The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission began accepting license applications for cannabis dispensaries last week.
As of Thursday, the commission said, 172 applications had been completed and submitted.
“Since the portal opened in December, potential cannabis entrepreneurs have been establishing accounts and beginning the application process, so we did not see the flurry of new accounts being set up today as we did on December 15,” said CRC Executive Director Jeff Brown. “What we saw were applicants who were already familiar with the system and ready to apply.”
New Jersey’s adult-use marijuana market was approved by voters in November of 2020 and was supposed to go into effect on Feb. 20, 2022. However, the state ignored the date, saying it was too early.
Gov. Phil Murphy has hinted that it would be weeks before the market could launch, noting that state regulators have indicated that they are only nearly finished reviewing applications for five current medical marijuana operators. Those applications could be approved at the commission’s March 24 meeting.
The commission said that applications are also open for the cultivation and manufacturing businesses, testing laboratories, and dispensaries. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis and will remain open.
Under the commission’s rules, social equity businesses, diversely-owned businesses, microbusinesses, and conditional license applicants – including businesses owned by individuals with past cannabis convictions, those from designated Economically Disadvantaged Areas, and minority-owned, woman-owned, and disabled-veteran owned businesses – will be prioritized in their review and scoring.
The CRC is the state agency overseeing the establishment and enforcement of rules and regulations governing cannabis licensing, cultivation, testing, selling, and purchasing in New Jersey.