Moldy Weed, Mystery Buyers: N.J. Pot Sellers Ran Afoul of State Rules

Documents show dozens of alleged violations before recreational marijuana sales began.

While some of the biggest US marijuana companies were preparing to join New Jersey’s newly legal recreational market, several were running afoul of state security and safety rules for their medical-weed operations, documents obtained by Bloomberg show.

A cultivation site had 50 jars of marijuana go missing. One medical dispensary had moldy weed on hand. The staff at one store, “having a hard time with the fractions,” goofed on about a dozen patients’ tracking logs.

The alleged transgressions show how pot companies and state regulators are challenged by hodgepodge rules and enforcement for a drug that’s federally outlawed yet still a big business, with US sales of legal marijuana forecast to top $33 billion this year. New Jersey, among 19 states that allow recreational use, has a particularly daunting landscape as the largest East Coast legal market by population.

Exclusive documents obtained by Bloomberg under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act show that the state cannabis regulatory commission issued citations to seven companies from January 2020 through mid-April 2022, when marijuana sales broadened from medical to recreational. There were a total of 54 alleged violations.

Still, the companies with violations — including publicly traded Verano Holdings Corp., Curaleaf Holdings Inc. and Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. — won approval to open recreational-weed shops. It was a rocky start: On opening day, April 21, the sellers were among the five companies that started drawing a collective $360,000 in fines involving sales hours. [Read More @ Bloomberg]