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around 100,000 pounds of pot short of being able to satisfy both markets. The CRC’s decision was met with ire from both state officials and residents. However, Gov. Murphy appeared confident that, despite regulators’ concerns, retail sales were mere weeks away. While it seemed unlikely given the supply gap, by the second week of April, the commission approved the hybrid license applications and set retail sales in motion. The seven companies that will begin selling recreational pot in New Jersey are Acreage Holdings, Ascend New Jersey, Columbia Care, Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries, TerrAscend and Verano Holdings. While New Jersey’s adult-use rollout clearly favors multi-state operators (MSOs), the state is reviewing retail license applications and those from businesses owned by people who have been convicted of a Cannabis crime, as well as diverselyowned businesses – those owned by minorities, women or disabled veterans – will receive priority from the CRC during the review process as part of the state’s social equity rules. However, there will likely be a long wait before new businesses are able to start selling Cannabis. With a 90-day review process and 120 days allotted to meet jurisdictional requirements, plus the time it takes to staff a business and obtain a proper supply of product, the first legal sales from newly licensed businesses are likely months away. And it’s more likely that they won’t begin until 2023. As licenses are issued and new businesses prepare to open, the state can begin retail sales with hybrid shops. And while the sizable headstart given to MSOs is irksome to many advocates who fought for equity, some feel the lengthy delay of retail sales helped shorten the gap, hopefully preventing an industry dominated by established companies. New Jersey will beat nearby New York and Connecticut to the adult-use market. Once retail sales begin in earnest, experts anticipate that the Garden State will exceed $2 billion a year in recreational pot sales.
RETAIL SALES START IN
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ew Jersey will officially launch retail Cannabis sales on April 21 – just a day after the high holiday, 4/20. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved license applications for seven medical marijuana companies to begin selling recreational Cannabis at 13 locations around the state. If the start of adult-use sales in New Jersey seems sudden, despite it coming over a year after Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legalization bill into law and nearly a year and a half after voters approved Cannabis legalization on Election Day 2020, it’s probably because just weeks ago things were looking bleak in the Garden State. At the end of March, the CRC declined to approve the conversion applications that would allow the state to begin retail sales. Regulators cited their concern that the Cannabis companies – which were medical marijuana dispensaries applying to operate as hybrid shops servicing both medical patients and recreational users – would not be able to adequately serve the state’s patients. The primary issue was supply, as the CRC felt the shops were
Equity in Massachusetts LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
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awmakers in Massachusetts are considering a new bill that would create access to funding for Cannabis businesses operated by people disproportionately impacted by pot prohibition. The measure, which unanimously passed the Senate, is an attempt to bolster the state’s fledgling social equity program by increasing opportunities to enter the Cannabis industry. One of the biggest obstacles to participating in the industry is access to money. And, given marijuana’s unique status as a Schedule I narcotic that remains illegal at the federal level despite being legal in certain states, banks are barred from working with Cannabis companies. This, of course, means that marijuana business hopefuls can’t rely on bank loans to get their companies started in the industry. Getting the average adult-use pot shop up and running can cost operators millions of dollars. Sure, there’s a great deal of money to be made in retail weed, but you need to spend a whole lot of cash before you can make any. The bill passed by the Senate would create a Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund with 10 percent of marijuana excise tax revenue earmarked for it – resulting in an estimated $18 million of revenue from 2023 alone for the equity fund, according to an Associated Press report. Qualified equity applicants would be eligible for grants and loans through the fund, helping to level the playing field in the industry. “Addressing racial justice in our state means getting real about closing our cavernous racial wealth divide … With this bill, Massachusetts will reclaim our leadership role, carving a path to make equity a reality in the Cannabis industry,” State Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz, who sponsored the bill, said in a statement.
MAY 2022
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The measure would also pave the way for Cannabis consumption sites – allowing marijuana to be consumed in designated shops where it is sold – if approved by local voters or city council referendum. After passing the Senate with a 39-0 vote, the bill now moves to the House.