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New Jersey regulators on Thursday said they\u2019re not quite ready to start authorizing medical marijuana dispensaries in the state to begin selling to the recreational market\u2014but the governor urged patience, saying those shops will start serving adult consumers in a \u201cmatter of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gov. Phil Murphy (D) responded to the news that the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) declined to approve existing dispensaries to start serving the adult-use market, as stakeholders had hoped would be announced at the body\u2019s meeting on Thursday. CRC did, however, separately give conditional approval to 68 marijuana cultivators and manufacturers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be months,\u201d Murphy said during an interview with News 12 New Jersey. \u201cThe way this is supposed to work\u2014and it is working this way\u2014[is] if a medical dispensary can prove it has more than enough supply for its medical customers, it\u2019s at least eligible. And assuming it meets all the other requirements, including some municipal boxes to check, et cetera, it should be deemed eligible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe it will still be a matter of weeks. It is not going to be months. I can\u2019t tell you exactly a date. The commission is doing a great job,\u201d the governor said<\/a>. \u201cI know everyone thinks it\u2019s taken a long time. I understand that. In this case, as long as the now 127,000 medical patients across that whole system have their supplies satisfied, we should be able to go ahead\u2014and we will go ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor stressed that \u201cequity is a huge part of our proposition here, and I know that may take longer than folks otherwise would like.\u201d<\/p>\n Industry stakeholders are eager to start selling to the adult-use market and feel frustrated by the protracted rollout since New Jersey voters approved a cannabis legalization referendum in 2020<\/a> and the legislature proceeded to enact implementing legislation.<\/p>\n The New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association, for example, said in a statement<\/a> on Thursday that it is \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the regulatory delay, but still \u201cremains optimistic that the CRC will sooner rather than later open the adult-use cannabis market.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes down to it, it\u2019s New Jersey\u2019s citizens who are missing out,\u201d the association said. \u201cThe adult-use market will be a huge boon to New Jersey\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n But some advocates have argued that the wait will be worth it to give entrepreneurs from communities most impacted by the war on drugs a chance to compete with large multi-state operators who control some of the current medical dispensaries. They say that other states that have enacted adult-use legalization have not implemented those laws equitably.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a well-worn path by regulators who gave in to pressure and ignored their own goals to speed up sales by a short period, only to be chastised by the public later for failing to do their job,\u201d Shaleen Title, founder of the Parabola Center and a former Massachusetts cannabis regulator, told Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NJ CRC is choosing a different path by protecting patient supply and equity,\u201d she said. \u201cGov. Murphy is right that it\u2019s better to ensure that the state\u2019s requirements are met rather than taking shortcuts that would only cause problems later, as seen in so many other states.\u201d<\/p>\n (Disclosure: Title supports Marijuana Moment\u2019s work through a\u00a0monthly pledge on Patreon<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Commissioner Charles Barker said during Thursday\u2019s meeting that those from disadvantaged communities, particularly people who have been disproportionately harmed under the policy of prohibition, need to \u201ccome hungry and ready\u2026to step up and take your rightful seat at the table,\u201d The Asbury Park Press reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Commissioner Krista Nash said that the body \u201crecognizes the desire of the public to get the personal use market up and running, it is a shared responsibility to do so,\u201d and their hope is that \u201cthe guidance the commission provides here today will move the process along so we can get these [dispensaries] open [for adult use] in a responsible manner that meets the needs of the patients and the personal use market.\u201d<\/p>\n Some industry officials, meanwhile, are OK with the delay.<\/p>\n The New Jersey CannaBusiness Association President Edmund DeVeaux, for example, said<\/a> in a statement that the group is pleased to see that regulators are \u201cnot rushing into the process and taking deliberate steps.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoing things correctly was more important than doing things quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cNew Jersey is on its way, and we look forward to the next round of progress.\u201d<\/p>\n CRC Chair Dianna Houenou recently said that if the state were to open standalone adult-use shops right now, the industry would be \u201cdominated\u201d by large, multi-state operators<\/a>.<\/p>\n Murphy, for his part, said that there are \u201clots of reasons\u201d for the delayed rollout. That includes \u201cequity and making sure we have an industry that looks like our state that is not just in words, but it is an action\u2014a step tangibly toward undoing the damage from the war on drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s that\u2019s easier said than done,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to get more right than any other state.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) recently criticized New Jersey regulators about the diversity issue, saying he\u2019s \u201coutraged\u201d over the lack of minority representation<\/a>\u00a0in the industry.<\/p>\n While the governor said on Thursday that it would be weeks and not months before adult-use sales start, he also said the same thing last month<\/a>. At the time, he also stated that he would be \u201copen-minded\u201d to permitting adults to grow their own marijuana for personal use down the line, but that it would take action by the legislature. The governor similarly talked about being open to home grow late last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also recently touted the fact that the courts have expunged more than 362,000 marijuana cases<\/a>\u00a0since July 1, when a decriminalization law took effect that mandated the relief for people who have been caught up in prohibition enforcement.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, CRC also held a series of public meetings where it received feedback on how best to allocate marijuana tax revenue<\/a> after the recreational market opens.<\/p>\n Colorado Lawmakers Reject Marijuana Consumer Employment Protection Bill Even After Gutting Its Main Provisions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post New Jersey Governor Says Marijuana Sales Only \u2018Weeks\u2019 Away, Even After Regulators Delay Approvals<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
New Jersey regulators on Thursday said they\u2019re not quite ready to start authorizing medical marijuana dispensaries in the state to begin selling to the recreational market\u2014but the governor urged patience, saying those shops will start serving adult consumers in a \u201cmatter of weeks.\u201d Gov. Phil Murphy (D) responded to theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":53830,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53829"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53829"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53831,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53829\/revisions\/53831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: New Jersey Governor Says Marijuana Sales Only \u2018Weeks\u2019 Away, Even After Regulators Delay Approvals<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"