Legacy to Lifted dispensary opened the first one on the West Side of Jersey City in Hudson County in North Jersey this past weekend.
They held a grand opening ribbon cutting to celebrate. CEO Chris Broderick gave the speech to kick it off and thanked his older brother Edward and partner Adrian for their help.
“My dream came true. I’m finally here!” he exclaimed. “This is a family-owned business. This is a dream come true man!”
“I thank you all and I welcome you to Lifted!” Broderick declared to cheers before cutting the ribbon.
The Legacy to Lifted team, including his twin brother Tim, was there to help run the place and enjoy the day.
Ward B Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey, who represents the area, was there on hand to celebrate their opening.
Also, Jersey City Inclusion and Diversity Office Director Dr. Floyd Jeter, who held cannabis worker job fairs that Legacy to Lifted participated in, was there to celebrate their success.
Chris got busy running the place but took a few minutes to speak with Heady NJ.
“It’s surreal, coming from where I come. It was a transition. I know a lot of people want to do the same thing,” he said about opening.
(Also) I always loved plant. I always wanted to better myself. It feels great,” Chris added.
Many leading NJ cannabis figures were there to help them celebrate, like Max Maxemous of Urb’n dispensary in Newark, Cord of Baked by the River dispensary of Lambertville, which spearheaded the Tri-State Cultivation Harvest Cup, Rui of NJ Garden State of Mind and Blank Canvas Pre-rolls, and party promoter/influencer Dirty Dank,
In addition, their attorney, Micci Weiss, who helped them through the process, was also on hand to celebrate.
“Great day today,” Edward said.
Fun Mural
Chris explained the colorful mural on the wall is a metaphor for his cannabis journey set in space. He is represented by the rag dolls in the spaceship on the far right.
“There’s a volcano. I come from nothing, I come from the ashes,” he noted about the beginning.
“This is a world that’s its own planet. Pretty much how I was in my own world of the legacy world,” Chris explained.
“It took a spaceship to where we are now,” he added.
“And there’s me being represented back into society. I wanted it to be a little unique,” Chris noted.
He explained the artists were locals he knew who were also twins.
“It’s been a three-year journey for me,” Chris noted.
Now that they are open, he said they plan to establish themselves in the community.
It’s notable that Legacy to Lifted has a backyard. During the Grand Opening party, they had a tent with vendor tables staffed by brand ambassadors, along with Hawaiian Filipino food they offered people.
Later that night, Legacy to Lifted threw a party where people could consume and drink at another place in the city.
Quality Cannabis Brands Featured
Inside the dispensary, several brands were tabling during the grand opening party. and featured ButACake was tabling along with the grower Niche, the local manufacturer Onyx, and Bango Elyon of California. They started in flower and now have gummies for sale.
The outdoor tent in the backyard also had a few brands featuring, like the MSO brands Verano Savvy and Crops, the small MSO Rove, and the local grower Garden Greens.
On their wall, some of the brands featured were Magic Garden Botanicals E Jay vapes, the local Lily Extracts vape products, and Gron gummies from the West.
The Buoyant Bob and Illicit of Missouri flower brands were also for sale and featured on the wall.
Notably, Legacy to Lifted has a had a bud bar where you can see and smell some of the flower for sale.
Chris said Niche was one of their best growers featured.
“They got super fire. They’re also Jersey City local residents and legacy,” he noted.
Chris said the Agri-Kind flower strain of Gorilla Glue was good stuff too. He added Crops and TerrAscend were affordable brands.
Legacy to Lifted Dispensary Ownership Background
They are locally owned and Social Equity, having been hurt by the War on Drugs. This is who many social justice-minded cannabis advocates want to see open in the New Jersey cannabis market as the Goldilocks.
Legacy to Lifted’s annual dispensary license needed to open was approved by the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) in October 2023, while the Jersey City Council and Cannabis Control Board approved them in September 2023. The city Planning Board approved them in July 2023.
The NJ-CRC first awarded them a conditional license in October 2022.
Legacy to Lifted dispensary was supposed to need the CCB’s final approval to open. But since several members resigned, the city’s Department of Commerce told Broderick, who told Heady NJ that it was ok to hold a grand opening and they could come go to a future meeting.
Chris said understanding the tech software programs and dealing with the city officials were some of the biggest hurdles to overcome.
He noted they’ve been bootstrapping, using their profits to pay for expenses.
Chris told Heady NJ they saved a lot of money serving as their own advocates and handling a lot of the construction of the place themselves.
He said it was good they found a space that was in their price range.
“Get your budget. Know what you can afford,” Chris advised.
They were sponsors of Heady NJ’s recent Underground Legacy to Legal Forum and Celebration.
Lifted has been active in the Jersey City cannabis scene for a while. They were part of the Very Potent JC 4/20 party last year.
