New Jersey Recreational Cannabis Clients

New Jersey is now accepting all license types.

On February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law “The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” (“CREAMMA”) which established New Jersey’s adult-use marijuana industry. Under the act, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (“CRC”) will oversee the state’s adult-use marijuana industry. The purpose of the CRC is to decide the start date of adult-use sales, establish the licensing process and the number of licenses to be awarded, and determine how tax dollars generated from adult-use marijuana sales are spent. The CRC will accept and process applications for licenses and these licenses will need to be renewed annually.

The state plans to offer a variety of cannabis licenses. Mr. Cannabis Law assists clients in securing all types of licenses being offered in New Jersey. As a full-service law firm, we help our recreational cannabis business clients with everything they need, including company formation, application drafting, and review, property and land acquisition, municipal and state government interface, intellectual property protection, sourcing and logistics, bookkeeping and accounting, reporting and testing compliance, packaging, employment matters, and business litigation.

New Jersey will offer several different types of adult-use licenses available, which include:

• Class 1 Cultivator License – A cultivator grows, cultivates, and produces marijuana plants and raw materials. Cultivator licenses are capped at 37 for the first 24 months.
• Class 2 Manufacturer License – A manufacturer manufactures, prepares, and packages marijuana items.
• Class 3 Wholesaler License – A wholesaler stores, sells, and transfers marijuana items for resale to cannabis retailers or other wholesalers, but not to consumers.
• Class 4 Distributor License – A distributor transports bulk amounts of marijuana between licensed facilities.
• Class 5 Retailer License – A retailer sells adult-use marijuana to consumers from a retail store.
• Class 6 Delivery Service License – Delivery service is a business authorized to deliver cannabis products from cannabis retailers to customers’ homes.
• Microbusiness License – There is no cap on the number of licenses issued to microbusinesses. Furthermore, microbusinesses must account for at least 10% of each category of a license issued and 25% of total licenses issued. To qualify as a microbusiness, (1) all the owners must be New Jersey residents who have resided in the state the last two consecutive years and (2) more than 51% of the owners, officers, directors, or employers live in the municipality that the microbusiness is located, (3) there are no more than 10 employees. If the microbusiness is a cultivator, the microbusiness is limited to no more than 2,500 square feet of grow space. If the microbusiness is a manufacturer, the microbusiness is limited to acquire no more than 1,000 pounds of cannabis per month to create products. If the microbusiness is a retailer, the microbusiness is limited to acquire no more than 1,000 pounds of cannabis per month to sell.
• Testing Facility License – A testing facility analyzes and certifies cannabis items and medical cannabis for compliance with applicable health, safety, and potency standards.