Defining the industry – nj.com – nj.com

Hello, everyone! Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving Day!

We’re back this week and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover on how the industry is shaping up.

The cannabis space is a constant work in progress. We all knew that the legislation passing was the start. Now that the sausage is being made, and across multiple municipalities no less, the game’s going to get more complex, and the dollar signs are set to increase.

Who gets access to those revenues in full is always the constant question of the day.

Sue Livio comes through with a piece that examines the Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s efforts to answer that question by giving priority licenses to minorities, veterans and women and those harmed by the drug war for the upcoming adult-license round.

Don’t forget, the CRC’s next meeting is Tuesday at 6 p.m. Tune in here. Also, the CRC hosted a webinar this week on preparing for applications. Watch here.

Also, we’re welcoming a new recurring guest columnist and familiar cannabis insider, Stockton University adjunct professor Rob Mejia. This week, for his debut in “Prof. Mejia’s Weed Corner,” he talks about the edibles market, their impact and how they should be responsibly regulated with access to boot (because let’s be honest, who doesn’t want more legal edible options here, folks?)

Mejia is also pulling up at an event that NJ Cannabis Insider is helping moderate with Cannademix, a company that’s going to host some familiar faces at a free event in Newark centering around legacy operators going legal.

In this issue, I interview Cannademix founder Josh Alb on the importance of going from legacy to legal.

Jonathan Salant covers another legal effort as he reports from the halls of D.C. on how Congress is pushing the VA to allow medical cannabis. As a veteran myself, I can’t underscore how important it is not only from an access perspective but also from a healthcare bureaucracy perspective. The VA is the nation’s largest publicly funded healthcare system spread out across all 50 states. If their doctors are forced to learn more about the plant, you better believe the private sector will follow suit.

In other news, for those of you who haven’t caught our publication’s investigative article that ran on the front page of the Sunday Star-Ledger, “A road back to the war on drugs?” check it out. Tell us what you think. It’s on how the cannabis law funds a controversial police tactic for impaired drivers. For those that already read, thanks for the support as always.

We don’t have a networking event this month, so we’ll recommend the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association’s “CannaVictory” meetup on Wednesday (Dec. 8) from 6 to 9 p.m. in New Brunswick.

Lastly, as the clock runs out on 2021, we’re gearing up for our busiest year yet in 2022. Our first networking event, part of our regular speaker series, will be Jan. 19 in Jersey City. We know some of you already got on the wait list that our events team sent out last week. We are still considering speakers and sponsor proposals. Send a note to Enrique Lavin and Kristen Ligas, here.

Until next time …

— Jelani Gibson

How CRC will define ‘disadvantaged’ applicants, communities

State regulators promised that minorities, veterans and women, people with drug convictions and those who hail from poor communities would get priority treatment if they apply to operate cannabis businesses in New Jersey’s up and coming adult-use market

Last week, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission shared the eagerly awaited details on how these priority groups may qualify for a permit and jump to the front of the line, ahead of deep-pocketed multi-state operators, which have come to dominate the legal market across the nation.

For the first time, the CRC defined “Impact Zones” and “Economically Disadvantaged Areas” — classifications that are aimed to make the industry more diverse.

Joe Johnson, policy counsel for the ACLU-NJ told NJCI his organization “was happy with the direction the CRC is going.” But priority application review won’t do anything to address the most significant barriers to entering the market, he said

“We would love to see the CRC go further and institute some financial, legal and technical assistance, to make sure their applications are as competitive as the multi-state operators,” Johnson said.

The commission will begin accepting applications on a continuous basis from potential marijuana growers, processors and testing labs starting Dec. 15 and from dispensaries on March 15, the commission previously announced.

The CRC will give first crack to social equity businesses, defined as entities “owned by people who have lived in an economically disadvantaged area or an EDA, of the state, or who have convictions for cannabis-related offenses.”

People living in an EDA earned 80% or less of New Jersey’s median household income of $90,444, and have an uninsurance rate of 1-½ times that of the rest of the state in 2019, a CRC report explaining its methodology says.

