EDITOR’S NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider produces exclusive weekly content and monthly events aimed at those interested in the cannabis and marijuana industries. To sign up, visit njcannabisinsider.biz.
With the passing of historic marijuana legislation last week, New Jersey has come closer to legalizing marijuana than ever – but that doesn’t mean the public will be able to legally buy marijuana in the new year.
Many see the stage not as a victory lap, but as the beginning of a new type of effort.
Authorities must still have a full seat on the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which will draft and oversee regulations and licensing. Municipalities need to adopt their own decrees and regulations, marijuana growers need to increase the amount of the product in the state, and new dispensaries need to apply for and receive licenses, launch business plans and open stores.
And, not to forget, Governor Phil Murphy still needs to turn the legislation into law.
“It’s still too early to say” when sales will begin, said Jeff Brown, who oversees the medical marijuana program and was recently appointed executive director of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. “We need a law. Only from the point of view of supply, we are seeing the need to continue to expand the medical field and also prepare for broader legal sales. For both, it involves making regulations. “
Medical dispensaries will have the first chance to sell to the public, but Murphy’s signature will not change that option. Medical companies will have to show that they can meet patients’ needs before presenting to the public, but it remains unclear whether regulators will require them to meet metrics on a case-by-case basis or if they do so in bulk products as a whole industry.
The state’s 100,000 patients have long complained about product shortages and long lines at dispensaries. Adding 1 million predicted marijuana users to the list would wreak havoc on patient access.
Still, five industry insiders who spoke to NJ Advance Media for this story remain hopeful that New Jersey will start selling marijuana to the public in late 2021 or early 2022. That would be faster than Massachusetts, which took two years after its legal weed referendum, and Maine, which had a nearly four-year wait.
“A lot is happening in the medical program that coincides with the potential date of the first sales,” said Susanna Short, an industry consultant who worked with the 12 existing medical marijuana companies in New Jersey. “We can’t just push patients aside to sell to the adult market.”
Several medical companies plan to open medical dispensaries via satellite in early 2021. The project also allows them to expand their growing capacity to meet rising demand. Short said he thinks it is unrealistic that the new dispensaries have mid-year licenses, but that alternative treatment centers may be in a better place.
Others share this optimism.
“I hope that we will achieve that balance in terms of product and supply in the next six months,” said John Fanburg, co-chairman of the Cannabis law firm in Brach Eichler. “There are a number of moving parts.”
Senator Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, predicted in October that current medical marijuana dispensaries could start selling as soon as his legal marijuana bill is approved. Brown quickly dashed those hopes and other experts responded when he heard the comments.
The promising news: the supply of marijuana has already increased. In March, the medical program produced about 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of marijuana a month, Brown said. With new operators coming online in 2020, that number has almost doubled to 12,000 to 14,000 pounds.
“We are putting pressure on the industry to expand the supply of medical products,” said Brown. “This is what is in the law now. We have to be administrators of what the current statutes say. “
Curaleaf, the state’s largest medical marijuana company that already sells the product wholesale to other dispensaries, plans to increase its growth capacity by 200% by opening two new dispensaries and a growing site in mid-2021, said Patrick Jonsson, regional president of the company for its operations in the northeast.
“This is really for us to prepare not only to expand our medical footprint, but it will really prepare us for adult use,” he said.
If the commission has its rules 180 days after the project is approved, Curaleaf may be ready by then, predicts Jonsson. But he considered the third quarter of 2021 to be the most likely.
Others agree – albeit with cautious optimism.
“I believe – if they set the rules – you can see sales as early as August or September,” said Vaughn McKoy, a lawyer and a member of the cannabis advisory group at Inglesino Webster Wyciskala. “This is really moving at an extremely fast pace.”
The commission could adopt its rules at any time in the six months after Murphy signs the law. This is unlikely to happen immediately, as the panel still needs four more members.
“It will really depend on how quickly the Cannabis Regulatory Commission will be able to establish these rules,” he said. “Everyone waiting to see who will be this body that will regulate this new industry?”
Once the commission has its regulations and even medical dispensaries green lights to start sales, then the application process for new business begins. They will have to secure ownership, apply for a license, work with city regulations, start construction and hire employees.
While New Jersey will almost certainly not be green in January, Garden State is still on track to beat its neighbors in New York and Pennsylvania when it comes to starting marijuana sales.
“It really creates an opportunity for New Jersey to be the first in the region,” said Fanburg. “Does it all take three months, nine months or 12 months? It is really very difficult to say, because nothing has been established. “
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Amanda Hoover can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @amandahoovernj.