G2 Dispensary of Rockaway Open for Adult-use Cannabis Sales

The G2 dispensary of Rockaway in Morris County has opened the 108^th location for NJ adult-use cannabis sales noted by Heady NJ.

They have a spacious show floor featuring many cannabis products.

The local independent manufacturer Onyx has supplied cannabis concentrates to the market market and was featured on their shelves. They also have gummies from the new independent licensed manufacturer Growfather from Little Leaf Labs.

G2 is among the few dispensaries with little jars with samples so you can smell their cannabis flower.

The smell of cannabis is crucial to determining its taste and overall effect.

Like other dispensaries, they do have some products from large MSOs. However, unlike other dispensaries, G2 has embraced the longtime underground cannabis culture and featured a cutout of Cheech and Chong and some of the paraphernalia they sell, like glass.

“The old school smokers all love Cheech and Chong,” G2 Dispensary Co-owner Chris Maher noted. “We would like to have a cannabis aesthetic that has a vibe.”

He prided himself on the space and encouraged browsing the large floor with its displays. Maher explained that many other dispensaries rush people to speak to budtenders to get them to order and out the door.

“We created what we created the off-ramp information. You can smell the buds. You can look at all the vendors. (And) you can gather all the intel before you walk up to the counter,” he said.

On their grand opening day in June, they had 20 percent discounts for patients, 15 percent for veterans and seniors, and 10 percent for first responders.

Underground Legacy to Legal Background

Maher explained he has grown cannabis for 20 years. He did so legally during two of them.

“We’re all from the underground and we all wear it as badges of honor,” he exclaimed regarding his team. “We’re all legacy. I’ve been legacy my whole life.”

“We love plants,” Co-General Manager Roger Martin declared.

They got into the licensed cannabis industry eager to touch legal plants.

Experienced Legal NJ Cannabis Professionals

Maher and his deputies worked in the growing operation of the Green Leaf dispensary in Montclair. It was the very dispensary in the medical cannabis market under former Republican Governor Chris Christie before it was bought by the large MSO Ascend.

While the team scattered for better opportunities, he brought some of their original crew back for the G2 Dispensary opening. They maintain ties with others who worked there as well. For example, one of their former colleagues is at Onyx and was happy to celebrate the opening with them.  

Martin has been in the legal New Jersey cannabis been for 10 years, which few can say.

He explained with their deep background and knowledge, they can easily help customers pick products.

“We can actually pull from our experience. I made distillate (cartridge oil) and RSO (Rick Simpson Oil,” Martin noted.

Quality budtenders can give you good recommendations for products.

The Early Pains of NJ Medical Cannabis

Martin explained that going from underground legacy to legal, they thought the facility would be state of the art when it turned out to be slapped together, like the underground.

“It was the wild, wild west when it first started,” he noted. “They grew the first plants in buckets on the floor.”

“I’ve seen people falling off wobbly uh scaffoldings,” Co-General Manager Kevin O’Brien noted.

He joked he learned what not to do many times.

“This is why we’re doing what we’re doing. So we can get away from that and do things right. You’re not just going to prioritize efficiently over people,” Martin explained.

Critical of Large MSOs

He was critical of large MSOs that have different product brands from their dispensaries. While many might not like their dispensaries, people don’t understand it’s their brands with the same quality, or lack thereof.

“It’s definitely a meat grinder,” Martin said about working for large MSOs.

O’Brien said many get tired of it easily. A lot of workers burnt out of the dream of being in legal weed and got out.

Opening a Legal Dispensary for Adult-use Cannabis Sales

Maher noted they spent years waiting to get to this point. It wasn’t easy getting.

“There’s a lot of scallywags in the business,” he declared.

Maher said greedy landlords, towns with high application fees, and potential investors that offer bad deals are significant problems.

“I prayed to God to keep us away from the scallywags and the treachery,” he declared.

Maher explained he was in the lawn care industry.

“I went from 1 grass to another,” he joked.

His partner, co-owner Bob Frommelt, is a local and a longtime consumer. He grew up in Rockaway near their dispensary.

“We used to come down here and smoke behind the building. It was a lot of fun,” Frommelt said. “I never thought I would be selling weed 1,000 feet from where I grew up.”

He has experience in sales and marketing franchised businesses. As a serial entrepreneur, he was looking for a new opportunity at a franchise business convention at the Javits Center. But at the same time, there was the CWC cannabis industry conference also going on which seemed much more intriguing.