There are 55 zip codes (out of 595 in New Jersey) that meet this definition. Nine each are in Essex and Passaic counties; seven are in Union County.

“Economically Disadvantaged Areas are generally younger, more diverse, and more densely populated than the state average,” the CRC website says. Seventeen percent of New Jersey’s 9 million residents live here, the site said.

Diversely owned businesses fall next in line, previously defined in the law Gov. Phil Murphy signed as owned by a majority of women, minorities or veterans.

Finally, impact zone applicants come from 87 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities in 18 counties “disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs,” the CRC’s guidance says.

Impact zone communities have an average unemployment rate that is 32% higher than the rest of the state, 77% more marijuana arrests, and a crime index – a measure of overall crime in a municipality – of 34% or more than the rest of New Jersey.

There may be overlap between economically disadvantaged areas and impact zones, the CRC guidance said. But there are some surprises in there too. They include East Brunswick, Metuchen, and Monroe in Middlesex County, Wildwood and North Wildwood in Cape May County and East Hanover and Morris Plains in Morris County.

Jessica Gonzalez, cannabis law attorney and general counsel for Minorities for Medical Marijuana, said she saw great things happening as a result of the impact zone designations.

“The cannabis industry is a titan when it comes to creating new jobs and opportunities for employment and that’s what I expect to see in impact zones, a plethora of new job opportunities for residents of impact zones,” Gonzalez said.

“My hope, however, is that impact zones takes steps to prioritize their own residents in terms of providing local approval for state licenses to ensure that residents of impact zones are able to operate in their towns as owners and not just employees,” Gonzalez added.

Above all in these categories, people who want to open a microbusiness go to the head of the line. “Microbusinesses, which are limited to 10 employees and 2,500 square feet, will also be prioritized and, if successful, allowed to apply to expand their business in accordance with consumer demand,” the CRC guidance said.

Priority will also be given to applicants who file conditional licenses, in a nod to the challenges newcomers face buying or leasing property for the business before they get the green light from the state.

“We’re happy they’ve identified people with a prior criminal history as getting top priority,” Johnson from the ACLU said. “We are happy they are prioritizing conditional licenses.”

“That is a very good stance for them to take at this point,” he said.

— Susan K. Livio | NJ.com

Joshua Alb

The cannabis space is an industry worth billions and yet the question still remains as to whether the legalized industry can be inclusive for those who are operating in its shadows.

We spoke to Cannademix founder Joshua Alb ahead of his company’s educational event, “Legacy to Legal” taking place this weekend (Dec. 5) at Newark’s Rutgers University from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Register for tickets here.

NJ Cannabis Insider and other familiar faces, including Dasheeda Dawson, Rob Mejia, Jessica Gonzalez, Precious Osagie-Erese and Tahir Johnson will be moderating or on panels at this free event sponsored by Weedmaps. The forum will help explore the dynamics of the legacy question. Alb talked to us about his company and motivations behind setting up the event. This conversation was edited for clarity.

Q: What do you do?

A: We serve and provide community outreach education needs for higher education, local and state governments.

Q: So, tell us why this event is important

A: What we provide at Cannademix as a whole, is that our platform is unique because we tailor it to what the community needs. Who am I to say what a community needs, it’s really what they tell us and what we provide. I think the bigger thing that the community’s told us that we need to provide is assistance and reparations from the War on Drugs, especially with a city like Newark.

It’s a community event dedicated towards understanding how to transition from the traditional market of being the plug to the taxable market of owning the storefront or any kind of legal operation that is licensed by the government.

On top of that there are a lot of questions we have for the CRC. How is that social equity tax going to be diverted to actually assist with damaged communities in that restoration?

At the end we’re giving away $5,000 to various nonprofits and community or mutual aid organizations that actually provide services for the citizens here in Newark who have in general, been disproportionately affected and disenfranchised due to capitalism and white supremacy weaponized through the War on Drugs.

By doing that and having that as an example we set ourselves apart from the industry standard. We set a new standard for what this new industry is supposed to be, which is one that’s equitable and that provides a fiscal pillar of assistance for the Black and brown community.

Q: How does culture inform the cannabis space?

