More manufacturers and cultivators

Hello everyone!

Another snow-filled week. Another time for cannabis to keep you warm. We’ve got takes on the recent CRC meeting, municipal stories and the info on the New Jersey Business Action Center’s much awaited program for technical assistance.

As always, I hope you enjoy the issue.

Take care and until next time…

— Jelani Gibson

Reporter’s Roundup: Factors for this year

Cannabis regulators released proposed rules for consumption lounges and indicated they expect more cultivators and manufacturers to come into the industry at their first monthly meeting for the year.

The rules for the lounges would prohibit the sale of tobacco products and alcohol. For cannabis, it would allow medicinal patients to bring in cannabis items from other retailers.

The lounges would not allow food to be sold on the premises, but would allow for food to be delivered.

For smaller businesses there would be an annual fee of $1,000, and for regular businesses, it would be $5,000.

Commissioner Charles Barker signaled he wanted the commission to consider giving an exclusivity period to consumption licenses for social equity and diversely owned businesses, a demographic that includes minorities and those previously arrested for weed.

“It’s a critical component to establishing and maintaining equity and leveling the playing field,” he said.

The commission’s executive director, Jeff Brown, spoke of the increase in cultivation and manufacturing licenses.

“One of the things we’re going to see in 2024 here is a lot more openings from cultivators and manufacturers,” Brown said. “These are companies that take longer to open just because of the complexity of the construction business. We already have several that are opened up and are supplying the market.”

Takeaways from the meeting

CRC Chair Dianna Houenou started the meeting noting that the focus would be on transparency and accountability. There are a couple of things to parse here.

It’s no secret there’s no love lost between the Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, and the commission at this point. Whether or not Houenou’s statement means the commission will continue with their fines and actually double down on them remains to be seen.

In addition, the commission did receive criticism during the public comment portion for how long it was taking investigators to get back to some of the manufacturing applicants. This is the same applicant class the commission was touting at the meeting, so we’ll keep an eye on that.

Operational vs awarded and the cultural conversations behind it

This meeting saw the introduction of a new data category for businesses that have become operational. One of the things that can be quickly pointed out here is in many cases, operational businesses are fewer than the number of businesses that are being awarded a license, particularly for minority demographics.

The commission has repeatedly cited municipal processes and real estate acquisition as the top reasons for delay in applications. That does add up with this publication’s investigative findings. Even as the new year rang in, we’ve still received a glut of allegations focusing on municipal corruption and conflicts with landlords.

What is clear is that while the market can make progress, these things will continue to be pain points.

It is something commissioner Charles Barker has been vocal about when it comes to people who were arrested for cannabis and overall Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations.

During his tenure as a commissioner, Barker has talked about advocacy and expressed frustration that the market has not had the same success for those demographics, which were disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs.

There are those that will argue that cannabis is a business market, and that is correct — with a caveat.

When the market was created, by Scutari’s words, it was not going to be about profit first; it would be about fairness. His words in an NJ.com op-ed:

“Marijuana legalization in New Jersey has never been about a money grab but about addressing the unfairness and hypocrisy in our state and national drug laws.”

This reveals a larger and more complicated fault line within the Democratic party as well when it comes to voters of color it courts every election cycle who often feel repeatedly let down and disenfranchised. Barker’s vocal frustration with how those promises have been carried out alongside the limitations of the commission illustrate this.

Look at this Monday’s holiday and its namesake, Martin Luther King Jr.

King’s legacy has been documented in complex tones. One of the things that King lamented towards the end of his life, however, was that the fight for economic equality was perhaps his most frustrating.

In a speech written to The Nation magazine in 1966, King noted that “jobs were harder to create than voting rolls.” Take the following quotes from King:

“To launch a program with high-minded goals and to fail to safeguard it from opportunists and enemies amounted to sabotage, whether deliberate or undeliberate. It should have been obvious that Negroes, who alone were under pressure for results, would encounter difficulties in administration. They were ill prepared to handle the complexities that attended any novel and wideranging program. Yet they would have been successful even with their limitations if their efforts had not been impeded in so many instances by hostile municipal officials.”

