Six more businesses were given the green light prepare to open shop in New Jersey as state regulators effectively doubled the size of the medical marijuana market. This latest announcement builds on a running campaign to expand access to cannabis for the state’s approximately 40,000 registered medical marijuana patients.
Each of these new licenses mandates vertical integration, and will allow the business to grow cannabis and sell it in a dispensary. (In New Jersey, dispensaries are referred to as Alternative Treatment Centers, or ATCs.)
The six businesses include:
- NETA NJ, LLC, Phillipsburg
- GTI New Jersey, LLC, Paterson
- Verano NJ, LLC, Rahway (cultivation), Elizabeth (retail)
- Justice Grown, Ewing
- MPX New Jersey, Galloway (cultivation), Atlantic City (retail)
- Columbia Care New Jersey, Vineland
“Six very strong applicants were selected, including minority-owned and women-owned businesses,” Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal said in a public statement. “We will meet with them early next year to refine their timetable for growing product and opening their doors. We are committed to an equitable expansion of supply to meet growing patient demand, and these new locations will reach patients that currently have to travel longer distances to obtain the therapy.”
All told, 146 businesses applied for these six licenses.
According to the New Jersey Department of Health: “Before receiving approval to grow medical marijuana, the chosen applicants now must pass background checks, provide evidence of a dispensary location and municipal approval, and comply with all regulations under the Division of Medical Marijuana, including safety and security requirements.”
