Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora made the first cannabis purchase at Toke Lane Dispensary after presiding over their grand opening ribbon cutting recently at 226 S. Broad Street.
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Councilwoman Jennifer Williams, members of the Trenton Fire Department, and other city officials were also in attendance. They shared remarks recognizing the project’s five-year path to opening and the preservation of the historic building. Afterward, they toured the newly restored historic building.
The grand opening drew a strong turnout from the local community. The event featured live music, photographers, and a steady flow of visitors, many eager to see the completed space and learn more about Trenton’s newest licensed cannabis retail location. The dispensary also offers a convenient drive-thru option, allowing customers to place orders online and pick them up without leaving their vehicles.
The celebration continued throughout the weekend with community-focused programming, local vendors, and opening promotions.
According to their release, “Toke Lane is a licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary committed to providing safe, compliant access to high-quality cannabis products while supporting New Jersey cultivators and contributing to the local economy.”
The ribbon cutting featured Toke Lane leadership of Akash Govil, Dev Nath, Melissa Taylor, and Marlon Jones, the Store Manager.
Govil and Nath ran the Zenco cannabis payments company and were often at NJ cannabis trade shows.
(Heady NJ did an ad deal with the previously full disclosure.)
Their first location was in Buffalo, NY.
Historic Trenton Bank Previously Woah Flow
Toke Lane’s new dispensary is located inside a beautifully restored historic bank building. It blends modern retail with preserved architectural elements. The project represents a significant investment in the city and is expected to create up to 20 local jobs.
Woah Flow initially owned the bank. They were a minority owned cannabis company that won a dispensary license in the 2019-2021 NJ medical cannabis lottery for Central Jersey.
Heady NJ toured their bank in January 2023 when they had educational materials ready to show customers.
Nath said that when the Woah Flow team had trouble, they took it over after being inspired by their passion.
Attracting Customers
“Slow and steady wins the race,” Nath said about attracting customers. “…Time will tell whether we made the right decision.”
“We have the Pennsylvania crowd a minute away,” he added. “We’re seeing a significant percentage of customers from across the bridge.”
Nath explained they are interested in tempting the downtown professional crowd to shop at their place.
Toke Lane Plans Consumption Lounge Long-term
He noted they are in the process of planning a consumption lounge. However, that is a long-term issue.
Toke Lane could be the 7th legal cannabis lounge in New Jersey after Sunnytien and High Rollers in Atlantic City, Gynsyng in Merchantville, and Urb’n in Newark opened the first four.
The Jersey City Cannabis Control Board (CCB) recently approved Xena and The Other Side dispensaries to open cannabis lounges in McGinley Square in the center of the city and the Heights in the north. So while not open, they will likely beat them to being 5th and 6th.
Trenton is among the approximately dozen NJ towns that would allow a legal cannabis consumption lounge.
Trenton Cannabis
Trenton’s cannabis politics have been tumultuous.
The foremost figure is Edward “NJWeedman” Forchion of Weedman’s Joint across from City Hall. He has a tumultuous relationship with City Hall and Gusciora.
While he made great progress towards getting Trenton’s approval, that effort has since stalled, while his animosity toward City Hall has grown greatly.
Along with Weedman’s Joint and his competition, Bud Bandit, Moe Weed is another underground legacy operator. He has often been unhappy about his treatment by the city. Moe Weed feels he is more worthy of a license than a small company from another state with owners unharmed by the War on Drugs.
In addition, there are now legal dispensaries in Trenton. They include the underground legacy to legal Black-owned Moja Life and Simply Pure Trenton in Ewing. Another one is Theory Wellness. They’re a small Multi-State Operator (MSO) from New England operating in the city after first winning a medical license in the 2019-2021 round.
Legal dispensaries are unhappy with the competition from shady convenience store bodegas, smoke shops, and more traditional underground legacy businesspeople.
Trenton has joined the pro-crackdown side in recent years. But in 2021, Gusciora didn’t mind cannabis Gifters at a cannabis rally at City Hall featuring Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12-NJ) and the now former NJ Cannabis Regulatory Chair Dianna Houenou.
