The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act ("the Act"), signed into law on Feb. 22, 2021, started New Jersey down the path to legalized personal-use cannabis. This article explores the potential design pitfalls the Act has raised for architects, engineers and entrepreneurs when designing a cannabis grow facility, dispensary or processing facility.

A long time coming, the passage of the Act caught most New Jersey construction attorneys off guard when their clients started calling them for advice. Soon after the Act was passed, I received calls from architects seeking advice as to the potential pitfalls presented by their clients' requests to design facilities for the growing, processing and selling of cannabis products ("cannabis facilities"). Little did I know of the depth of the rabbit hole those calls would lead me down.