Maher and Frommelt are co-owners who secured investments from others.

“We’re both into plant healthcare,” Frommelt explained.

The Long Road to Success

He said Rockaway in Morris County wanted them to get state approval first. But they needed their local approval to open first. Frommelt said the town had to change its resolution to accommodate it. So, it was a lengthy process.

Rockaway offered more resolutions than were allowed, which hurt one guy.

“We want to be friends with everyone so they’re collages, not competitors,” Maher said.

Like many, they have started with a dispensary and want to grow a lot bigger.

“We will cultivate at some point. We will manufacture at some point,” he noted.

Maher said they have a great team of growers eager to operate. Plus, they have a lot of space in the back of their storefront in a strip mall to do so.

Frommelt got the letter from the NJCRC in September 2022, awarding a conditional license to Genesis Technologies II LLC. They won an annual license needed to open in July 2023. The NJCRC approved their name change to G2 Dispensary in October 2023.

“Destiny gave this manifestation a reality,” Maher declared.

Where is a New Jersey Dispensary Near Me?

The following list of New Jersey adult-use cannabis dispensaries is an approximate reflection of when they opened and is partially alphabetical.

1. Ascend MSO Montclair Medicinal and Recreational.
2. Ascend MSORochelle-Park Medicinal and Recreational.
3. Ascend MSO Fort Lee Medicinal and Recreational.
4. Ayr Wellness MSO (formerly Garden State Dispensary) Woodbridge Medicinal and Recreational.
5. Ayr Wellness MSO Eatontown Medicinal and Recreational.
6. Ayr Wellness MSO Union Twp. Medicinal and Recreational.
7. Apothecarium Dispensary MSO Phillipsburg Medicinal and Recreational.
8. Apothecarium Dispensary MSO Maplewood Medicinal and Recreational.
9. Apothecarium Dispensary MSO Lodi Medicinal and Recreational.
10. BLOC MSO Somerset Medicinal and Recreational.
11. BLOC MSO Waretown Medicinal and Recreational.
12. BLOC MSO Ewing Medicinal and Recreational.
13. The Botanist MSO Egg Harbor Twp. Medicinal and Recreational.
14. The Botanist MSO Williamstown Medicinal and Recreational.
15. GTRI Rise MSO Paterson Medicinal and Recreational.
16. GTI Rise MSO  Bloomfield Medicinal and Recreational.
17. The Cannabist MSO Vineland Medicinal and Recreational.
18. The Cannabist MSO Deptford Medicinal and Recreational.
19. Curaleaf MSO Bordentown Twp. Medicinal and Recreational.
20. Curaleaf MSO Bellmawr Medicinal and Recreational.
21. Curaleaf MSO Edgewater Park Medicinal and Recreational.
22. Zen Leaf MSO Elizabeth Medicinal and Recreational.
23. Zen Leaf MSO Lawrence Twp. Medicinal and Recreational.
24. Zen Leaf MSO Neptune Medicinal and Recreational.
25. MPX NJ MSO Atlantic City Medicinal and Recreational.
26. MPX NJ MSO Pennsauken Medicinal and Recreational.
27. MPX NJ MSO Sicklerville Medicinal and Recreational.
28. Valley Wellness Raritan Twp. Medicinal and Recreational.
29. Aunt Mary’s Dispensary Flemington Medicinal and Recreational.
30. NJ Leaf Freehold Twp. Medicinal and Recreational.
31. downtown FLWR Jersey City Medicinal and Recreational.
32. RIPT Jersey City Medicinal and Recreational.
33. Daylite Cannabis Mount Laurel Recreational cannabis only.
34. Design 710 Atlantic City Medicinal and Recreational.
35. Eastern Green Voorhees Medicinal and Recreational.
36. Brute’s Roots 6206 Egg Harbor Twp. Medicinal and Recreational.
37. Garden State Botanicals North Brunswick Medicinal and Recreational.
38. Garfield Gardens Dispensary (formerly Yuma Way) Garfield Medicinal and Recreational MSO
39. URB’N Dispensary Newark Medicinal and Recreational.
40. Holistic Solutions LLC 451 Atco Medicinal and Recreational.
41. HoneyGrove Gloucester Township Medicinal and Recreational.
42. Sweet Spot MSO Voorhees Medicinal and Recreational.
