Highlights from New Jersey’s 2022 Proposed New Cannabis Rules

By Jennifer Cabrera, Kate Monroe, Bridgette Nikisher, Steve Pemberton

Aug 2, 2022

On August 1, 2022, New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) released proposed personal-use regulations that re-adopt and supplement the CRC’s initial personal-use regulations released in August 2021 (the Provisional Rules). These regulations implement the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization (CREAMM) Act and include rules for wholesalers, distributors, and delivery services, and include a new restriction on license ownership among family members.

The public comment period for these proposed regulations closes on September 30, 2022. Industry stakeholders may submit written comments to https://www.nj.gov/cannabis/proposed-updated-rules/.

VS’s New Jersey team has prepared a full summary of these regulatory updates. Please reach out to newjersey@vicentesederberg.com or a member of your team for a copy of the summary.

Below are highlights from the proposed regulations.

Timeline:

The rules do not have an immediate effect. These rules are subject to the requirement of public comment prior to adoption, and the public comment period will expire on September 30, 2022
Term and final rules: The Provisional Rules will remain in effect until their expiration on February 15, 2023, at which point these new rules and amendments should take effect

Notable Changes:

Limitation of one cannabis license per family—a spouse, domestic partner, civil union partner, child, sibling, or parent of a license applicant may not be an owner of another license applicant or license holder (N.J.A.C. § 17:30-6.8(g))
Regulations clarifying microbusiness operations and restrictions (N.J.A.C. § 17:30-6.1 & 6.7)
Detailed guidance on the destruction of cannabis waste (N.J.A.C. § 17:30-9.14)
Revisions to transaction limits (N.J.A.C. § 17:30-14.3)
Removal on logo size limitation (Provisional Rules limited logos to one-inch square) (N.J.A.C.

§ 17:30-16.2)

Includes Initial Regulations for the following:

Class 3 Cannabis Wholesalers (N.J.A.C. § 17:30-12.1 through 12.3)
Class 4 Cannabis Distributors (N.J.A.C. § 17:30-13.1 through 13.5)
Class 6 Cannabis Delivery Services (N.J.A.C. § 17:30-15.1 through 15.5)

What Wasn’t Addressed?

No changes to the types of edibles that are allowed to be manufactured or sold
No changes to the prohibition on alternate business names (DBAs)
No guidance included for consumption lounges

Please reach out to newjersey@vicentesederberg.com for a copy of the full summary.

Insights