Retreat Cannabis Dispensary in Jersey City on the West Side has affordable flower and solid product deals for New Jersey cannabis consumers.
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Notably, they have their own parking lot in Jersey City, where such spaces are valuable. But it’s not next to the building.
Deals at Retreat Dispensary
They have an 8th of an ounce or 3.5 grams for $18 and 2/8ths of an ounce for $30.
The grower Glass Meadows is selling 7 grams, or a half ounce, for $60, which seems reasonable.
Budtender Sofia Gonzalez explained they offer many deals.
She worked for Downtown Flowr previously.
“It’s fun working here,” Gonzalez noted.
Retreat Dispensary has a range of newer independent and craft brands as well as large Multi-State Operator (MSO) brands for sale. Many are at reasonable prices.
Among the brands are newer ones like Green Roots, Green Routine, Green Medicine, and Authorized Dealer, along with the California-based Lowell Herb, Smokiez edibles, Wana gummies, and the Botanist. They also have brands like Rove, which makes vapes and joints too.
Notably, Pineapple 99 is a strain that Retreat Dispensary co-owner Cory Garriga liked, which is sold under the Legend brand of the large Multi-State Operator TerrAscend.
He is also a member of the board of the Latino Action Network (LAN), where I previously served on the board, pushing for social justice and cannabis legalization, full disclosure.
Garriga is interested in getting new flower brands in the dispensary.
In general, he is passionate about cannabis and wants to host a class on how terpenes affect cannabis consumption.
“THC is the engine of your hog, and terpenes are your steering wheel,” Garriga noted.
He explained he wants to advocate to sell cannabis flower scooped out of glass jars so you can see the quality of the flower, like in Vermont. In their legal cannabis dispensaries, budtenders can shovel the requested amount of flower into bags.
This allows discerning consumers to be able to smell the flower and see how it looks, which are often the two biggest factors when considering overall cannabis flower quality.
Garriga added that they have gotten consistent customers steadily, with different highs and lows of the day when customers come in.
Retreat Dispensary Ownership Background
Natalie Benson of Massachusetts is the main partner. She is a noted cannabis influencer on Instagram.
The Jersey City Cannabis Control Board (CCB) had several questions regarding their ownership when they first reviewed it in April 2023. Two attorneys represented them, and Garriga was made a partner. It was also clarified that Benson’s employer is a consultant but not an owner before they were approved in May 2023.
The NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) granted them conditional license approval in March 2023 and their annual NJ cannabis dispensary license necessary to legally open in July 2024.
Garriga was Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea’s 2025 Jersey City mayoral campaign Chief Aide. He also works for the Jersey City Board of Education (BOE) as a Records Clerk. Garriga was also President of the Jersey City Young Democrats.
“I’ve always been into the industry. I was always curious about it. I always wanted to eventually do a grow op, which I have no experience in,” he explained. “But this affords me the opportunity to learn the industry.”
“Retail elsewhere is not the same as the cannabis industry,” Garriga noted. “The conversations you have with people are totally different. And you tend to have chiller customers.”
“I take pride in the fact that New Jersey is big on the whole community giveback thing,” he added.
Like many small business dispensary owners, Garriga is at his dispensary every day.
“I enjoy the place,” he said.
The other local co-owner and operator, Alex Santiago, lives in Ridgefield Park in Bergen County.
They opened in May 2026.
Jersey City Cannabis Competition
Jersey City has a great many dispensaries, which increases competition and the measures dispensaries need to take to stay in business and flourish.
The nature of dispensaries being too close to each other, and who got there first, remains a bitter knife fight for some small businesspeople.
Retreat Dispensary is on the West Side of Jersey City, nearest to Jersey Dispensary and The Cannabis Place.
