It’s taking longer than expected for N.J.’s 13th legal weed dispensary to open. Here’s why.

Curaleaf in Edgewater Park won't open until new parking lot built

Curaleaf told by Edgewater Park officials to build new parking lot before it can open for adult marijuana sales. About 750 cars were turned away on the state's launch on April 21 as the Edgewater Park store never opened. Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

EDITOR’S NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider is hosting an in-person business networking event July 14 at The Asbury in Asbury Park. Tickets are limited.

Unlike its competitors, the Curaleaf-owned medical marijuana dispensary in Edgewater Park did not open its doors to customers seeking to buy adult legal weed during the state’s big launch on April 21.

Instead, a police officer patrolled the Edgewater Park site and turned away traffic for most of the day. A large electronic sign board flashed the words, “No recreational cannabis sold here,” while multiple officers along Route 130 turned away more than 750 cars whose occupants were not there for medical cannabis.

At first, it was expected to take a few extra days for the dispensary to work out minor glitches with the township and become the state’s 13th legal weed site.

But it will likely be weeks, maybe even months, before Curaleaf Edgewater Park will open because it needs a much bigger parking lot, according to the land use attorney and engineer for Edgewater Park Township.

Attorney Tom Coleman, who represents the Edgewater Park Land Use Board, said although the medical dispensary had its municipal approvals memorialized on April 21 by the local board, Curaleaf still needed “to perfect” its site plans in accordance with the township’s conditional approval.

Coleman said Curaleaf approached the township in 2020 regarding the site — a former 8,000 square foot gym that it converted into a medical dispensary at 4237 US-130 South, Edgewater Park in Burlington County.

“Two years ago they agreed that if they ever decided to sell recreational cannabis, they would come back to the board and get site plan approvals,” Coleman told NJ Cannabis Insider.

“They came back with a wonderful site plan in March (2022). In New Jersey, when you get approval from a land use board, it’s not memorialized until the following month. We did that on April 21, we memorialized their approval,” said Coleman.

“They’re right. They have an approval,” Coleman continued. “But now they have to satisfy all the conditions: They have to build the parking lot; they have to put lights in; they have to build the (drainage) basins.”

Curaleaf currently uses less than a third of the facility, about 2,000 square feet, for medical cannabis patients. In order to use some of the rest for adult use sales, it needs to make these fixes, said Coleman.

Curaleaf confirmed the delay to NJ Advance Media last week, though the company is more optimistic on the time frame to open than the township is.

“We have been finalizing approvals to pave our parking lot with the town,” said Stephanie Cunha, Curaleaf’s Regional Director of Public Relations, in an email. “The officials in Edgewater Park have been gracious partners and we anticipate being able to open our facility soon.”

Curaleaf’s other location for adult weed sales in Bellmawr opened on April 21, as did 11 other locations belonging to six other medical dispensaries, also known as alternative treatment centers.

Industry observers say Curaleaf’s predicament in Edgewater Park underscores how municipalities have the final say as to when a medical dispensary can open for recreational adult use within its borders, even when it meets all other criteria, including approvals from the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

The CRC approved Curaleaf to open its two satellite stores and had listed Edgewater Park on the eve of the statewide launch on its website as among the 13 locations green lighted to begin adult weed sales on April 21.

It wasn’t until Friday, April 22, that Cunha issued a statement that Curaleaf was delaying adult use sales in Edgewater Park.

The CRC, responding to NJ Advance Media, said Curaleaf met all the requirements for state approval.

“Curaleaf, like all the approved dispensaries, submitted all the paperwork required by statute and regulation to obtain a state license,” said CRC spokeswoman Toni-Anne Blake in an email.


Blake said in a separate email that once the state approves, the dispensary decides when to open a store. But local officials say they have their own requirements.

Coleman said Curaleaf has been “a very good partner with Edgewater Park.”

“They’ve been above board with us,” he said. “We’re trying to work with them closely to see if we can get them to open sooner, but that’s really in the hands of the engineers.”

“We want to see them open, we’re trying our best to get them open. But they’ve got to show us that they’re willing to get these improvements soon,” added Coleman. “I can’t put 10 pounds into a 5-pound bag and say they’re open and have 500 cars show up for a 50-car lot.”

Rakesh Darji, who is both township and planning board engineer for Edgewater Park, is working closely with Curaleaf’s engineer to get the facility up and running for adult use weed sales as soon as possible.

For that to happen, Darji said the existing parking lot has to add 56 spaces, going from 51 spaces to 107; and add an infiltration basin, lighting and landscaping.

“The land use board approval has to be perfected and documented, then they’ll be given the go ahead to start construction,” Darji told Cannabis Insider.

“The condition for them to open up for adult use is they have to have a parking lot constructed. We’re talking weeks, not days,” said Darji.

Edgewater Park was among the municipalities that opted in last summer to have adult weed sales.

“Opting in means you’re willing to permit it [adult use cannabis sales] in certain places in your town, but they still have to meet the design and site plan requirements of the various townships,” Darji said.

Despite being down one location, the CRC reported last Wednesday that the state’s 12 participating dispensaries sold cannabis and cannabis products to 12,438 recreational cannabis customers for a total gross sale of nearly $1.9 million on opening day. The panel said the historic launch into the adult recreational market that day went without a hitch.

Coleman, who’s been the land use attorney for Edgewater Park since 1995, said other ATCs should take note.

“Just because the voters of the state of New Jersey approved the decriminalization and the sale of recreational marijuana, there was never any effort by the governor to usurp the town’s authority to make sure that all the appropriate zoning ordinances and regulations were satisfied,” said Coleman. “That includes site plan requirements and zoning issues before opening.”

As far as Curaleaf opening for adult sales on April 21: “They were never going to open from our perspective,” said Coleman.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Suzette Parmley may be reached at sparmley@njadvancemedia.com or follow her on Twitter: @SuzParmley

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.