Exactly 296 days after New Jersey's governor signed the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (the Act) into law, the state's Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) began accepting license applications to operate specific cannabis businesses. The first day applications were accepted was Dec. 15, 2021, which date will undoubtedly go down in history and marks the first step toward creating New Jersey's personal, adult-use cannabis market.

Currently, medicinal cannabis can only be obtained from 12 existing alternative treatment centers operating in the state, and is only available for purchase by New Jersey residents who hold a medical cannabis card. A resident who does not have a medical cannabis card issued by the Division of Medicinal Marijuana cannot purchase legal cannabis in New Jersey. However, Dec. 15, 2021, marked the first stepping stone for residents other than medical cannabis cardholders to be able to purchase personal adult-use cannabis from licensed cannabis retail businesses. The Class 5 Retailer License is the only one to allow holders to sell directly to a consumer; however, this license was not included in the first round of the application process but will be available for the public to apply for starting March 15, 2022. The licenses available for application on Dec. 15, 2021, were the following:  

• Class 1 Cultivator License: Upon issuance of this license, the license holder will be permitted to grow, cultivate, or produce cannabis. The license-holder cannot sell directly to the consumer.
• Class 2 Manufacturer License: Upon issuance of this license, the license holder will be permitted to process cannabis items in New Jersey and manufacture, prepare, package, and transport the products to a retailer. The license-holder cannot sell directly to the consumer.
• The Testing laboratory License: Upon issuance of this license, the license holder shall be permitted to sample and test cannabis items in accordance with the Act, as well as sample and test medical cannabis and medical cannabis products in accordance with the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, (N.J.S.A. 24:6I-1, et seq.) upon certification or licensing pursuant to N.J.S.A. 24:6I-18.

The CRC is accepting applications on a rolling basis, and as of the writing of this article, there are no deadlines to submit applications. However, if the CRC decides to end the application process, advance notice of at least 30 days prior to the application close date is necessary. The CRC will provide priority review, scoring and approval to conditional and microbusiness applicants, as well as those that qualify as social equity businesses, diversely owned businesses, and impact zone businesses.