40th Adult Use & 46th Medical NJ Cannabis Dispensaries Open

The 40^th adult use and 46th medical NJ cannabis dispensaries, Cookies, Kind Kush NJ, New Era Dispensary, and Downtown FLWR, have now opened.

Cookies NJ Cannabis Dispensary in Harrison

The noted cannabis corporation that is a Multi-State Operator (MSO) Cookies opened in Harrison in Hudson County.

Their NJ cannabis dispensary is across from the Red Bull Arena at 331 Angelo Cifelli Drive.

Cookies is an exception to a sentiment popular in some parts of New Jersey cannabis communities as a “good MSO.”

Rapper and Cookies CEO Berner is Mexican and Italian and respected by underground legacy operators. In addition, cannabis connoisseurs have said Cookies produces quality flower.

“We are extremely excited about opening our flagship store in New Jersey,” said Berner. “Our team has taken their time with attention to detail, not only with the build-out of the store. But also with the product, which has gotten more and more dialed in from our work with our cultivation partners in Jersey. I’m blessed to be touring on the East Coast and have the chance to visit the store prior to opening. I can’t wait for our New Jersey community to experience our first Cookies store in New Jersey.”

The Cookies Harrison team plans to prioritize product education and market guidance with all customers.

The NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) granted them a conversion to an annual New Jersey adult use cannabis dispensary license in July.

Cookies Makes Big Moves

Cookies calls itself the most globally recognized cannabis company. It was founded in 2010 by Berner and Bay Area breeder and cultivator Jai.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Cookies is actively involved in advocacy and social impact initiatives to enrich communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs.

Cookies opened its first retail store in 2018 in Los Angeles. It has over 60 retail locations in 20 markets across six countries.

They previously had a White labeling deal with a company to enter the New Jersey cannabis market. White labeling deals are great if you have a quality brand and want to avoid the red tape, rhetoric, politics, humongous cost, and great stress of trying to secure a license to enter the market that has plagued hundreds of locals.

Kind Kush NJ Opens in Rockaway, 1^st in Morris County

Kind Kush NJ has opened a New Jersey adult use cannabis dispensary in Morris County in the town of Rockaway. They’re the first to open in Morris.

Kind Kush NJ opened last Saturday at 279 Route 46 in Rockaway. They won an annual license from the NJ-CRC last October.

A source said they were a Social Equity applicant. Thus, one of the owners of Kind Kush NJ was convicted of two misdemeanors or one felony and didn’t make more than a certain amount of money. They likely would be the first Social Equity applicant to open.

James Rogavich, who lives in Cresskill in Bergen County, is the main owner.

New Era Dispensary Opens in South Bound Brook

The New Era Dispensary had a soft opening recently in South Bound Brook in Somerset County.

A “Soft Opening” is when you quietly open and allow customers to iron out issues, while a “Grand Opening” is when a little celebration is organized for a ribbon cutting, often with the mayor or council people.

They are proud to be women-owned. The CEO is Dr. Toral Patel, an Indian American woman. According to the web page of New Era Dispensary, she has a doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Patel was previously associated with the medical cannabis Silver Leaf Dispensary in Franklin Township as a part owner and Chief Compliance Officer. She is quite accomplished.

The New Era Dispensary has friendly relations with the UFCW union. Some of their leaders attended their soft opening last week.

Downtown FLWR Opens 46^th NJ Medical Dispensary, 2^nd in Jersey City

Downtown FLWR opened the 46^th medical NJ cannabis dispensary and the second in Jersey City.

They have a prime location on the Newark Pedestrian Plaza by the PATH train station.

Originally, they did business as Oceanfront Holdings. Downtown FLWR was among the 2019-2021 New Jersey medical cannabis license winners.

They participated in a Jersey City job fair last October to hire locals.

While a white New Jersey woman, Amanda Handy from Monmouth County, is the face of the operation, the COO is Ronald Smalley of Maine, while the very wealthy Benny and Stacy Shabtai are bankrolling it.

It is part of a pattern where a very wealthy White man connected to Multi-State Operator (MSO) cannabis corporations finds a local to serve as the front as the state-mandated owner. This time, they chose a white woman to get priority over others.

Downtown FLWR was approved by the Jersey City Cannabis Control Board last July. It was postponed a few times first due to multiple concerns around local ownership and community giveback.

They initially lacked a social justice community outreach plan, which has become crucial to approval. Downtown FLWR probably would not have gotten approval now. The Board prioritizes such plans very highly and has approved more than 50 dispensaries.

They secured council approval last September. Downtown FLWR participated in a Jersey City cannabis job fair last fall.

The name “Oceanfront Holdings” was probably geared to another location. The NJ-CRC approved the change from Oceanfront Holdings to Downtown FLWR during a meeting in January. No Doing Business As (DBAs) alternative names are allowed to curb shadiness. The NJ-CRC also approved their location change last May.

The UFCW union endorsed them since they had said they would be neutral on the unionizing efforts of their workers.

Downtown FLWR plans to transition from medical to include adult-use cannabis sales soon.

It is unfortunate that as the 2019-2021 medical license winners open, the number of New Jersey medical cannabis patients has dropped from a peak of about 135,000 to around 102,000.

The cost of explaining to a doctor the nature of one’s need for cannabis to someone who does not recommend strains or methods of consumption apparently is not worth it.

