N.J. legal weed sales on verge of finally getting OK to begin

New Jersey on Thursday is expected to reach a significant milestone in its long effort to sell recreational use cannabis to adults.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission that oversees the nascent industry is expected to approve the first batch of conditional license applications for cultivation and manufacturing at its monthly meeting on Thursday.

In addition, five alternative treatment centers currently serving medical cannabis patients that applied to expand to sell to the adult-use market are also expected to be approved.

If approved by the commission, the five centers will be the only facilities selling cannabis initially to both the medical and recreational market.

The approved cultivators and manufacturers are expected to grow crop and build out their facilities over the course of six to nine months before they can start selling cannabis, say experts. Their conditional licenses represent a social equity measure that gives an early priority to smaller cultivators and manufacturers.

The commission on Thursday is expected to set the start of the 30-day notification period for actual sales of cannabis to begin at the five alternative treatment centers.

That would make late April or early May as the earliest for sales to non-medical customers to begin. That aligns with Gov. Phil Murphy’s revised fiscal year 2022 state budget proposal, which now anticipates $4 million in cannabis state sales revenue by June 30. [Read More @ NJ.com]