On July 16, 2018, the New Jersey Department of Health, Division of Medicinal Marijuana issued a Request for Applications seeking up to six (6) new applicants to operate medicinal marijuana dispensaries, resulting in two new dispensaries in each of the existing regions (north, central and south).
Applicants would apply to operate a vertically integrated alternative treatment center with dispensing, cultivating and manufacturing capabilities. As part of the application, an applicant also would have to provide evidence of site control and verification of the approval of the governing body in the municipality where they intend to locate, or a plan to obtain site control and local approval within 30 days of acceptance. The business can be either nonprofit or for profit and is also required to submit a business plan including a budget detailing revenues and expenses over a five-year period.
Although applicants can submit applications for more than one region of the state, they must submit a separate application for each region and rank the applications in order of priority on the required cover sheet. The application fee is $20,000 per application, with $18,000 refundable to unsuccessful applicants.
Notably, the six currently operating ATCs are not eligible to participate in this application process, as the Department has provided alternate opportunities to add additional sites for cultivating, manufacturing and dispensing.
All applicants must participate in a mandatory pre-application conference on Thursday, August 9 at the Department of Health headquarters in Trenton to give potential applicants a chance to have questions answered about the process.
The Department will electronically accept questions until 4 pm on Tuesday, August 7 from all potential applicants via email at mmpquestions@doh.nj.gov. Applications are due Friday, August 31, 2018. Applicants chosen to proceed in the permitting process will be announced November 1, 2018.
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