Cannabis Advisory Firm Identifies 7 Problem Areas in New Jersey License Application

A cannabis advisory firm has identified 7 problems with New Jersey’s adult-use cannabis license application, which opens on December 15. The firm, Canna Advisors of Boulder, Colorado, has a team of in-house regulatory analysts and subject matter experts reviewing cannabis licensing requirements and materials produced by the State of New Jersey and its cannabis regulatory arm, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ CRC). The firm released a public statement on Friday updating stakeholders and applicants of the problem areas to watch for in the application for cultivation and manufacturing licenses.
 
Russ Hudson, a consultant for Canna Advisors, has been in communication with the CRC regarding several trouble spots in the cannabis licensing process:
 
“We’ve made the CRC aware of the issues and hope the state is able to move quickly to remedy these problems - or at least provide answers - so that license applicants can submit their materials with confidence.” 
 
The firm and its team have identified 7 problem areas that cannabis license applicants - particularly cultivation and manufacturing prospects- should be aware of:
 
Cannabis License Scoring Rubric Errors

Minimum scoring requirements for annual and conversion license applicants are incorrect because the state did not factor out license class specific requirements. The total possible points for annual licensees is 210, and not 250 as originally required by the state. For conversion applicants, the total possible points is just 160, and not 200 as the state originally required. 
 
Waiting Period from Conditional to Conversion

While the CRC has made it clear that they must make determinations on annual license applications within 90 days, and within 30 days for conditional applications, the state did not provide a timeline for reviewing conversion licenses, which conditional applicants must convert to within 120 days of being awarded the conditional license.  
 
Low Score for Cultivation SOP

For cultivation license applicants, the state has allotted just 10 points to the cultivation SOP section required by the CRC. This point value is the same as minor plans such as recordkeeping, waste disposal, storage, and other plans. Clarification is needed concerning why the score for the most important section of the cultivation application is so low. 
 
How to Prove Not in Arrears - Fed/State Taxes

The CRC is requiring applicants to prove that they are not in arrears on personal or business federal or state taxes. However, the state did not indicate how applicants can prove this requirement. 
 
Clarification on Curriculum with Higher Education

Language from the statutes concerning bonus points for applicants that make an agreement with a higher education institution to develop cannabis related curriculum did not make it into the regulations, nor into the application section requirements. Russ Hudson stated that it’s likely that applicants can ignore this section, but clarification from the CRC is required. 
 
Problem with Citations Irregularities

Several sections in the regulations and the request for applications contain citation irregularities that must be updated for applicants to properly cite their documentation. 
 
Referring to Maryland Laboratory Testing Statutes
 
Concerning testing laboratories, New Jersey regulators copy-pasted requirements from Maryland’s regulations, and referred applicants to review and cite Maryland’s rules. None of the consultants or regulatory analysts for Canna Advisors have experienced this offhand adoption of another state’s regulations before, and the team has requested that the state write its own regulations or at least remove the 13 references to Maryland from the resolution and requirements. 

Canna Advisors has alerted the state and the CRC to all of these and several other issues in writing and via telephone. 

Despite the issues, Sumer Thomas, Director of Regulatory Operations for Canna Advisors, indicated that resolution to these and other challenging sections of the application process is on the way: 
 
“The CRC has promised answers to these and other questions regarding the application process for annual and conditional cannabis business licenses at their upcoming informational webinar, and we look forward to updating interested parties as to how they can proceed successfully in the nascent adult use cannabis industry in New Jersey.”
 
A review of the CRC website shows that the informational webinar is planned “on or about November 30,” during which the agency will discuss the issues and questions asked of the state by stakeholders over the last few weeks. The deadline for the submission of questions was November 19th. 
 
Applicants requiring assistance navigating the gauntlet of CRC regulations and application requirements can contact Canna Advisors at https://thinkcanna.com/contact/
 

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