NJ Green Scene held a comedy show 420 event in North Jersey at a temporary underground cannabis consumption lounge as they seek to open a legal dispensary.
The show was a 420 event held in a temporary event space versus a more permanent underground cannabis consumption lounge. A few private event spaces operate like underground cannabis cafes and event spaces in Jersey.
The NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) has yet to allow legal cannabis consumption lounges to become permitted, much less open. In fact, the last news about it was this past January tent month ago.
A lot of New Jersey cannabis dispensary owners want to add a lounge.
Cannabis Comedy Show
The MC was comedian and entertainer Mike Ruga. He explained he knew Nick Cannon from the comedy competition show Wild N’ Out show that Cannon hosts and he was on. He explained Nick Cannon really does have a lot of kids, and filming was halted, and his 12th child was born.
The comedian Simeon joked about being overwhelmed by all the details of sales in a legal adult-use cannabis dispensary versus buying weed back in the day.
Social media influencer Spidercuz was there, too, joking around and entertaining the crowd.
He did a bit on stage where he made fun of Batman. Then a guy dressed as Batman got offended when he made fun of his origin. Spidercuz then jokingly fought Batman.
Legacy 420 Event and Party
The crowd enjoyed the legacy sesh market party thrown by NJ Green Scene. It was a consumption-friendly venue, so people were having fun smoking weed. So, people enjoyed drinks from a bar and Hispanic food at the sesh market party.
Small companies like Golden State Banana, among others, were selling weed out of jars.
Jon “Dirty Dank” Frank was there hosting the dab bar he often sets up at weed parties. The dabs were supplied by the Brand Ambassador of the large Multi-State Operator (MSO) MPX.
Notably, flyers for the legal Dispensary of Somerset were available at an underground legacy operator table.
NJ Green Scene owner Joe Nygard noted it was their first comedy show 420 events. He explained they first started doing sesh markets in 2021 post-COVID. It seemed like a natural thing to do since he had been in the market for a while, and many were developing their companies.
“I wanted to bring everybody together,” Nygard said.
NJ Green Scene often holds sesh markets where people can buy weed from people and companies tabling.
Underground legacy sesh markets and 420 events have been occurring throughout Jersey, though there have been some busts and raids.
Sometimes, they have more entertainment and room for partying. Often, they are more like a flea market or bake sale.
Upcoming Underground Legacy to Legal Green Scene Dispensary
Nygard explained NJ Green Scene is opening a legal dispensary by New Brunswick in Somerset in Franklin Township in Somerset County in Central Jersey. They hope to open in early March 2025.
Green Scene won a conditional license from the CRC in October 2022. They have since applied for the annual license needed to open a legal NJ cannabis dispensary.
Their construction should not take too long. But red tape regulations compliance could slow them down the way it has hurt many.
“It will be one of the first brands to have a legacy following that’s opening a dispensary,” he said.
“Even though it’s one of the hardest things to do is to convert legacy customers to adult-use customers, I think that it’s gonna happen. As former legacy operators, we can definitely help to bring that portion of the market into the adut-use market,” Nygard explained.
He said they will stand out in part by holding unique 420 events.
“We’re going to be a destination… for cannabis in New Jersey,” Nygard declared.
He said they’re opening a micro dispensary with about 2,500 square feet and 10 employees.
“But we’re gonna be making a really big impact on New Jersey,” Nygard added.
It is already a hub of dispensaries that includes Leaf Haus (which Heady NJ is advertising full disclosure) along with the upcoming Weed Stalk dispensary owned by NJ Weedman’s former partner Debi Madaio.
He said he looked for years to find a spot, and that is where he found one.
“I spent almost 3 years looking for a place for a dispensary because I knew, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Nygard explained.
Ownership Background
“I’ve been buying and selling weed since the 90s,” he added.
Nygard was a sergeant in the U.S. Army for 10 years in field artillery and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. So, he is a disabled veteran.
Nygard noted he mailed hash home from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has a longstanding thriving weed culture.
“A lot of people smoke hash over there,” he explained. “They don’t even know it’s cannabis. They just know it as hash.”
Hash is an old-school form of the legal cannabis concentrates available in Jersey adult-use cannabis dispensaries.
Nygard explained he managed high-volume legal retail shops for over a decade.
“I know the business of how to run a store,” he noted.
Nygard is from Teaneck in Bergen County and now lives in North Brunswick in Middlesex County. His fiancee is an African American woman who is also an owner. She DJed the show.
