As the state board governing the Garden State’s legal weed marketplace prepares to adopt revised rules and regulations in the coming weeks, New Jersey’s cannabis business community continues to forge forward, working on expanding the market.
Among the changes ahead is a lift on the cap the law placed on the number of growers allowed in the state.
“I’ve been clear from Day 1, even before the law passed, that 37 cultivators is not a sufficient number to serve the state’s population,” Jeff Brown, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s executive director, told NJ Cannabis Insider recently.
Earlier this month, the CRC released the rules for operating consumption lounges; it has also been making strides toward helping small businesses, especially those harmed by the War on Drugs, navigate the roadblocks erected by uncertain municipalities.
To that end, NJ Cannabis Insider, the state’s only trade journal covering the industry since 2018, is hosting its first conference of the year on March 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Newark Airport. Tickets are limited.
From winning approval from underinformed municipal leaders to operate in their towns, finding the right piece of real estate in a notoriously tight market to obtaining capital to run a viable operation, small-business owners don’t have it easy in this multi-billion-dollar industry, Lavín said.
“We’re designing a program in which attendees can walk away with actionable information delivered by some of our industry’s most knowledgable business leaders,” he said. “As you’ll see, several of those we named to our 23 to watch in 2023 are already confirmed to speak.”
Speakers so far include:
- Edmund DeVeaux, president of the NJ CannaBusiness Association, the state’s cannabis chamber of commerce
- Jessica Gonzalez, an attorney, educator and consultant representing the N.J. Business Action Center’s Technical Assistance Program
- Rob Mejia, author, entrepreneur and cannabis instructor at Stockton University
- David Cunic, founder of UCS Advisors, an investor relations specialist
- Darrin Chandler Jr., owner of Premium Genetics, and an executive at RIPCO real estate
- Faye Coleman, founder of Pure Genesis and owner of Endo, a soon-to-open dispensary/consumption lounge in Atlantic City
- Mollie Hartman Lustig, chair of the Cannabis Law Practice at McLaughlin & Stern
- Matha Figaro, co-founder of CannPowerment and owner of But-A-Cake, a Jersey City-based company specializing in infused cannabis edibles
- Ronald Mondello, municipal and land-use attorney for numerous New Jersey municipalities
- Tiyahnn Bryant, CEO and co-founder of Roll Up Life, an East Orange delivery and technology company
- Precious Osagie Erese, COO and co-founder at Roll Up Life
- Todd Polyniak, partner at SAX, cannabis accounting
- Warren Harasz, VP of Regulatory Compliance at Cannaspire
Among the topics the day-long conference will cover:
- Best practices for how to obtain municipal approval
- What it takes to raise capital
- Navigating the real estate market
- What should conditional and annual license holders do now
- How to get the most out of government agencies set up to help you
The conference will include a vendor exhibit space as well as several discovery areas, featuring education outlets, niche products and services, and a curated speed-networking session designed for license-holders to connect with as many like-minded people as possible in a short period of time, Lavín said.
Click here to purchase tickets. Space is being limited. Social equity applicants should take advantage of the discount option on the ticket page.
NJ Cannabis Insider is a weekly subscriber-based online trade journal and events group produced by NJ Advance Media, which also publishes NJ.com, The Star-Ledger and other affiliated papers.
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