The nature of the customer base likely led some of the licensed cannabis companies to delay opening their satellite dispensaries. Most of them have opened now and transitioned to adult use cannabis sales.

Where are New Jersey’s Adult Use Cannabis Dispensaries?

1. Cookies (an MSO) in Harrison.
2. Kind NJ Kush in Rockaway.
3. New Era Dispensary in South Bound Brook.
4. Leaf Haus in Franklin Township.
5. Mountain View Farmacy in West Milford.
6. Social Leaf in South Toms River.
7. Earth & Ivy in New Brunswick.
8. Union Chill (an MSO) in Lambertville.
9. Nova Farms (an MSO) in Woodbury.
10. UR’BN Dispensary in Newark.
11. Design 710 in Atlantic City.
12. Holistic Solutions LLC in Atco.
13. Valley Wellness LLC in Raritan Twp.
14. Sweet Spot (an MSO) in Voorhees.
15. Apothecarium Dispensary (an MSO) in Lodi.
16. Apothecarium Dispensary in Maplewood.
17. Apothecarium Dispensary in Phillipsburg.
18. Ascend (an MSO) in Montclair.
19. Ascend (an MSO) in Rochelle Park.
20. Ascend in Fort Lee.
21. BLOC (formerly Justice Grown) (an MSO) in Franklin Township.
22. BLOC (formerly Justice Grown) in Ewing.
23. The Botanist (an MSO) in Williamstown.
24. The Botanist in Egg Harbor Township.
25. The Cannabist (an MSO) in Vineland.
26. The Cannabist in Deptford.
27. Curaleaf (an MSO) in Bordentown Twp.
28. Curaleaf in Bellmawr.
29. Curaleaf in Edgewater Park.
30. Ayr Wellness (Formerly GSD) (an MSO) in Woodbridge.
31. Ayr Wellness in Eatontown
32. Ayr Wellness in Union Township.
33. Harmony Dispensary in Secaucus.
34. MPX NJ (an MSO) in Atlantic City.
35. MPX NJ in Sicklerville.
36. GTI Rise (an MSO) in Bloomfield.
37. GTI Rise in Paterson.
38. Verano’s Zen Leaf (an MSO) in Neptune.
39. Verano’s Zen Leaf in Elizabeth.
40. Verano’s Zen Leaf in Lawrence Twp.

Where are New Jersey’s Medical Cannabis Dispensaries?

New Jersey now has many medical cannabis dispensaries. They are:

1. Downtown Flwr in Jersey City.
2. HoneyGrove in Gloucester Township.
3. RIPT Dispensary in Jersey City.
4. Eastern Green Dispensary in Voorhees Township.
5. Silver Leaf in Somerset in Franklin Township.
6. Brute’s Roots in Egg Harbor Township.
7. UR’BN Dispensary in Newark.
8. Design 710 in Atlantic City.
9. NJ Leaf in Freehold Boro.
10. Holistic Solutions in Atco in Waterford.
11. Aunt Mary’s dispensary in Flemington
12. Valley Wellness in Raritan Borough.
13. Breakwater in Roselle.
14. Breakwater in Cranbury.
15. Harmony in Secaucus.
16. Restore NJ (an MSO) in Glassboro.
17. Yuma Way (an MSO) in Garfield.
18. Sweetspot (an MSO) in Voorhees.
19. Bloc (an MSO) in Waretown.
20. Bloc (an MSO) in Somerset in Franklin Township.
21. Bloc (an MSO) in Ewing.
22. MPX NJ (owned by iAnthus, an MSO) in Atlantic City.
23. MPX NJ (owned by iAnthus, an MSO) in Sicklerville in Gloucester Township.
24. Apothecarium (owned by TerrAscend, an MSO) in Lodi.
25. Apothecarium (owned by TerrAscend, an MSO) in Maplewood.
26. Apothecarium (owned by TerrAscend, an MSO.) in Phillipsburg.
27. Ayr Wellness (an MSO, formerly Garden State Dispensary) in Woodbridge.
28. Ayr Wellness (an MSO, formerly Garden State Dispensary) in Union Township.
29. Ayr Wellness (an MSO, formerly Garden State Dispensary) in Eatontown.
30. Rise (owned by Green Thumb Industries, an MSO) in Bloomfield.
31. Rise (owned by Green Thumb Industries) in Paramus.
32. Rise (owned by Green Thumb Industries) in Paterson.
33. The Cannabist (owned by Columbia Care, an MSO) in Deptford.
34. The Cannabist (owned by Columbia Care, an MSO) in Vineland.
35. The Botanist (owned by Acreage Holdings, an MSO) in Williamstown.
36. The Botanist (owned by Acreage Holdings) in Egg Harbor.
37. The Botanist (owned by Acreage Holdings) in Atlantic City.
38. Ascend Wellness (an MSO) in Fort Lee
39. Ascend Wellness (an MSO) in Rochelle Park.
40. Ascend Wellness (an MSO, formerly Greenleaf) in Montclair.
41. Verano Zen Leaf (owned by Verano, an MSO) in Lawrence Township.
42. Verano Zen Leaf (owned by Verano) in Elizabeth.
43. Verano Zen Leaf (owned by Verano) in Neptune Township.
44. Curaleaf (an MSO) in Bordentown Township.
45. Curaleaf (an MSO) in Bellmawr.
46. Curaleaf (an MSO) in Edgewater Park.