Sound familiar? Take a look at another one:

“The poverty program, which in concept elated the Negro poor, became so embroiled in political turmoil that its insufficiencies were magnified by paralyzing manipulations. Big-city machines felt threatened by it and small towns, particularly in the South, directed it away from Negroes. Its good intentions and limited objectives were frustrated by the skillful maneuvers of experienced politicians.”

Much has changed since the time of King and yet, so much has stayed the same. New Jersey’s cannabis legislation and its promise of economic justice for those hurt by the War on Drugs is running into these same themes and issues, which is the reason why this other quote also comes to mind:

“History will not repeat itself in a simple cycle. It can, however, fail to move forward and can become stalled on a higher plateau without prospect of reaching the summit.”

The ability for these cannabis businesses to become operational on the backs of a process where municipal officials hold many of the cards represents a multi-generational struggle and frustration among people of color, and Black people in particular.

You can be sure that these voters will be closely watching whether the market meets the promise of economic justice.

— Jelani Gibson

Story Dispensary’s Hoboken drama expected to end, but councilwoman vows to continue the fight

A closed tavern on the corner of 14th and Hudson streets in northeast Hoboken was the setting of a two-year tug-of-war over whether an adult-use cannabis dispensary should take its place.

The drama involved the dispensary owners, a condominium association, bait-and-switch accusations and claims that connections to high-profile people like Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and state Sen. Raj Mukherji held some sway in the proceedings. And it sparked the fuse of broader debates about cannabis in the city, despite being legally permitted in New Jersey since 2021.

But the controversy appears to be all but over, despite continued objections from a Hoboken councilwoman.

Litigation between the condo association opposed to housing the dispensary in its building and the dispensary owners is expected to be dismissed as part of a secretive settlement that is expected to be approved this month.

Story Dispensary, the cannabis dispensary in question, is coming off of years of opposition to its location at the former Hudson Tavern, with critics claiming it does not belong in the family-friendly neighborhood and that the owners were benefitting from their political connections.

The condo association filed lawsuits to stop the dispensary from opening in 2022, alleging that the landlords of the dispensary told them they were going to use the space for their physical therapy business. The landlords are Jaclyn Fulop, the wife of the Jersey City mayor, and Drew Nussbaum, her business partner at Exchange Physical Therapy who also runs a Fulop-linked super PAC called “Coalition for Progress.”

Fulop and Nussbaum purchased the first-floor space for $2.4 million. Further, court filings show that Mukherji, who works in the cannabis field, had connected the landlords to people now involved with operating the dispensary.

After months of legal wrangling, the condo association and the dispensary owners eventually reached a settlement in September, creating a path for Story to open its doors.

The tentative settlement prompted a new hearing before the city’s planning board in December, during which some of the details of how the settlement changed Story’s operations were shared. The board approved the changes and will vote to authorize the settlement Jan. 18.

The changes include moving the hours of operation from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. to 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; moving the entrance from 14th Street to Hudson Street; and removing the need for armed security at the dispensary by the city or state. The settlement has not been made public and an Open Public Records Act request by The Jersey Journal was denied.

Once the settlement is authorized, Story’s last hurdle will be from the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC). After that, Story is looking to open in either late winter or early spring of this year, according to Story’s attorney, Lee Vartan.

Parties involved with the settlement declined to comment more on the details of it, citing confidentially.

Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, who represents the Second Ward that includes the Story location, was frustrated by the lack of transparency related to the settlement.

“Everyone in the neighborhood (was deprived),” she said in December. “But in particular, the people that live adjacent to the (former) Hudson Tavern on the other side, they may have said ‘I can get comfortable with this’, but they weren’t given the opportunity to have the full analysis.”

She isn’t giving up on trying to keep the dispensary from opening.

“We’ll do whatever we need to do to fight it at the state level,” Fisher said. “The CRC has final approval over it, and so we hope they’ll be more sensitive to the questionable ownership and the fact that this is about enriching elected officials.”

An attorney for the condo association said in 2022 that the agreement between Fulop and Nussbaum and the dispensary included an option for the tenant to eventually purchase the space for $3.4 million.

