‘Wonderful’: Cannabis sales in New Jersey bring in excited shoppers
People clenched fists as they enter a Rise dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis to adults 21 and older began Thursday, the first alternative treatment center in part of the state to open at 6 a.m. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
With the moon still in the sky, people wait in line for the opening of a Rise dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis to adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening in part of the state at 6 a.m. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
RISE dispensary employees help customers in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis to adults 21 and older began Thursday, the first alternative treatment center in part of the state to open at 6 a.m. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Customers place an order for cannabis products on a tablet at a Rise dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening at 6 a.m. state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Orders for cannabis products are filled at a RISE dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis to adults 21 and older began Thursday, the first alternative treatment center in part of the state to open at 6 a.m. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Customers place orders for cannabis products on tablets at a RISE dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening at 6 a.m. state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Customers wait in line for cannabis products at a Rise dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis to adults 21 and older began Thursday, the first alternative treatment center in part of the state to open at 6 a.m. , (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Customers place orders for cannabis products on tablets at a RISE dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening at 6 a.m. state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Customers place an order for cannabis products on a tablet at a Rise dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening at 6 a.m. state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A customer displays some marijuana that he purchased at a RISE dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening at 6 a.m. state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Customers wait to fill their orders at a RISE dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis to adults 21 and older began Thursday, the first alternative treatment center in part of the state to open at 6 a.m. , (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A customer prepares to pay for his order at RISE dispensary assisting customers in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis to adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening in part at 6 a.m. of the state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Mark White, right, waits for his order to be filled while others wait in line behind him at a Rise dispensary in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first option opening at 6 a.m. treatment centers in many parts of the state (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
An employee of a RISE dispensary wears an earring of marijuana leaves on Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Bloomfield, NJ. Recreational sales of cannabis to adults 21 and older began Thursday, the first alternative treatment center in part of the state to open at 6 a.m. , (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People decorate the entrance of Rise Dispensary with balloons in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening at 6 p.m. I am part of the state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
An employee of a RISE dispensary instructs customers to check-out in Bloomfield, NJ, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Recreational sales of cannabis for adults 21 and older began Thursday, with the first alternative treatment center opening at 6 a.m. state. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Bloomfield, NJ (AP) — Michael Barrow wore his Grateful Dead T-shirt and Jerry Garcia face mask to the opening day of recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey on Thursday, one of dozens who attended the festivities scene. They were in line before morning.
“It’s so amazing, exciting and if I’m pulled over on the way home and I’m ever asked if I have any drugs in the car, that’s the only thing I’m allowed to say,” said Barrow, referring to marijuana. holding a canister of flowers he had just bought. It is now legal to possess cannabis in New Jersey, although driving under the influence is still prohibited.
Barrow, 60, joined a steady stream of other novelty seekers, longtime marijuana users, and medical patients at RISE in Bloomfield, near the state’s largest city, Newark, and not far from New York City.
With flashes of soul music, free donuts in the parking lot, a steel drum and a balloon arch at the entrance, New Jersey’s cannabis kickoff to people 21 and older was a much more fair experience than just opening a store.
Hagan Seeley, 23, said he just found out the day before that entertaining sales were starting and decided to see what the scene looked like. He was impressed by the venue, which was decorated with an old railway station-style tote board and tall wooden table of products under glass globes.
“It feels right. It feels safe. It feels like everything you want can be found elsewhere,” Seeley said.
The debut of the recreational market comes a week after Democratic Governor Phil Murphy announced that state regulators have cleared the way for recreational sales at seven “alternative treatment centers” that were already offering medical cannabis. Seven centers operate 13 facilities across the state.
Murphy, who has long supported recreational marijuana legalization and signed the bill to set the market, appeared for the first day of recreational sales at Genleaf in Elizabeth. The governor said he would not try any marijuana, saying earlier this week it is not his “thing” and that he prefers Scotch. Murphy said he is pushing for “federal reform” for marijuana as well, though it was unclear whether he was referring to recreational legalization, national demonetisation, or something else.
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Hadi Battis, 47, is a Navy veteran and medical marijuana card holder for her post-traumatic stress disorder. She’s a regular at ZenLeaf and said she’s never seen the place as busy as Thursday.
Battis said that New Jersey’s recreational cannabis law gives priority status to people of color, a fact that will help to bring down the “brick walls.” “It’s about time that minorities, people of color, black people, brown people have a chance to really get into business.”
Charles Pfeiffer stood in line for about 2.5 hours and said he believed he was the first recreational customer to shop at the ZenLeaf location. When he first walked into a store located in a shopping center next to a grocery store, he shouted loudly and tossed his hands in the air.
He bought a cannabis flower and candy for about $140 and joked about how soon he would have to return to buy more.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said. “I’m kidding, maybe within a week.”
New Jersey is home to 18 states as well as the District of Columbia with legalized recreational marijuana markets. Thirty-seven states, including New Jersey, have legalized medical marijuana.
New Jersey is the first of its closest neighbors to launch recreational sales.
New York is moving forward with a recreational market, but sales are not expected to begin until the end of the year, state officials have said.
Neighboring Pennsylvania has medical cannabis but is not recreational. Some cities, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, passed ordinances to decriminalize marijuana or make it a lesser law enforcement priority.
Legislation allowing recreational marijuana in Delaware failed in March.
Ben Kowler of Green Thumb Industries, which operates Bloomfield dispensary, was at the inauguration Thursday. He said he expects demand to pick up as the news of the start of sales was known by the public only for a week.
“This is a moment in time in American history where Prohibition 2.0 has been lifted,” he said before the inauguration.
To gain regulatory approval, the facilities told regulators they would not obstruct access for medical marijuana patients.
Terrascend’s Ziad Ghanem said the centers will initially have a “narrow menu” for recreational users to accommodate patients.
Centers are also required to meet social equity standards, such as providing technical knowledge to new marijuana businesses, particularly social equity applicants — those located in economically struggling parts of the state or those who have acquired a cannabis-related have committed crimes.
New Jersey’s tax revenue is expected to increase, but it’s not clear how much. Murphy’s fiscal year 2023 budget is pending before the Legislature and is projected to generate revenue of only $19 million in a budget of approximately $49 billion. Murphy told reporters on Thursday that he believed the industry could normalize millions for the state.
The law governing the recreational market calls for a 6.625% sales tax to be applied, with 70% of proceeds going to areas affected by marijuana-related arrests. Black residents were three times more likely to face marijuana charges than white residents. Cities can also impose a tax of up to 2%.
In a memo to law enforcement officials across the state, Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin reminded police that unregulated marijuana remains an illegal substance.
State regulators state that dispensaries are allowed to sell the equivalent of 1 ounce of cannabis, meaning one ounce of dried flower, or 5 grams of the concentrate, or 1,000 milligrams of edible substances, such as gummies. Perishable items like cookies and brownies are not available.
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