Business & Tech
Recreational Cannabis Sales Could Begin This Month In NJ, Murphy Says: Reports
Cannabis dispensaries could begin selling for non-medical use this March, Gov. Murphy said in a radio appearance.
NEW JERSEY — With a number of recreational cannabis dispensaries applying to open in towns across New Jersey, as well as existing medical dispensary companies hoping to sell for recreational use, sales of recreational marijuana could begin this month, Gov. Phil Murphy was quoted as saying during his monthly radio show last month.
The state has 23 medical marijuana dispensaries, and eight of the 10 companies owning them have already applied to the state's Cannabis Regulatory Commission for "conversion," according to a report in the Asbury Park Press. This means they could sell for non-medical uses to people 21 or over.
New Jersey legalized medical marijuana in 2010, although it was not available right from the start. In early 2021, the state officially legalized recreational use.
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Right now, towns like Hoboken and Maplewood are reviewing applications from businesses that want to open dispensaries, and not all are for medical use. These applicants have stirred some debate.
Just last week, Hoboken's Cannabis Review Board addressed three applications from business owners who want to open dispensaries at the sites of current or past restaurants in that mile-square city.
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“I would hope in March you’re going to see explicit movement on the medical dispensaries, some number of them being able to sell recreationally," Murphy reportedly said on the radio show, which airs monthly on WBGO, WNYC, and WHYY.
The state Cannabis Regulatory Commission's director, Jeff Brown, said last week that five medical marijuana companies' applications are “complete and are in substantive review," the story noted.
Over the last year, state officials have said that a number of factors were slowing approval for recreational dispensaries in New Jersey, such as individual towns needing to approve them.
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