As hundreds of applicants for adult-use dispensaries await state approval to enter New Jersey’s promising cannabis market, one major player is currently phasing out its cultivation operation in Bellmawr, near Camden.
Curaleaf, the largest publicly traded cannabis company in the world by market cap, will cease cultivation and utilize the Bellmawr facility in South Jersey for other operations to meet current business needs, spokesperson Stephanie Cunha confirmed March 23 with Cannabis Business Times via an official company statement. The multistate operator has a second cultivation facility in Winslow—also in South Jersey—that became fully operational in 2021.
“This allows us to consolidate our production of key product platforms with our Winslow facility and will streamline processes to increase output,” the statement reads. “Winslow has the capacity to support New Jersey’s overall market demand. The company values the dedication of the Bellmawr team and will work to identify other opportunities within its overall operations for impacted team members. These changes do not impact our dispensary in Bellmawr, which will continue to operate and serve both medical patients and adult-use customers.”
The Bellmawr cultivation phaseout could impact as many as 40 workers, according to NJ Advance Media, which first reported the company’s plans Thursday morning.
In addition to its cultivation footprint, Curaleaf has three dispensaries—a state maximum—that serve both adult-use customers and medical patients in Bellmawr, Bordertown and Edgewater Park. As of March 23, New Jersey has 35 dispensaries, 24 of which have expanded to adult-use, with more than 9 million people in the state—the most densely populated in the nation.
While New Jersey launched commercial adult-use sales on April 21, 2022, with existing medical operators given first-mover advantage, the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) has since received 415 cultivator license applications and 940 dispensary applications from those hoping to enter the adult-use market, as of Feb. 13. Many of those new retail operators are hoping to receive final state approval during the CRC’s April 13 meeting and will need partners to stock their shelves.
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During the CRC’s February meeting, the commission reported that New Jersey had 11 “dual” cultivation facilities and six medical-only facilities that combined for a total operational canopy of 418,000 square feet, or roughly 4,500 square feet per 100,000 people. By comparison, California’s cultivation capacity was estimated at more than 200,000 square feet per 100,000 people during peak saturation in mid-2022.
Also during last month’s meeting, CRC decided to allow a statutory cap of 37 cultivation licenses to sunset on Feb. 22, 2023. Commissioner Maria Del Cid-Kosso, who sits on the Permitting and Licensing Committee, said removing the cap is good for the market.
“The market is developing, and we don’t want to hinder that,” she said. “The New Jersey canopy is currently only 418,000 square feet—far below the average of other states with legal cannabis. New Jersey currently has only one cultivation license for every 197,000 residents. The national average is one license for every 31,000 residents. We have a lot of room to grow. We expect that lifting the cap will open the space for more cultivators, ultimately resulting in more favorable pricing and better access for patients and other consumers.”
Curaleaf’s decision to forgo one of its two cultivation facility operations in New Jersey comes on the heels of a January decision for the company to exit production and cultivation facilities in California, Colorado and Oregon.
Those closures were in mature markets. New Jersey’s adult-use market is still just getting off the ground
