The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) announced the start of license applications for the adult-use market during their November meeting. Beginning on December 15, 2021, the CRC will release applications for those interested in obtaining a Class 1 Cultivator license, Class 2 Manufacturer license, or testing laboratory license. Applications for Class 5 Retailers will not be accepted until March 15, 2022.
The CRC has not yet announced a date for acceptance of applications for those interested in a Class 3 Wholesaler, Class 4 Distributor, or Class 6 Delivery. Additionally, the CRC has not announced a date for medical marijuana dispensaries looking to convert to adult-use sales.
The CRC will accept applications on a rolling basis. Currently there is no deadline to submit applications, however, if the CRC decides to end the application process, they will give at least 30 days’ notice of the application close date. The CRC will give priority review to applicants that qualify as social equity businesses, diversely owned businesses, impact zone businesses, and to applicants that receive bonus points on their application. Additionally, those seeking conditional and microbusiness license types will receive priority over standard licenses.
The CRC has not established any caps on cannabis business licenses. However, by law, the CRC can only issue standard licenses to 37 cultivators until February 2023. This cap, or any cap established by the CRC, will not apply to microbusinesses.
The CRC also released their application scored measures. An applicant will receive full points if they meet the requirements of that measure. However, an applicant that does not meet the requirements of a specific measure, or does not provide all required information, will receive no points and the application will be rejected and returned to the applicant to correct the deficiencies and resubmit. For a complete breakdown of the scored measures for each application type, please review the Notice of Application.
The New Jersey Cannabis market is beginning to see significant movement, and the right team of advisors with in-depth knowledge of the industry is essential to your business to help navigate the complex terrain. If you are a cannabis company within the seed-to-sale lifecycle, feel free to reach out to Sax’s Cannabis Advisors for more information with regards to applications, newly released regulations, financial guidance and more.