A: This culture is really perpetuated by Black and brown individuals. I think it important for a city like Newark to understand that, because that’s where opportunities lie for people — that culture space. That other realm of the industry that forces businesses to market a certain way. The culture determines what people buy as well, what’s in, what’s not, what’s a hot commodity, what’s vintage.

Q: What do you think about the social equity plan in New Jersey?

A: You can talk all you want about, this money has to go here or there, but there isn’t even a plan. The CRC doesn’t have a (specific) plan and that’s something that worries me because that leaves it open to corruption, that leaves it open to error and what we want to demonstrate for them and the government in a respectful way is “this is how it’s supposed to be done. This is what we need to do as a state, as a community and as an industry.”

— Jelani Gibson

Edibles: What will the market look like?

By Rob Mejia, an adjunct professor at Stockton University where he teaches the cannabis courses, is also the author of “The Essential Cannabis Book” and “The Essential Cannabis Journal.” His cannabis education company is called Our Community Harvest. “

At a recent New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission virtual meeting, I was invited to give comments about how we should develop our cannabis edibles market. For those of you who are new to the conversation, this is a category of cannabis goods made up of foods and beverages that react with the body differently than smoking or vaping.

When you eat an edible, you will feel the effects anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. It also doesn’t matter if you are big or small, it just hits when it hits. This is because it is processed in your liver — and becomes more potent — and then effects last for four to eight hours. They are also an ideal product for some medical patients and others who don’t want to smoke and who want longer lasting effects.

And we have come a long way since the classic “pot brownie.”

There are two edibles issues that no other state is paying attention to, but we all should.

First, there is a new class of edibles being introducing that are fast acting or are sometimes call fast-delivery edibles. Using science, edibles and beverage manufacturers have figured out ways to deliver edibles to your body in 20 minutes or less.

Because the time of onset is shortened and more predictable, these edibles are becoming increasingly popular. These products are available as beverages (which will eventually become the standard), gummies, chocolates, hard candies, and more. For this product type, I suggested that we develop a unique label or symbol to let the user know when they will feel effects.

Second, oil from the hemp market that has not been tested is being introduced into CBD edibles because it is cheaper and can be shipped across state lines. Remember that cannabis cannot cross state lines, but hemp is legal across the nation and can be shipped across state lines.

So, some CBD edibles producers are buying cheap hemp oil which is not tested.

Because hemp is such a good soil remediator it is like a sponge that cleans toxins and metals from the soil. But the bad news is that first and second year hemp crops are often tainted, and we do not want to introduce unsafe CBD oil to anyone. My recommendation here was simple: test hemp oil that is used in edibles products the same way that cannabis/THC oil is.

Other recommendations that I made are:

• Develop an eight-person advocacy and advisory committee to give input on evolving cannabis issues
• Use QR codes to include comprehensive information on dosing, effects, warnings, and include a certificate of analysis for the product (test results)
• Regulate cannabis kitchens as if they were being certified as a traditional food manufacturer and then require cannabis edibles training
• Allow for “kitchen sharing,” where multiple operators — if they have a license — can use the same kitchen
• All forms of edibles should be allowed, and this should be decided by the market
• A standard dose for a single dose of an adult-use edibles product should be 10 milligrams with 100 milligrams in a package
• For the medical market, higher potency edibles at 25, 50, and 100 milligrams should be available with no maximum limit
• Edibles should be stored in a case that locks and should be kept out of reach of children and pets
• Ensure that dosing and time of onset information is in a font large enough for people to read

And finally, I stressed the need for edibles education.

Effective edibles education trains consumers on how to use edibles wisely and safely and keeps vulnerable populations such as children and animals safe. A safe, compliant edibles market is what New Jersey is striving for and I’m confident that we can get there.

Prof. Mejia’s Weed Corner is a new regular feature for NJ Cannabis Insider, focusing on news, trends and innovation in the local cannabis market. Reach out to him at Robert.Mejia@stockton.edu

What’s the landscape for minority job seekers?

By Brendon Robinson and Stanley Okoro, founders of 420NJEvents, an organization doing cannabis education for those who want to get into a market that previously had been criminalized. Find Robinson on LinkedIn.

