The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) announced the application portal for their Cannabis Business Development (CBD) grant program opens Nov 13th.
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A webinar will be held on program details this Thursday, Nov 6th. The application portal officially opens at 10 AM on Thursday, Nov 13th, 2025.
The CBD grant program will offer $75,000 reimbursements to address the cost of red tape/compliance and expenses for “early-stage” companies.
They did not define “early stage.”
Only open cannabis manufacturers, cultivators, retailers, and testing laboratories in New Jersey are eligible.
So, operating wholesale and delivery companies are not eligible.
In addition, struggling entrepreneurs trying to open need not apply.
According to the NJEDA, the CBD Grant Program is a $5 million initiative to provide “targeted financial support to eligible recreational cannabis entrepreneurs in New Jersey.”
Allegedly, five percent of funding will be made available for businesses operating in Impact Zones. It’s supposed to stimulate economic development in historically underserved areas.
Impact Zones were defined by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC). They based mostly on the number of marijuana related arrests. It’s supposed to correspond to inner-city-type minority-majority cities and towns ideally. But other towns qualify too.
The CBD Grant program was announced in May. But no details were released until now.
Upcoming NJ Cannabis Grant Webinar
According to the NJEDA, the “webinar will also include a live walkthrough of the application portal, followed by a Q&A session to address participant questions.”
It will include information on how to follow the rules to get the limited amount of money.
“This is an excellent opportunity for cannabis entrepreneurs, particularly equity applicants and small businesses, to better understand how the grant can support their business development goals,” they added. “…We encourage you to attend and learn more about how NJEDA can support your growth in New Jersey’s cannabis industry.”
NJ Cannabis Money Problems
Lack of money for entrepreneurs and government programs has been one of the biggest problems in New Jersey cannabis legalization.
The fancy way of saying this is “access to capital” in business.
In the legalization law CREAMMA, the State said that only when revenue came from adult-use cannabis sales could certain programs pushed by cannabis advocates function properly.
At the recent NJ Cannabis Training (NJ-CTA) first anniversary announcement, they noted special legislation had to be passed to financially help cannabis companies.
Unfortunately, the NJEDA seemed so eager to give money to women and minority owned companies that they gave it to established businesses from out of state.
Many local minority and women-owned companies could have used that money.
In addition, the NJEDA allegedly gave money to social equity entrepreneurs. But they seemed to have sworn the winners to secrecy and did not release details.
In stark contrast, a lovely ceremony was held to award the first round of NJ cannabis grant winners and celebrate progress.
Thus, Heady NJ unfortunately cannot call that problem a success.
Progress
Everyone wants to bet on a winning horse, including the State. The problem is that money might amount to a drop in the bucket in the end. The NJEDA probably prefers that idea not get press. In contrast they were on hand to celebrate the opening of the grant-winning local, minority underground legacy to legal owned Xena dispensary. It opened in Jersey City earlier this year, in April 2025.
Even with problems, Governor Phil Murphy (D) and his administration have to be commended for trying.
Unfortunately, Murphy seems to be more interested in hustling Hollywood and boosting locally made movies than the legal cannabis industry.
New York tried to help cannabis companies with money before New Jersey tried. But they had even worse problems after privatizing the money fund.
Thus, Heady NJ gives an A for effort by the State of Jersey under Murphy to help some entrepreneurs.