43. Earth & Ivy New Brunswick Recreational cannabis only.
44. Nova Farms MSO Woodbury Recreational cannabis only MSO.
45. The Social Leaf South Toms River Recreational cannabis only.
46. Union Chill Lambertville Recreational cannabis only.
47. Cookies MSO Harrison Recreational cannabis only.
48. Leaf Haus Somerset Recreational cannabis only.
49. New Era Dispensary South Bound Brook Recreational cannabis only.
50. Puffin Store New Brunswick Recreational cannabis only.
51. Queen City Remedies Plainfield Recreational cannabis only.
52. Molly Ann Farms 256 Haledon Recreational cannabis only.
53. A21 Wellness Scotch Plains Recreational cannabis only.
54. Elevated by TheCannaBossLady Maplewood Recreational cannabis only.
55. Garden Greenz Jersey City Recreational cannabis only.
56. The Cannabis Place MSO Jersey City Recreational cannabis only.
57. Baked by the River Lambertville Recreational cannabis only.
58. Camden Apothecary Camden Recreational cannabis only.
59. 1634 Funk 394 Jersey City Recreational cannabis only.
60. Cloud Nine Dispensary North Plainfield Recreational cannabis only.
61. Anja Highland Park Recreational cannabis only.
62. Mountain View Farmacy West Milford Recreational cannabis only.
63. Indigo Brooklawn Recreational cannabis only.
64. Organic Farms dispensary Camden Recreational cannabis only.
65. Unity Rd. Cannabis Shop MSO Somerset Recreational cannabis only.
66. Evolve Cannabis Bordentown Twp. Recreational cannabis only.
67. Kind Kush Rockaway Recreational cannabis only.
68. Elevated Herb West Milford Recreational cannabis only.
69. High Street Dispensary Hackettstown Recreational cannabis only.
70. Highway 90 West Evesham Recreational cannabis only.
71. Med Leaf 201 Egg Harbor City Recreational cannabis only.
72. Noire Dispensary Maplewood Recreational cannabis only.
73. Phasal MSO Runnemede Recreational cannabis only.
74. Phula Mount Holly Recreational cannabis only.
75. Nightjar 549 Bloomfield Recreational cannabis only.
76. Hackettstown Dispensary Hackettstown Recreational cannabis only.
77. Hello High Hammonton Recreational cannabis only.
78. Royal M Plainfield Recreational cannabis only.
79. Shore House Canna West Cape May Recreational cannabis only.
80. Hashery 409 NJ-17 Hackensack Recreational cannabis only.
81. Soulflora Newfoundland Recreational cannabis only.
82. Terrapin Investment Fund “The Station” MSO Hoboken Medicinal and Recreational.
83. Fire and Oak Mount Holly Recreational cannabis only.
84. Joy Leaf Roselle Recreational cannabis only.
85. Mass Grown Mount Holly Recreational cannabis only.
86. The Leaf Joint Jersey City Recreational cannabis only.
87. Voltaire NJ Mount Holly Recreational cannabis only.
88. Dank Poet Dispensary Washington Recreational cannabis only.
89. Cannabis Clubhouse Sussex Recreational cannabis only.
90. Blue Oak Dispensary Bloomfield Recreational cannabis only.
91. Plantabis Rahway Recreational cannabis only
92. High Profile Lakehurst Recreational cannabis only
93. Township Green Riverside NJ Recreational cannabis only.
94. Golden Door Dispensary Jersey City Recreational cannabis only.
95. Pure Blossom Hopewell Recreational cannabis only.
96. Jersey Roots West Milford Recreational cannabis only.
97. Natural Apothecary Belleville Recreational cannabis only.
98. Gynsyng Dispensary Merchantville Recreational cannabis only.
99. OHM Theory Elmwood Park Recreational cannabis only.
100. Lemon 22 in Scotch Plains Recreational cannabis only.
101. Jersey Meds in Pennington Recreational cannabis only.
102. High Rollers in Atlantic City Recreational cannabis only.
103. Blue Violets in Hoboken Recreational cannabis only.
104. Premo Cannabis Company in Keyport Recreational cannabis only.
105. CannaBoy Tree House South Orange Recreational cannabis only.
106. Moja Life Trenton Recreational cannabis only.
107. G2 Dispensary Rockaway Recreational cannabis only.