SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Marijuana regulators made significant moves that are expected to light a fire under the cannabis marketplace in the Garden State.
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission announced two updates Thursday night. The first is the removal of a cap on cultivation licenses. The state had a limit of 37, which was set to expire this month. However, only 17 licenses in all have been issued anyway.
New Jersey currently allows one cultivation license for every 197,000 residents. The average in other states with similar laws is one license for every 31,000 residents.
Attorney Bill Caruso, who has been working on marijuana legalization for more than a decade, expects this to spur a craft cannabis market and provide more economic opportunities.
“The idea now is to really send the message out to the public, to the folks that are applying for these licenses or may still be looking,” he said. “The market is wide open.”
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The other big update is $10 million available in grant funding for social equity license holders to get their businesses started.
Caruso said capital and real estate have been the biggest hurdles for minority-, veteran- and women-owned businesses.
“I think this time next year, you’re really going to see what a New Jersey craft cannabis market looks like,” he anticipated.
Right now, the only dispensaries that are open are run by larger corporations. Caruso said there’s very little brand loyalty in the market today, so he expects that to change as more small businesses enter the market.
While the marijuana marketplace in New York is still in its infancy, and Pennsylvania still isn’t allowing recreational sales, Caruso said New Jersey is quite literally in the perfect position to see substantial growth.
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