Ice-T led the Medicine Woman dispensary’s packed grand opening celebration party in Jersey City in North Jersey this 4/20 weekend.
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“Thank you all for your support. Go back inside and buy some pharmaceuticals. Stop playing,” IT joked before the ribbon was cut.
City Council President Joyce Watterman joined them for the ceremony.
“It’s a good thing when you can open up. I know he’s been waiting 5 years to get this done. So, I’m glad today’s the day and congratulate him. It’s been a hard road,” she explained.
Watterman argued it was a better option to buy legal and tested cannabis from a legal dispensary. She noted locals are succeeding too in the legal cannabis market in Jersey City.
“They’ve been in the trenches. So, it’s good that people see the value of our local people,” Watterman added.
“We have basically franchised an LA dispensary into New Jersey. So when we hit the ground running, We know how to make it happen,” Ice-T told News 12 NJ.
“I said if I were able to get a license in New Jersey because I’m from New Jersey, would you guys mentor me? And they said we’ll partner with you,” he explained.
“I’m proud to be part of something that’s changing the conversation around cannabis, giving people access to products they can trust and providing opportunities to the New Jersey community,” Ice-T added.
The Medicine Woman In Jersey City Opens
Inside, it’s a very spacious place. The waiting room is bigger than some bars.
The middle section is a large glass shop along with t-shirts.
Their third room is the actual dispensary with cannabis products for sale. Ice-T’s awards for selling gold and platinum records were displayed prominently on the side wall.
They had many large Mult-State Operator (MSO) brand products for sale and some newer ones.
Playboy Bunny & Underground Legacy to Legal Team
Co-owner Charis Burrett, a former Playboy model, explained to News 12 that they opened as a medical cannabis dispensary & delivery service in California first.
“It just feels really good to be welcomed to Jersey and bring the culture of Medicine Woman, a little California culture, to the East Coast and bring something a little different than I see here,” she said.
“We’re really happy to bring that culture into this community. We’ve hired within this community. We’re working with the city college. We’re looking to do as many things as comes our way,” Charis noted.
They noted how they are working with the Last Prisoner (LPP). LPP is a non-profit working to help free cannabis felons whose representatives were on the scene. They are supported by the Medicine Woman.
“My father did 8 years in prison for cannabis. We had the first dispensary in LA County, the first 3 ever. So, I’ve been in and around and experienced prison and cannabis firsthand. It’s dear to our heart,” co-owner and husband Luke Burrett explained.
Preferred Consumption Method
“I like to smoke a joint. I’m a sativa girl. I am probably cause I’m super ADHD. You’d think I’d need Indica. But we run the other way,” Charis explained about her preferred method of consumption.
“I will smoke a joint, and I will not get picky about it,” she joked. “I love cannabis in general.”
Luke said, “I like to smoke it. I don’t like edibles. I like vapes.”
He added he enjoys other methods of smoking weed as well.
Ice-T told Forbes he doesn’t actually smoke while he did sell weed in high school and tried it a couple times.
“I’m an orphan. I don’t have a mother, father, sisters, brothers, uncles… And I just always felt being high compromised my position in the streets,” he told them.
North Jersey boy Anthony Shawn “Treach” of Naughty by Nature is also a partner and was on the scene for the celebration as well.
“It is about weed that is actually helpful for you,” he told News 12.
“I’m the 50 percent owner of it,” Treach explained.
Despite being an exclusively adult-use cannabis dispensary, they did seek to emphasize the medicinal nature of the plant.
Celebrity Guests and Party
Guests enjoyed an incredible lineup of celebrities who were there to support them. The party featured a meet & greet with Taylor Kinney, an actor known for his role in Chicago Fire, and a Medicine Woman investor.
Ice-T’s wife, the model Coco was also around enjoying the party. They have been together for more than 20 years. Their daughter Chanel Nicole was also there for the ribbon cutting pictured above.
They were on the scene, enjoying themselves and taking pictures, and enjoying the day.
Packed Celebration in the Parking Lot
The Medicine Woman hosted an epic 420 “Blazing & Praisin” celebration, blending cannabis culture, spirituality, and community engagement in a way that reflects the brand’s bold, inclusive ethos.
There was music by DJ Kevie Kev Rockwell and exclusive deals from favored brands too.
The parking lot was full, and it was intense. Cars were parked everywhere. Traffic on Tonnelle Avenue was especially clogged. At one point a car blocked others from leaving. Ice-T came out and yelled for someone to move it.
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Eventually, they did.
The crowd mobbed Ice-T. A few people who paid for VIP packages waited to get pictures with him amidst the party.
Inside the dispensary, it became too packed with well-wishers, friends and other celebrities quickly inside the dispensary. So, they came outside to do signings for a while. The crowd was enormous.
The Medicine Woman is open at 660 Tonnelle Avenue between Green Stop Wellness and Blossom dispensaries. That makes it an extremely competitive place to do business.
They are the 17th dispensary to open in Jersey City after:
- Ript
- Downtown Flowr
- Garden Greenz
- Bay St Greenery
- 1634 Funk
- Xena Dispensary
- Uforia Dispensary
- Leaf Joint
- The Other Side
- Cannabis Place
- MMD Jersey City
- Legacy to Lifted
- Cream
- Golden Door Dispensary
- Hazy Harvest
- Jersey Leaf
- The Medicine Woman
4/20 Weekend in Jersey
The Hashstoria dispensary in Newark also had a big party with its celebrity owners Raekwon and Charlamagne tha God. They invited Jersey native Redman and others who came to the party.
A range of the more than 230 New Jersey cannabis dispensaries that are open did something to celebrate the sacred herb this past weekend.
Unfortunately, some dispensary parties were canceled due to issues with towns and the State.
With weed so legal, no one felt the need to gather at the State House like back in the day. Now the most significant popular issues are home grow and funding social justice-minded programs, which gets complicated versus ending arrests for possession and fostering a legit industry.
