New legislation in Trenton would allow some medical cannabis dispensaries to begin selling recreational weed without town approval, among other things. (Photo by Daniella Heminghaus for the New Jersey Monitor)
A new bill would allow medical cannabis dispensaries to begin selling recreational weed without municipal approval, a sign that state lawmakers are seeking to push back on some towns’ resistance to hosting dispensaries.
The legislation, sponsored by Senate President Nicholas Scutari, includes a number of other provisions aimed at the state’s cannabis industry, including one that would allow medical cannabis dispensaries to redesignate their product for recreational sales. But its aim to allow medical dispensaries to shift to the recreational market without municipal approval is the one that could raise the hackles of some local officials opposed to cannabis sales.
New Jersey’s recreational cannabis law allowed towns to opt in or out of sales by August 2021, and most of them opted out. Only about a third of New Jersey’s 564 municipalities allow cannabis businesses, and some of those towns limit sales to medical cannabis only. Five of New Jersey’s roughly 200 dispensaries sell only medical cannabis, according to the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
Joshua Bauchner, attorney and chair of the cannabis, hemp, and psychedelics practice group at Mandelbaum Barrett in Roseland, said the bill appears to be lawmakers’ response to struggles the cannabis industry in New Jersey has faced because of the municipal approval process.
“They’re trying to circumvent the home rule issue so that they don’t have to go back for municipal approval, because that’s been a real challenge and caused a lot of trouble, delays, and litigation,” said Bauchner.
Dispensaries were slow to open across the state — recreational weed sales began in April 2022 — in part because applicants need municipal approvals before launching. Lawmakers have blamed the state’s cannabis agency for acting too slowly to approve applications to sell and distribute weed.
The new measure would bar the cannabis commission from requiring municipal review for certain medical cannabis dispensaries that seek a retail license. This could help at least two medical dispensaries located in towns that bar the sales of recreational marijuana — Breakwater Treatment and Wellness in Cranbury and Rise Dispensary in Paramus — begin selling recreational weed without seeking municipal approval.
Scutari and the Cranbury and Paramus mayors did not respond to requests for comment. The dispensaries also did not return calls requesting comment.
Under the bill, the municipality would not be able to prohibit a medical dispensary from selling recreational cannabis as long as the dispensary has been operating without any violations for at least 180 days. The bill would also bar municipalities from capping the number of medical dispensaries allowed to operate (towns would still be allowed to limit the number of recreational dispensaries.)
Bauchner said a big aim of this bill is to expand the number of dispensaries quickly. Under current law, the commission has up to 90 days to approve applications to sell cannabis, but can give itself indeterminate extensions. Scutari’s bill would limit extensions to 30 days before the commission must approve or deny an application.
“They’re trying to force the CRC’s hand not to delay things,” Bauchner said.
Ken Wolski is the executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana — New Jersey. He supports the measure, saying it would help medical dispensaries that are suffering due to a dramatic decrease in the number of cannabis users seeking medical marijuana. When recreational sales launched in April 2022, more than 128,000 people were enrolled as medical marijuana patients. As of January 2025, that number was just over 65,000.
Dispensaries have patient-only hours, but the state cut them because dispensaries were empty, Wolski said. He called the bill a sign that lawmakers are adapting to New Jersey’s cannabis market.
Wolski said the bill’s push to allow medical dispensaries to redesignate their product would be helpful. Currently, cannabis is either designated to be sold to medical marijuana patients or to recreational customers, and you can’t sell one to the other. Under the bill, dispensaries would be able to reclassify their product, allowing them to offload some of the medical-exclusive product they may not be able to sell to the limited number of patients.
“To me, it sounds fair because you put all these restrictions on medical cannabis dispensaries, and then you made it impossible for them to do the kind of business that they expect to do,” Wolski said. “It would certainly help those facilities.”
Newtown-based cannabis attorney John D. Williams said the new bill, if passed, would make the application and review process smoother for both business owners and the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The measure would remove some requirements, like one that mandates the commission give special consideration to applicants working with higher education institutions, and would require the commission to create a website with information on each town’s cannabis-related ordinances.
“It’s a practical response to the realities of the application process,” Williams said. “It’s intended to truncate the time and compel more prompt review and broaden the access to licenses for new applicants.”
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