New Jersey Cannabis Update

An Update on Cannabis in New Jersey

The New Jersey Cannabis market has undergone a lot of turbulence and delays, especially for prospective business owners. The state has an existing medical cannabis market and will soon be accepting licenses for adult-use cannabis businesses. With the recent announcement of winning medical cannabis applicants after a lengthy delay and the newly legalized adult-use market and licensing process, the New Jersey cannabis industry will likely see a large expansion within the next year.

Adult-Use Cannabis Update

New Jersey legalized adult-use cannabis in November 2020 and recently announced that it will begin accepting licenses for businesses this year. Applicants can submit their cannabis business license applications starting on December 15 for Class 1 Cultivation, Class 2 Manufacturing, and Testing Labs. Class 5 Retailers will have to wait until March 15 to begin submitting their applications for licensing. Additionally, conditional license applications will be given priority over annual license applications, and micro businesses will have priority over any standard cannabis business application.

With the deadlines quickly approaching, prospective cannabis business owners are quickly drafting their plans and SOPs, locating property, and designing their facilities. Additionally, prospective owners are hard at work obtaining approval from the municipalities themselves, a step which is required in order to receive a license.

Digital submissions will be required and applications will be judged on a “rolling basis” as opposed to judging pools of applicants all at once. Currently, there is a set cap on the amount of cultivator licenses until February 2023. Only 37 cultivation licenses will be given out until then, not including cultivation micro licenses. 

Medical Cannabis Update

After an almost 2-year delay, New Jersey announced the approval of 30 new medical cannabis dispensaries. With 23 medical dispensaries currently in operation, this will nearly double access to medical cannabis within the state. These businesses will be distributed throughout the state with 10 dispensaries in Central New Jersey, 10 dispensaries in Northern New Jersey, and 10 dispensaries located in Southern New Jersey.

New Jersey has an estimated 120,000 patients enrolled in its medical cannabis program, yet the lack of dispensaries has led to limited access and higher prices than other states with medical programs. Additionally, the state does not currently allow home grown cannabis.

Already established medical dispensaries will not have to apply for adult-use licenses in the new licensure process, but they must prove they can provide supply for the demand of both medical-use patients and adult-use customers. These medical dispensaries will have one year to apply to supply both adult-use and medical cannabis.

How Can Sapphire Risk Help?

Tony Gallo and the team of application writers and consultants at Sapphire Risk Advisory Group have worked extensively in the State of New Jersey and are ready to help with licensing for cultivators, testing laboratories, manufacturers, and retailers. Follow us on social media to stay up to date with New Jersey cannabis industry updates!