New Jersey launches recreational marijuana sales following voter approval

Acreage Holdings

21/04/2022 11:00

By Joseph Ax
    LAWRENCE, N.J., April 21 (Reuters) - Well over a year after
voters said yes to legal weed, New Jersey is finally about to
start getting high on its own supply.
    State residents 21 and older can lawfully buy marijuana
starting on Thursday, after a decade-long effort by advocates to
legalize recreational use and end years of racially unbalanced
criminal prosecution.
    Dispensaries are expecting big crowds on Thursday, a day
after the unofficial marijuana holiday known as 4/20. In
Paterson and Bloomfield, dispensaries operated by Green Thumb
Industries will open at 6 a.m., Chief Executive Ben Kovler said.
    "We see it as the end of Prohibition 2.0," he said.
    The state's Cannabis Regulatory Commission has approved 13
medical dispensaries to sell adult-use marijuana. The locations
are owned by Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc  AAWH.PK , Columbia
Care Inc  CCHW.NLB , Acreage Holdings Inc  ACRGau.CD , Green
Thumb Industries Inc  GTII.CD , Curaleaf Holdings Inc  CURA.CD ,
Terrascend Corp  TER.CD  and Verano Holdings Corp  VRNO.CD .
    The sites are located throughout the state, including in the
suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. New York is expected
to begin recreational sales sometime in 2023, while Pennsylvania
only permits medical use.
    Thursday's debut comes a year and a half after New Jersey
voters approved a referendum allowing recreational marijuana
use, joining 17 other states and the District of Columbia. 
    Industry executives and analysts expect the market will
exceed $2 billion within years. Governor Phil Murphy's proposed
budget anticipates $121 million in cannabis revenue, mostly from
taxes and fees, in fiscal year 2023.
    There are currently 130,000 medical marijuana patients in
New Jersey, and the commission estimates there are roughly
800,000 potential recreational customers.
    "The goal here is to take people away from the black market
and bring them into the safe, legal market," said George Archos,
chief executive of Verano.
    While medical marijuana dispensaries will initially be the
only legal sites, the commission has received hundreds of
applications from start-up businesses. Those owned by people
with marijuana convictions as well as minorities, women and
disabled veterans will receive priority consideration.
    The law requires much of the state's cannabis revenue to be
invested in communities most harmed by the "war on drugs."
    In 2018, Black people were arrested more than three times as
often as white people for marijuana offenses despite similar
usage rates, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of
New Jersey.
    "That's the whole point here: making sure we're pursuing
equity every step of the way and ending our reliance on a
criminal response for something that people consume all over the
country," said Amol Sinha, the group's executive director.
    Frank Perullo, the president of Ascend, said the company's
Rochelle Park location has quadrupled its workforce to 125 and
added 50 parking spaces as part of the ramp-up to Thursday.
    Cannabis executives hope a successful launch in New Jersey
will spur other east coast states to take action, noting that
polls show a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana.
    "It's time for legislators to catch up with the American
consumer," said Joe Bayern, the chief executive of Curaleaf. 

 (Reporting by Joseph Ax
Editing by Bill Berkrot)
 ((joseph.ax@thomsonreuters.com; 1-646-223-6594 1-917-848-0813;
Reuters Messaging: joseph.ax.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))