“Damn, weed.” That’s the first thought that ran through our minds the morning of Oct. 30, 2021 in Atlantic City.

Preparing for our first Cannabis Career Workshop we sat anxiously in the ThinkTank just asking ourselves, “How did we get here?”

Weed.

The same plant that crippled our childhoods and took so many of our loved ones away from us, is now enabling us to push our community forward and provide a career path to individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs, but the problem runs much deeper than that.

We had 144 cannabis job seekers register for our Cannabis Career Workshop. Due to limited resources, only 25 could be selected to attend the in-person component which included access to the workshop itself (which could also be livestreamed), as well as free Google Chromebooks, professional headshots and resumes.

Each of the registrants had to also complete an essay detailing their journey with cannabis and why they wanted to attend the workshop in the first place.

This was the part of the process that we didn’t anticipate.

We created a scoring metric that took into consideration where the registrant lived (Impact Zones were weighted heavily) and their reasoning for wanted to work in the cannabis industry.

More than 75% of the registrants all had aspirations of starting their own cannabis business and were seeking guidance around setting up their LLC, trademarking their logos, constructing their executive teams and learning the ins and outs of being a full-time entrepreneur.

The stories surrounding those aspirations provided us with instant clarity around the need for entrepreneurial training programs in the future.

These essay entries was heartbreaking to read. These individuals were transparent with their submissions and vividly detailed how they were victimized by the War on Drugs.

Some of them spoke about how their families were broken and the many ways that getting an opportunity in this industry could change their lives.

While each story was unique, they all contained the same overarching theme of education.

Whether it was individuals asking for training on how to run their own businesses, folks looking for guidance on how to budtend or perhaps they wanted to learn cultivation in a scalable and controlled environment.

Most importantly, registrants wanted New Jersey specific training. They cited different educational programs that are offered online, but none were catered towards the New Jersey Regulatory Guidelines.

It’s hard to believe that we’re going to create a fair and equitable market here in New Jersey without providing the tools and resources to the organizations that are looking to help the disenfranchised communities.

It’s great to talk about social equity, but if we award someone a license or offer someone a job without providing them with the requisite skills they’ll need to be successful, then we failed.

Black and brown folks need to be a part of this industry, and that’s simply not the case in New Jersey or anywhere in this country for that matter.

We’re committed to creating the pathways and bridges that will ultimately lead us to a more diverse and inclusive marketplace.

As two brothers from the Garden State, we know what’s at stake for not only the BIPOC community, but the entire market right now.

We want to partner with like-minded organizations that are interested in changing the narrative around social equity.

Social equity cannot be the leftovers. This will not be an afterthought. There are real people, with real stories, looking for a meaningful change.

Lawmakers advocate for VA to allow cannabis use

With comprehensive legislation to remove the federal marijuana ban stuck in Congress, the co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus have urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to allow its patients to use medical marijuana.

The lawmakers said they had learned that the VA was considering allowing patients to obtain medical cannabis and applauded the move.

In a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, caucus co-chairs Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; David Joyce, R-Ohio; Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; and Don Young, R-Alaska, said cannabis could help veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, multiple sclerosis and seizures, while also providing an alternative to opioids for pain.

The lawmakers said that as many as 1 in 5 veterans who served in the second Iraq War and the war on terrorism suffered from PTSD, as did 12% of veterans from the first Iraq War and 30% of those who fought in Vietnam.

Research from Air Force Capt. Carl Beyer at the University of California Davis Medical Center and the David Grant Air Force Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base found that almost 7% of wounded veterans abused opioids.

Cannabis could address those problems, the lawmakers wrote to McDonough.

“Despite its efficacy, antiquated bureaucratic red-tape continues to deny veterans these life-altering treatments,” the lawmakers wrote. “Congress and several administrations have enacted various well-intentioned intervention attempts, however, over 20 veterans continue to die by suicide each day. It is past time we stop barring access from these innovative therapies.”

Currently, the VA does not prescribe cannabis to veterans, even in states where the drug is legal for medical use.

