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New Jersey Adult-Use Cannabis Sales to Begin Next Thursday 4/21

New Jersey adult-use cannabis sales will begin Thursday 4/21. Seven Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) are allowed by the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) to do so.

A list of locations that will open on April 21 will be posted on the NJRC’s website. 

Individuals 21 years and older will be able to purchase cannabis and cannabis products legally without a medical card.

“This is an exciting time for New Jersey,” said NJCRC Executive Director Jeff Brown. “New Jerseyans voted overwhelmingly to have access to adult-use cannabis and it is now here. We have been intentional and deliberate to do everything in our power to set the market on good footing to start.”

The Alternative Treatment Centers are required to meet social equity standards. They include providing technical knowledge to new cannabis businesses, particularly social equity applicants.

“We remain committed to social equity,” said NJCRC Chair Dianna Houenou. “We promised to build this market on the pillars of social equity and safety. Ultimately, we hope to see businesses and a workforce that reflect the diversity of the state. And local communities that are positively impacted by this new and growing industry.”

New Jersey Adult-use Cannabis Sales

Medicinal cannabis companies approved for New Jersey adult-use cannabis sales will be assessed. They will be graded on diversity in hiring and management, support for community programs, the number of new and local businesses to which they provide technical support, and the percentage of minority-owned vendors or suppliers with which they contract, among other things.

Dispensary scores will be posted and updated regularly on the NJCRC’s website.

“We know that drug prohibition laws have, through history, disproportionately impacted Black and Brown communities. And continue to do so,” said NJCRC Director of Diversity and Inclusion Wesley McWhite III.

McWhite will be responsible for ensuring that the ATCs licensed for New Jersey adult-use cannabis sales comply.

“A socially equitable cannabis market will have substantial representation of those communities in employment and in ownership. These companies have been benefitting from the market for the past 12 years and are now expanding into the lucrative recreational space have a role in helping to accomplish that,” he said.  

“Making the standards and the grades public ensures customers, stakeholders, advocates, and the general public have a clear picture of the equity and diversity efforts in the New Jersey market,” McWhite said.

The NJCRC has committed to assessing the seven ATCs. The metric are diversity in hiring and management, support for community programs, the number of new and local businesses to which they provide technical support, and the percentage of minority-owned vendors or suppliers with which they contract, among other things. 

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