NJ lawmakers Consider New Option For Cannabis License Approvals

New Jersey lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow medical dispensaries to start selling adult-use cannabis without local approval.

Under a bill introduced Jan. 30 by Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-22nd District, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission would no longer require medical-only dispensaries to undergo municipal review as a condition for conversion.

Ahead of the April 2022 launch of legalized adult-use sales, municipalities were given a choice to opt in – or out – of permitting cannabusinesses within their communities. Currently, only about a third of New Jersey’s 564 towns allow some form of cannabis sales, whether recreational or medical.

State law also grants towns the ability to impose separate licensing or endorsement requirements when it comes to the number of legalized businesses, locations or times of operation.

In New Jersey, the majority of the state’s 200-plus dispensaries offer both adult-use and medical. However, there are five stores that only sell to patients enrolled in a medical cannabis program.

According to the newly introduced bill, towns would not be able to prohibit medical dispensaries from offering adult-use – just as long as the business has been operating without any violations for at least six months. While municipal officials would still be able to limit the number of recreational storefronts within their borders, the legislation prohibits them from capping how many medical dispensaries are in town.

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