“America’s veterans have risked life and limb to preserve our freedoms, so we must not allow the unnecessary politicization of medical cannabis to hinder their lifesaving therapies,” the lawmakers said.

The VA had no immediate comment to the lawmakers’ letter.

— Jonathan Salant | NJ.com

Cannabis Travel Association International’s 2-day virtual summit

The Cannabis Travel Association (CTAI) has announced its Annual Virtual Cannabis Travel Summit happening on Dec. 14 and 15.

The “Cannabis Travel: Now and Next” summit features the most up-to-date and comprehensive cannabis travel data, and a well-rounded line up of expert speakers.

The summit kicks off with the unveiling and presentation of CTAI’s 2021 State of Cannabis Travel Data Publication, a compilation that shares a 360 degree view of the latest cannabis travel data and insights, from a global perspective. Contributing sources to this year’s data publication include Destination Analysts, MMGY Travel Intelligence, Headset, and hotel and destination surveys administered by the Cannabis Travel Association research team.

This year’s keynote speaker is Barb Newton, President/CEO of the California Travel Association.

Other speakers include Scott Schmidt the executive director of the West Hollywood’s Emerald Village, Canadian cannabis tourism researcher Susan Dupej of the University of Guelph, hotel and travel expert Viola Ncube, cannabis shop owner and cannabis industry leader Jerred Kiloh of The Higher Path, CEO of Visit Oakland Peter Gamez, co-founder of Cannabis Wedding Expo Phillip Wolf, CEO of Visit Modesto Todd Aaronson, and others.

A full lineup of speakers and programming can be found here.

“As the global travel industry rebuilds from the devastation of Covid-19, the Essential cannabis-related travel trend offers a tremendous opportunity,” shared Brian Applegarth, founder and chairman of the CTAI.

“Our Annual Summit brings us together as a community to exchange information, network, voice concerns, share successes, and problem solve together at the intersection of cannabis and travel. ”We are particularly grateful to have the support of our wonderful sponsors: Emerald Village, Purejuana, Sensi Media and Lost Coast Media.”

In addition to a wealth of educational sessions and presentations, the event offers fun and interactive virtual networking sessions. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Cannabis Travel Association members and partners, and other like-minded professionals from around the world.

Register here for the Cannabis Travel: Now and Next virtual event.

The CTAI is a fully registered non-profit organization dedicated to advancing safe and responsible cannabis tourism and travel through education, advocacy and networking. In addition to the website, CTAI can be found on LinkedIn.

Explore solutions to cannabis packaging’s most pressing challenges at CannPack East 2021

Serving as the industry’s gathering place for much-needed in person connection, CannPack East (formerly known as Cannabis Packaging Summit), makes its east coast debut with a robust conference and exhibition that is strategically designed to showcase the innovative and consumer-centric solutions to cannabis product packaging challenges, while facilitating peer-to-peer networking and education.

“Being such a regulated industry, the challenges posed to the Cannabis and Hemp packaging industry are unique compared to other sectors, as they not only differ from a federal to state level, but they also vary from state to state,” remarked Steve Everly, Group Event Director of CannPack East. “New York is one of many that follows strict guidelines to ensure safety and proper labeling and branding of cannabis products. We look forward to launching CannPack East as a natural extension to our EastPack event, and host educational sessions and facilitate greater connection and disco very for suppliers looking to update where they source for solutions.”

Chock-full of educational and forward-looking sessions, CannPack East, organized by Informa Markets – Engineering, is slated to be held fromDecember 7 through 9 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. CannPack East is co-located amongst five other event brands that make up the six-in-one IM Engineering East event, collectively creating a one-stop-shop for buyers to sift through hundreds of advanced manufacturing and cannabis packaging-focused suppliers to establish new partnerships and open doors for future market expansion.

Among the industry-leading exhibitors includes: All-Fill Inc., AstroNova Product Identification, Charles Beseler Co., MACTEC Packaging Technologies, NeuraLabel, and START International.

For those interested in topical education, select sessions can be found below that dive into the Cannabis Packaging industry’s latest trends, obstacles and opportunities, and leading solutions. The full content schedule can be found here.

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