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After a brief hiatus, we welcome you back to CSG’s CannaBiz Law Blog. The August 31st RFA deadline was challenging, but I am pleased to report that an all hands on deck effort on behalf of our clients made for a successful application process.

With the deadline now behind us, and a fresh perspective on the challenges and opportunities future rounds of cannabis licensing in New Jersey may present, I was invited to author another guest column for NJ.com’s weekly NJ Cannabis Insider report (huge thank you to their editor, Justin Zaremba).

This time around, I thought it would be best to outline practical insights and takeaways gleaned leading up to August 31 since it has already been reported that there will be additional rounds of licensing available in the future — and a vote for recreational legalization may come as soon as this month. Both will undoubtedly present opportunities for those looking to service, operate or invest in the cannabis sector.

So, what should these aspiring entrants keep in mind as new opportunities emerge? The three factors detailed in my guest column include:

  • Now is the time to prepare for the next application round.
  • Legal counsel and/or a general consultant will be integral to finding a willing host community, as well as a properly zoned locale.
  • If there are underserved areas in the Northern, Central or Southern regions of New Jersey, applicants should consider locating there first.

I encourage you to read the full article here, and stay tuned for further updates from CSG’s Cannabis Law Group.

Senator Nicholas J. Scutari, D-Union, recently introduced a new bill that seeks to simultaneously legalize recreational marijuana for adults and provide broader patient access to medical marijuana under New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. This is the first bill to jointly address access to medical and recreational marijuana in New Jersey. Scutari’s comprehensive bill allows for a total of 218 marijuana dispensaries throughout New Jersey: 120 recreational and 98 medical. Other provisions of the bill include a requirement that municipalities opposed to marijuana sales within their borders must pass an ordinance prohibiting sales within 180 days of the law’s enactment, a provision permitting recreational marijuana dispensaries to create a “consumption area” where customers can use marijuana onsite, as well as a phase-out plan for the 7% tax currently imposed on medical marijuana.

Introduced just three weeks before the Legislature’s budget deadline, the bill faces an uphill battle. However, it has received vocal support from two other legislators. Senator Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, has signed on as co-prime sponsor of the bill, and Assemblyman Jamel Holley released a statement pledging his support for the bill.

With legalization of recreational cannabis on the horizon for New Jersey, several local governments have responded by preemptively passing ordinances banning or discouraging recreational marijuana sales or cultivation in their jurisdictions, while others have opened their doors. Because New Jersey is a home-rule state, municipalities are free to permit or prohibit the sale, cultivation and/or use of recreational cannabis within their borders. To date, twenty-six municipalities and three counties have staked their position on recreational cannabis.

Seventeen townships, including Berkeley in Ocean County, Old Bridge in Middlesex County and Wall Township in Monmouth County, have either approved a measure that imposes a blanket ban on recreational marijuana businesses or issued a resolution strongly opposing legalization of recreational marijuana. Seven other municipalities have discussed banning recreational marijuana, but have not yet done so. Monmouth, Ocean and Cape May counties have each issued resolutions opposing recreational marijuana legalization. Medical cannabis will still be fully legal for registered patients, however.

Only three of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities – Jersey City, Asbury Park and Atlantic City – have publicly indicated their support for legalizing recreational marijuana.