New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill that could significantly impact the cannabis industry by simplifying the approval process for medical dispensaries to sell adult-use cannabis. Currently, these businesses must secure local approval before expanding, but under the proposed legislation, that decision would rest solely with the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC). Joshua Bauchner, Chair of the Cannabis & Psychedelics Practice Group at Mandelbaum Barrett PC, shared his perspective on the issue in the NJBIZ article, “NJ Lawmakers Consider New Option for Cannabis License Approvals.”
Supporters of the bill claim that it will speed up the approval process and make it easier for dispensaries to enter the adult-use market. However, Bauchner points out that these businesses have already met stringent state regulations as medical dispensaries, making additional local approvals redundant. “Is it really all that critical,” he asks, “that municipalities should have to prove that licensees who have already been operating lawfully under medical guidelines should now not be permitted to operate under adult-use guidelines?”
Rather than a major regulatory breakthrough, Bauchner sees this as a minor adjustment that simply aligns the law with reality. He notes that municipalities are not being forced to accept new cannabis operators—only that existing medical dispensaries will be allowed to expand into adult-use without another round of local approval.
The Decline of Medical Cannabis
Beyond the debate over municipal approvals, Joshua Bauchner points to a larger shift in the cannabis market: the steady decline of New Jersey’s medical cannabis program. As more consumers opt for adult-use cannabis, the medical market has shrunk, with the main difference between the two being taxes. Bauchner notes the cause for the medical decline stems from people preferring not to go through the process of having to get a medical card when they could simply purchase adult-use.
This bill, in many ways, is just a reflection of this market reality. Medical dispensaries need to transition to adult-use sales to stay competitive, and requiring additional local approval only slows down an inevitable shift.
What This Means for the Cannabis Industry
While the proposed legislation could eliminate one regulatory hurdle, it’s unlikely to drastically change the pace of approvals or the growth of New Jersey’s cannabis industry. For dispensaries already operating in compliant municipalities, it removes a layer of bureaucracy, but as Bauchner suggests, the bigger challenge for the industry is not municipal approvals—it’s adapting to consumer demand.
Read the full NJBIZ article here.
For further information, you can reach Joshua Bauchner at jbauchner@mblawfirm.com or at 646-369-0250.