EDITOR’S NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider is hosting a day-long conference and networking event Sept. 15 at the Crowne Plaza Princeton, featuring major players in the industry. Tickets are limited.
Curaleaf is expected to go before a state panel in two weeks to obtain final approvals to expand its six month-old medical dispensary in Bordentown Township and begin selling adult recreational weed.
If the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission gives approval at its Sept. 9 meeting, a Bordentown Township official anticipates adult weed sales to commence soon after at the Curaleaf medical cannabis dispensary located at 191 U.S. 130 North.
“It is anticipated that once approved by the CRC they (Curaleaf) would be allowed to operate as an expanded alternative treatment center,” Mark Siegle, Bordentown Township’s Director of Community Development, told N.J. Advance Media on Friday.
The CRC has yet to post its agenda for the Sept. 9 meeting.
Curaleaf spokeswoman Stephanie Cunha said the company hopes to appear before the CRC on Sept. 9, but that “is not confirmed yet. I guess we’ll 100% know when they make the agenda public.”
Siegle said Curaleaf’s Bordentown medical dispensary opened in February 2022, and for the past several months has taken all the necessary steps with the township to expand to adult weed as well.
Curaleaf — New Jersey’s largest grower of cannabis — applied to the Bordentown Township Planning Board on May 9 for amended preliminary and final major site plan approvals to operate an expanded alternative treatment center.
This application was approved at the June 23 Planning Board hearing. Last month, the Township and the Planning Board determined that Curaleaf had complied with all of their conditions to allow them to sell both medical and adult cannabis, said Siegle.
Curaleaf began selling adult cannabis in Bellmawr on April 21, the same day as the statewide launch, and a month later in Edgewater Park after parking issues were resolved.
Each of the eight alternative treatment centers are allowed up to three satellite stores to open under the state cannabis law, for a total of 24 in New Jersey.
There are currently 19 stores that are selling recreational weed, including the two operated by Curaleaf.
The others are: Verano, under the Zen Leaf banner, in Elizabeth, Lawrence and Neptune; Acreage, at The Botanist Williamstown and The Botanist Egg Harbor; Green Thumb, which uses the RISE banner, at RISE Bloomfield and RISE Paterson; TerrAscend, under The Apothecarium banner, in Maplewood, Phillipsburg and Lodi; The Cannabist/Columbia Care, in Deptford and Vineland; Garden State Medical Dispensary owned by AYR in Woodbridge, Eatontown and Union; and Ascend in Rochelle Park and most recently, in Montclair, which opened for adult weed on Aug. 19.
Ascend Fort Lee debuted strictly medical cannabis in a former Staples store on Aug. 12, and hopes to sell adult weed by the fall.
History has shown that once state approvals are obtained, the dispensaries have launched adult weed sales within 10 days or less.
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Suzette Parmley may be reached at sparmley@njadvancemedia.com or follow her on Twitter: @SuzParmley