When ask about the remaining community opposition to Story, Vartan said “we certainly understand that not everyone is supportive of the law or Hoboken’s decision to allow dispensaries in the city … all I can say is I think the process played out as it should have.”

“I’m hoping some of that opposition will subside when Story actually opens its doors and people see this is a good, reputable and well-run business that adds to the diversity of Hoboken’s main street,” Vartan added.

— Mark Koosau | Jersey Journal | This was behind the NJ.com paywall, so we put it here for those who don’t have NJ.com subscriptions and for those who missed it.

Cannabis business academy announces instructors and curriculum

The New Jersey Business Action center released a list of its instructors and curriculum this week.

“Each of our selected instructors bring years of experience, success, some painful lessons learned, and deep insight to budding entrepreneurs who are interested in stepping into the Garden State’s cannabis industry,” said Cannabis Training Academy Executive Director Tauhid Chappell in a press release this week.

“Many have personally written and submitted applications for, and have succeeded in winning, cannabis licenses in New Jersey and/or other states too,” he said. “This wealth of knowledge gives us confidence that prospective CTA students will be getting the most relevant, on-the-ground, guidance and wisdom from those who’ve been through the exact process and know what it takes to enter and thrive in this industry.”

The selected 25 CTA Instructors, and their designated courses, are:

• Rosemarie Moyeno Matos – Gaining Municipal Proof of Local Support

• Chuck Latini – Understanding Zoning Approvals and Site Plans

• Stephanie Thomas – Real Estate Considerations

• Cecilia Oyediran – Understanding The Application Scoring Criteria and Application

Fees, Writing Your Personal History & Entity Disclosure Forms and Submitting A

Successful Application

• Chirali Patel – Understanding and Drafting Business Plan and Management Profiles,

Writing A Regulatory Compliance Plan, Preparing your Conditional Application

Submission, and Understanding the Conditional Conversion Application Process

• Lauren Rudick – Crafting and Understanding Business Formation Documents,

Understanding Management Service Agreements (“MSA”) and Financial Source

Agreements (“FSA”), and Understanding Vendor Contractor Agreements

• Jessica Velazquez – Understanding Cannabis Taxation

• Dharshini Casinathen – Describing Your Business, Drafting Mission Statement & Value

Propositions, Organizing A Qualified Team, Describing Your Products and Services,

Writing An Executive Summary

• Devan McLaren – Creating A Financial Forecasting Plan

• James E. Jackson III – Preparing to Obtain Liability Insurance

• Patricia Walker – Understanding Your Business and Financial Plan, Preparing An

Operating Plan, Describing Your Business Experience

• Hugh Giordano – Understanding Labor Peace Agreements

• Daniel Pierre – Understanding Collective Bargaining Agreements

• Tahir Johnson – Creating A Workforce Development and Job Creation Plan and Creating

A Community Impact, Social Responsibility and Research Statement

• Marie Montmarquet – Creating A Safety and Security Plan and Drafting Standard

Operating Procedures for Delivery

• Tim Weigand – Creating Your Environmental Impact Plan

• Monica Werkheiser – Understanding The Fundamentals of Standard Operating

Procedures, and Drafting SOPs for Adverse Event Reporting, Quality Assurance/Control

and Recall

• Kindalyn Thompson – Drafting SOPs for Packaging and Labeling, Inventory Control,

Storage, Diversion Prevention, Recordkeeping and Waste Disposal/Sanitation

• Jason Gully – Drafting SOPs for Cultivation

• Kevin Serwatowski – Drafting SOPs for Manufacturing

• Charles Smith – Drafting SOPs for Wholesale

• Sequoah Turner – Drafting SOPs for Distribution

• Suzan Nickelson – Drafting SOPs for Dispensing

• Renata Serban – Drafting SOPs for Accounting & Tax Compliance

• Anita Bear – Drafting SOPs for Age Verification, Secure Transport of Cannabis and

Reporting of Test Results for Cannabis

For cannabis recruitment solutions please contact Deneen Wright, dwright@njadvancemedia.com or call 201-324-5092.