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In the 2020 general election, New Jersey residents voted two to one in favor of legalizing recreational cannabis. Meanwhile, at less than 10,000 feet across the Hudson in New York, the drug remains illegal. To find out what New Jersey’s legalization for cannabis use and possession in New York means (for example, when will we be able to smoke freely at the Hoboken PATH terminal? And will that put the city’s drug dealers out of business?), We talked with more than a dozen experts – including a business woman who has worked in the industry for more than a decade and a criminal defense lawyer specializing in cannabis.
How many dispensaries are there now in New Jersey?
In New Jersey, 12 licenses have been granted to Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) – companies that grow, process and sell cannabis within the Garden State lines. Each is also allowed up to two second locations. “Not all of them have opened yet, and some have multiple locations,” says reporter Amanda Hoover, who covers cannabis for NJ.com, the Star-Ledgerand NJ Cannabis Insider. “Currently, I believe we have 16 dispensaries, but it depends on which day of the month you ask, because it is increasing very quickly,” said Shaya Brodchandel, president of the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association and CEO of the Harmony Foundation.
So, when will these dispensaries be opened for recreational use?
The first adult dispensaries are expected to open “in the second or third quarter of 2021, if I’m being somewhat optimistic,” says Edmund DeVeaux, president of the New Jersey Cannabusiness Association. First, the state must approve legalization and decriminalization projects, which will then be sanctioned by Governor Phil Murphy – a process that was supposed to take place before the end of the year, but was postponed on December 28, when Murphy proposed adding fines for using minors. . The new bill was sent back to lawmakers on December 29, and if they agree to the changes, Murphy will be able to sign both bills in a few days. When that happens, the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) will be fully appointed, and that five-person body must issue regulations within six months of the law’s entry into force for all parts of the industry – from cultivation to distribution . “The first sales will be from ATCs, because they are already licensed under our medical program, so it will be easier for them to meet regulations for adult use,” says Jennifer Cabrera, Vicente Sederberg LLP advisor.
Will there be enough product for everyone?
There is concern about the limited supply of cannabis, because the state’s 100,000 medical patients “complain about scarcity all the time, and there are about 1 million more cannabis users than the state wants to enter the legal market,” says Hoover , who says ATCs have to make sure they have enough cannabis supplies for medical patients in order to sell them for adult use. But the increase in production on many ATCs is already well underway, including Curaleaf, a multi-state cannabis operator with a Bellmawr location and two others scheduled to open this summer. COVID-19 taxes and financial charges are encouraging New Jersey to “move forward quickly in this process, which is part of the reason they are looking for grandparent ATC operators” and grant them recreational licenses in the first licensing round, says Patrik Jonsson, regional president from Curaleaf to the Northeast.
Where will recreational dispensaries be opened? Will there be any within walking distance of public transportation?
In the beginning, recreational dispensaries are likely to be opened in the same areas as existing licensed facilities – both because these ATCs are likely to become co-located adult and medical facilities, and because this is “a way of assessing which municipalities are more 420 friendly. , ”Says Hoover, pointing to cities with existing facilities, including Trenton, Montclair and Secaucus, as well as other areas that have already approved new dispensaries, such as Hoboken. Cities with a high level of tourism are also good bets for recreational dispensaries, including Atlantic City – the only county in the state that currently has two dispensaries – and Jersey City, which connects directly to New York on an 11-minute PATH trip. “There is a great downtown, and the mayor, Steven Fulop, has been very friendly of marijuana, ”said Tara“ Misu ”Sargente, founder of Blazin Bakery and host of the podcast TrailBlazin ‘with Tara Misu. Harmony Dispensary, which is a 30-minute drive from Penn Station, is already looking to open satellite locations in Jersey City and Hoboken “right next to the PATH train,” says Brodchandel. “These are high-populated areas in the county where we operate and are close to New York, so there is a lot of traffic and traffic.”
Can I go in and buy the product?
“All you need is a government-issued ID to show that you are 21,” says Hoover, who says you will also want to come with money in hand, as most of the cannabis business operates on a cash basis only due to federal restrictions. Since the New Jersey market is currently monopolized by a dozen operators, the state’s prices are high, averaging $ 300 to $ 500 per ounce compared to New York, where an ounce is typically in the $ 50 range. 200 – although Hoover says he’s heard of people paying up to $ 650 for certain varieties – so you’ll want to have about $ 50 or more on hand if you’re buying an octave.
And what will you find there first?
