New Jersey Cannabis Licensing – Still Largely Conditional

The State of New Jersey’s licensing roll out continues into the Thanksgiving holiday with over 800 Conditional Cannabis Licenses approved so far. However, Conditional Licenses are not legally operational, and in fact have to go through another more difficult licensing process to become an Annual License—- which is the license required to actually operate a cannabis business legally in the state. To date, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) has only issued 18 of those, with 8 cultivators, 3 manufacturers, and 7 Retailers currently licensed to operate (non-inclusive of Medical Dispensaries that have made the transition).

Further, of the issued Conditional Licenses, 296 were issued at the most recent CRC meeting held on Oct 27th, 2022. This means that almost half of the Conditional License holders have had less than a month to work on the second step of the licensing process: the Conversion Application. The current Conditional License holders have 120 days to complete this second step, but there are several steps necessary:

1.      Real Estate – Applicants must show that they own or lease a suitable property, and they must demonstrate they will have the legal right to occupy that premises if they are awarded a license.

2.      Municipal Approval – Applicants must show that their property meets all local municipal requirements, including zoning and local approval, which normally requires some type of licensing. This last step is especially difficult, as many communities have limited licensing, will only license during certain time period, and can have difficult local licensing requirements.

3.      Applicants must assure that all financial and ownership disclosures are final – Many applicants will be unable to significantly alter their businesses ownership for two years after they are awarded a license.

4.      Finally, the applicant will be required to provide over 70 pages of Standard Operating procedures, including:

• a.      Environmental Impact

• b.      Safety & Security

• c.      Community Impact

• d.      Workforce Development

• e.      Adverse Event Reporting

• f.       Quality Assurance

• g.      Recall

• h.      Packaging and Labeling

• i.       Inventory Control and Storage

• j.       Recordkeeping

• k.      Sanitation & Waste Disposal

• l.       Multiple License Specific Operational Procedures

• m.    Accounting and Tax Compliance

• n.      Cannabis Testing

 So, the challenge is large, and it is important to get it right—- especially for those Conditional Licensees who are still working to secure a suitable location and so must deal with the difficulty of finding available properties in welcoming communities. However, professionals have been stepping in to fill this gap, and several communities have plans to open their doors to the cannabis industry over the coming months and early 2023. Please reach out to us by filling out the form below so we can assist you with your licensing needs.