New Jersey’s cannabis legalization bill is “about righting wrongs from the failed drug-war, period, hard end.”
By Sophie Nieto-Munoz, New Jersey Monitor
New Jersey’s cannabis regulators rejected a recent initiative to increase the number cannabis businesses operated by people who have prior marijuana convictions or live in economically depressed parts of the state. It was a shocking turn-around.
In June, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission voted to grant those applicants – called social equity applicants – first crack for wholesale, distributor and service delivery licenses starting in September. The commission decided to shorten the period of time after critics claimed that the June decision could harm cannabis entrepreneurs who have been harmed by drug wars but don’t fit the definition.
Leo Bridgewater is a long-time cannabis advocate. He said that the June decision would not have helped New Jersey’s cannabis industry.
In a telephone interview with the media after the meeting on Tuesday, he stated that it would be “sacrificing the needs for the few to the needs for the many.”
Starting September 27, under the new rules approved on Tuesday, social equity applicants who are seekingwholesale distributor and delivery licensing will get priority for three month. For the next three-month period, cannabis businesses owned by women or minorities, or veterans with disabilities, will be given priority.
The June decision and the Tuesday’s decision do not apply to license applicants for cultivation or manufacturing.
The motion to amend the June decision was approved 3-1 with Charles Barker as the lone “no” vote. Barker, who is often the only ‘no vote’, defended an initial timeline of one year as a measure that would have helped those most affected by marijuana prohibition. He stressed that New Jersey’s legalization of marijuana is about “righting the wrongs caused by the failed drug prohibition, period, stop .”
Dianne Houenou, Chairwoman of the Commission, argued that Black and Brown business owners would be shut out had the commission maintained the one-year prioritization period.
Tiyahnn Bryant, the founder of Roll Up Life who is seeking approval to deliver applications, stated that he was starting his business back in East Orange, his hometown. Bryant says that his business is just one building from the border of an economically depressed area and the half of the city meets the criteria for social equity.
“We understand that we need help people on the social equity lanes,” he said. “But do we have do it in spite of businesses like mine where the only reason I’m not a social-equity company is that I don’t reside next door or that I wasn’t arrest?”
Delgado stated that stories such as Bryant’s demonstrate the cannabis market should not be restricted. Barker replied that the people who spoke at the meetings did not represent the entire industry. Barker also disagreed with Houenou, saying that the one-year period approved in June had not been implemented, and it was unfair to say that it would have failed.
Bridgewater said that overturning Barker’s resolution is a smart decision to keep the cannabis industry moving. He said that the idea was great when the industry started to get serious, with social equity applicants and other interested parties, but implementing it over a year after the launch of the recreational cannabis market is “poor time .”
Bridgewater said that the dispute over giving priority to one group of cannabis applicants versus another doesn’t address the major problem of the market: dispensaries are not opening due to burdensome requirements and municipal obstacles. To open a cannabis business, the owner must also get approval from both the town and the state.
He said that if we dig deeper into the reasons, it is no secret that about 400 out of the 565 New Jersey municipalities have said no to marijuana. “That’s an important part of the problem .”
The original publication of this story was by New Jersey Monitor.
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The post New Jersey Marijuana Regulations Scale Back Rule to Prioritize People with Convictions in Licensing for A Year first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