New Jersey ATCs are currently limited to the sale of flowers, cartridges, lozenges and threads under medical regulations, but the recreational legalization bill “contemplates the sale of flower products and all other edible or ingestible products,” says DeVeaux – as vapors and edibles. At Columbia Care, another multi-state operator with an open dispensary in New Jersey and two scheduled to open this summer, growth director Jesse Channon says the new markets generally sell “70% of high-quality whole flowers” with fumes and edible including the rest. At Apothecarium, a multi-state chain that has just opened its first store in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, on the Pennsylvania border, pre-rolls – which are illegal in Pennsylvania – are one of its biggest sellers, along with vapes, which are more “Friendly consumption method in the COVID world we live in, where people smoke indoors,” says Chantelle Elsner, senior vice president of retail operations at Apothecarium.
Where can you smoke in New Jersey?
Smoking and ingesting cannabis anywhere other than private property is currently illegal in New Jersey, so when adult traders open their doors for the first time, it will probably only be legal to smoke in your own home or a friend’s home ( preferably a property, as owners can still prohibit the use of cannabis on properties rented under federal law) But the recreational legalization project allows for the eventual creation of cannabis consumption rooms, “licensed cannabis companies where you pay to enter and you can bring your own product, ”says DeVeaux. Consumption rooms are a safe place for people living in government-run public housing – where cannabis remains federally illegal – to consume. They are also an opportunity for “cannatourism”: 420-friendly businesses – like limousine companies or “bud and breakfasts”, which operate in other states, like Colorado – can also be places for green tourism, according to Hoover , who says that ancillary businesses tend to be easier to operate, since “they don’t really deal with the plant, but with everything around them”, although these businesses only opened after the installation of recreational dispensaries. Since the state is located in a “cannabis desert”, as Sergeant says, these dispensaries and companies can earn a lot of money. “We have 130 million people a day’s drive from New Jersey, and the closest place with legalization is Massachusetts, five hours away, so we should get cannabis tourism,” she says. Cannabis operators also rely on customers from outside the state. “Attracting more than 21 customers from neighboring states is definitely part of our business plan,” says Jonsson, whose Curaleaf dispensaries are currently or scheduled to be located right on the border with Philadelphia. The Apothecarium is also scheduled to open two additional stores in northern Jersey this summer. “Both are about 20 minutes from New York. Attracting people from different areas was definitely a factor that explains why we chose these places ”, says Elsner.
What are the penalties for transporting marijuana back to New York?
Transporting marijuana across state borders is federally illegal, but “being subject to federal laws on this particular issue would probably be rare,” especially if it is your first offense and you are not involved in the transportation of large quantities, says Jackie Gosdigian, political advisor senior at Brooklyn Defender Services, who points out that legal penalties differ on a case-by-case basis. In most cases, “if you are in New York and have marijuana, whether on your own, in your home, in the car or in your hands, you will be subject to the laws of the state of New York,” says Gosdigian, adding that in New York York The illegal possession of less than two ounces of marijuana is a maximum fine of $ 150, not a crime. “If someone has an eighth of marijuana, I really don’t think he’ll take him to the FBI building and that this will be a federal case,” said criminal defense and cannabis lawyer Joseph A. Bondy. Although crossing a border with cannabis is federally illegal, “there is a nominal likelihood that these laws will be enforced. And even if there were enforcement, I can think of a number of defenses for this type of situation, ”he adds, pointing out that the decriminalization of cannabis in New York State has meant fewer cannabis crime convictions across the board. Cabrera agrees that while it is illegal, anecdotally, you don’t often hear of arrests for transporting small amounts of marijuana between states. “I mean, how many people are actually being stopped and having their cars searched at the border? It’s one of the things that, if you’re a black person, you’re more likely to deal with it. Most whites do not deal with this. “
What does legalization mean for the legacy market in New York (and New Jersey)?
Until there is enough competition to cut prices, Jessica Gonzalez, an associate at Bressler, Amery & Ross, hopes that the legacy market – also known as the black market – will still perform well. “People may prefer to go to the dealer with whom they have had a relationship for years”, especially if they do not want to pay taxes on their products. But as soon as the state’s recreation market opens and more recreational dispensaries open, prices are expected to fall.
And what does that mean for legalization in New York?
“New Jersey is going to be the catalyst for states in the Northeast, especially in the Tristate area, to legalize,” says Gonzalez, pointing to the tax revenue that neighboring states can lose if their residents buy cannabis in New Jersey. “I believe New York will achieve it within the 2021 budget”, which is proposed by the governor in mid-January, and usually sanctioned in early April, after negotiations with the state legislature. In mid-December, Governor Andrew Cuomo told a news conference that the state faces a $ 15 billion budget deficit, which could be partially offset by cannabis revenue.