New Jersey now has its first recreational-only cannabis retailers.  Earth & Ivy and Nova Farms received the first recreational cannabis licenses issued to non-medicinal dispensaries and are now open for business.  The state’s 28 other dispensaries selling recreational cannabis expanded into adult-use after starting as medicinal cannabis businesses.

Earth & Ivy, a new and diversely-owned business, is open in New Brunswick.  Nova Farms is open in Woodbury, a designated Impact Zone.

“It is a milestone for the agency and for the market,” said Jeff Brown, executive director at the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. “Over the last two years we have grown the number of ATCs open to patients and overseen several of them through to expansion into recreational cannabis. Now retailers are opening exclusively to serve adult-use customers.”

To help medicinal and recreational customers find dispensaries across the state to suit their needs, the NJ-CRC has redesigned its online “Find a Dispensary” directory and added a link from its website main page to make it easier to find. The directory page includes maps and lists for recreational-only dispensaries, medicinal cannabis dispensaries (ATCs), and medicinal dispensaries offering home delivery.

There are currently 38 dispensaries open across the state.  Thirteen dispensaries are exclusively for medicinal cannabis patients and all dispensaries that serve patients are required to prioritize them with product availability, designated hours, check-out lines, and parking.

As of April 13, the NJ-CRC has approved 98 annual awards, including 51 for retailers that will eventually join Earth & Ivy and Nova Farms as recreational-only dispensaries.

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission establishes and enforces the rules and regulations governing the licensing, cultivation, testing, selling, and purchasing of cannabis in the state.