NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commissioners approve first recreational cannabis business applications

68 conditional license applications move to next steps

 TRENTON – The five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission unanimously approved 68 conditional license applications for recreational cannabis cultivators and manufacturers during their public meeting on Thursday, March 24. The 68 are the first recreational cannabis business applications to be approved in the state of New Jersey. Eighteen of the approved applications are for manufacturing businesses, 60 are for cultivation facilities.

The NJ-CRC’s executive director Jeff Brown recommended the applications and is excited to make this major step towards opening the recreational cannabis market.  “We are on our way.  The first cohort of recreational cannabis entrepreneurs has been approved and we will be working with them to get them ready for annual licensing and to begin operations,” he said.  “That so many applicants are taking advantage of the conditional licensing path into the market validates its importance in setting up an equitable market.”

Thirty-seven of the applicants have said they are certified Diversely-Owned Businesses. Among those with majority stake in each business, 33 have identified themselves as Black, nine Latinx, and four Asian. The full list of the approved applications is available here.

“I am thrilled that we have finally been able to reach this monumental day in New Jersey history,” Chairwoman Houenou said. “The approval of these 68 conditional applications is the culmination of tireless work from the CRC staff, my fellow commissioners, advocates, and those directly impacted by marijuana prohibition. This is just the beginning.”

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.

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