SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Cannabis regulators in New Jersey voted not to renew the license for Curaleaf, one of the country’s most prominent marijuana companies.
License renewals need three “yes” votes to proceed. Curaleaf received only one, along with two “no” votes. Two commissioners abstained.
The future of Curaleaf’s three New Jersey dispensaries — located in Bordentown, Bellmawr and Edgewater Park — is now up in the air.
New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission Chair Dianna Houenou was one of the two abstentions. She commended Curaleaf for its strong commitment to social equity, but she said the company’s recent plan to consolidate cultivation operations from two facilities to one is problematic.
She said regulators were not given ample warning.
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“I am concerned about the layoffs — the layoff announcement that was apparently made a month ago before any information was provided to the commission,” she said. “It’s important for the board, and the staff at large, to have proper insight and timely notice of major changes to facility operations.”
Curaleaf called the vote an “outrageous act of political retaliation.”
By law, Curaleaf is permitted to sell recreational marijuana until April 21. After that, it can only sell medical marijuana.
Curaleaf said it will continue fighting to get its license renewed.