the state has also received more than 320 applications from smaller business owners looking to open recreational cannabis stores. Decisions on those applications are not expected for at least a month, and it will likely be a year or more before the stores are ready to open.
The state has also granted conditional approval to 102 companies that have applied to grow or produce cannabis. These companies must now find a location to operate — and permission from the host city — before their conditional permits can be considered valid.
Only people 21 and older are allowed to buy cannabis.
But Nick DeMauro, a former police detective in Bergen County, NJ, said that as legal sales began, it was also important to strengthen programs that educate students about the risks of underage cannabis use.
“It’s not going away,” says Mr. DeMauro, Director of Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence. “We need to step up our efforts to ensure that children make good decisions.”
