Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Adult-Use - Used interchangeably with "recreational"; Refers to legally bought and sold cannabis and cannabis products intended for recreational use by people 21 years old and older

Adverse Effects - Undesirable or unintended effects that can occur after consuming a substance

Amendment - A change to existing laws, policies, or regulations

Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) - State-licensed businesses that sell cannabis and cannabis products for medicinal use

Bake - To get high from smoking or ingesting cannabis 

Cannabinoid - Any of a variety of naturally occurring, biologically active chemical constituents of the cannabis plant, including THC, CBD, CBN, CBG, and others

Cannabis - Includes all the parts of the cannabis plant, including the leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds

Cannabis-Use Disorder (CUD) - An inability to discontinue cannabis use despite negative consequences, undesirable effects on daily life, significant distress, or functional impairment

Cannabidiol (CBD) - The non-psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant often used for medicinal or therapeutic purposes

Cannabinoid or Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) - A condition that causes frequent and severe vomiting and nausea with cannabis use; typically occurs in long-term daily users of cannabis

Canopy - The total square footage of cannabis plant coverage under cultivation, used to measure a grow operation’s capacity and size

Concentrate - A distilled version of the most desirable parts of the cannabis plant, including all the cannabinoids and terpenes found in cannabis flowers

Conditional License - A temporary business license that allows applicants time to find a business location, secure municipal approval, and meet other requirements before applying for conversion to an annual license

Compliance and Investigations, Office of - The NJ-CRC unit responsible for verifying the eligibility and legal status of cannabis business licenses, and assessing permit applicants, interested parties, and cannabis business personnel to ensure adherence to related laws and regulations 

Consumables - Cannabis products that can be eaten or inhaled

Contamination - The action or state of making or being made impure by tainting, polluting, or poisoning 

CREAMM Act or CREAMMA - Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, the state law that legalized personal-use recreational cannabis

Cultivator - A person or business that grows cannabis

CUMMA - The Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act", enacted in 2019, is the legislation that presides over the medical use of cannabis in New Jersey

Dabs - Concentrated version of butane hash oil containing highly concentrated levels of THC; also called wax, shatter, or budder

Delivery Services License- A Class 6 cannabis business that transports cannabis and cannabis products from retailers to individual buyers

Delta 8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC) - A psychoactive substance found in the Cannabis plant in trace amounts, of which marijuana and hemp are two varieties

Dispensary - A place where cannabis, cannabis products, and paraphernalia are sold 

Distributor - A business that transports bulk cannabis and cannabis products between cannabis establishments

Dried Flower - Cannabis flower that has been dried and cured for smoking

Driving under the influence (DUI) - The criminal act of driving a motor vehicle while inebriated, intoxicated, or impaired in any degree by any substance

Excipient - An inactive ingredient – like coloring, flavoring, or preservative, in a cannabis product

Edibles - Food and drink products infused with cannabinoids

Expungement - Erasure of criminal record

Final Agency Decision (FAD) - A decision issued by the NJ-CRC and communicated to relevant parties in writing; includes formal policies that businesses and stakeholders must follow

Gummies - Often refers to soft, chewy candy infused with cannabinoids

Institutional Caregiver - A designated individual or entity responsible for providing care and overseeing the use of medicinal cannabis for patients within a regulated institution, such as a long-term care home, hospital, or similar institution, where patients may require assistance with their medicinal cannabis needs

Impact Zones - Areas in New Jersey disproportionately affected by cannabis enforcement, eligible for social equity initiatives

Irradiation - A processing and/or preservation technique that deters the presence of harmful microbes like bacteria

Jake Honig Law:  The Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, enacted in 2019

Lozenge - A hard candy with medicine (such as cannabis) that dissolves in the mouth

Manufacturer - A cannabis business that makes cannabis products

Marijuana - In New Jersey, refers to cannabis and cannabis products that are grown, sold, or otherwise distributed outside of the legal market 

Medicinal - Describes beneficial effects, or something used in treatment for illness

METRC - Marijuana Enforcement, Tracking, Reporting and Compliance, the cannabis inventory management tracking system used in New Jersey

Microbusiness - A license applicant's or license holder's cannabis business that has a smaller footprint than a standard cannabis business, with respect to its business operations, capacity, and quantity of product

Municipality - A city or town that has corporate status and local government

Notice of Application Acceptance (NOAA) - A formal document that outlines the process for applying for licenses to operate cannabis businesses. The NOAA includes eligibility requirements, application procedures, prioritization processes and approval, or denial determination

Ordinance - A law passed by a town, or city, or borough

Permit - The required document from the NJ-CRC for medicinal cannabis businesses to operate in New Jersey

Person of Interest - Any person involved in the financing, operating, or management of a license applicant or license-holder, including owners, principals, management services contractors, and financial sources

Priority Application - In New Jersey, a cannabis business license application that is reviewed and processed before others based on specific criteria, such as qualifying as a social equity applicant, operating a Diversely-Owned business, or residing in a designated Impact Zone

Recall - The process of removing defective or unsafe cannabis products from the market

Recreational - Used interchangeably with "adult-use"; refers to legally bought and sold cannabis and cannabis products intended for non-medicinal use by people 21 years old and older

Regulations - Rules that are promulgated by an agency in accordance with its enabling statute

Remediation – The process of removing harmful elements from cannabis products to ensure their safety and compliance with quality standards

Resolution - A decision or action taken by the Board of Commissioners

Resin - A substance similar to tree sap produced in the trichomes of the cannabis plant

Retailer - A cannabis business that buys cannabis and cannabis products from licensed cultivators, manufacturers, and/or wholesalers and sells them to consumers

Rosin – A type of cannabis concentrate used for dabbing or vaping

Social Equity Excise Fee (SEEF) - The SEEF is a state-mandated fee imposed on cannabis cultivators in New Jersey. It is unique to the state's regulated cannabis market and was designed to generate funding for social equity initiatives

Statute - A law passed by a legislative branch of government

Terpenes – Naturally occurring chemical compounds responsible for the aromas and flavors in cannabis

Testing Laboratory - An independent entity engaged to perform specific inspections or tests, either at the project site or elsewhere, and to report and interpret the results of those inspections or tests

THC - Tetrahydrocannabinol is the main psychoactive active ingredient of cannabis

Tincture - Liquid THC or CBD substance for oral or sublingual ingestion

Vape - A device that heats cannabis without burning it to produce a breathable vapor or the act of using such a device

Wholesaler - A Class 3 cannabis business that stores, buys and/or sells bulk cannabis and cannabis products