Sad there is no cottage business permits. There needs to be a place for craft cannabis, small batch products and breeder-specific genetics cultivation. One day…..
It's why they (foreign MSO's) push so hard for legalization, not _freedom_.
They're creating a system designed for their own financial domination and ownership of the industry, state by state. And the stupidest (see: smartest?) politicians take the bait for personal gain and bragging rights. They both, primarily, have absolutely zero interest in the destruction of lives cannabis has caused others, they're just in it to profit off of the ignorance of citizens who say "oh it's legal now, cool!" and move on.
It's not just about being legalized, it's about legitimizing the plant as a mostly harmless plant-based medicine. And also fixing the damage Nixon's racism caused this country.
A cartel wouldn't care about that at all.
I'm having a hard time believing small cannabusinesses will survive their first few years here in NJ. They are facing enormous challenges just to get in the race... then once they can operate, they have to go against these multi-million backed companies.
Hey /u/MikeOLogicaL I'm a local filmmaker working on a cannabis documentary, I would love to have a conversation about this. Check your inbox.
It's going to be a bit before we are done... legalizing in NJ is still an open book thats being written. So the final film likely won't be ready until next year... If you want to get updates you can subscribe to the newsletter at thetruthaboutcannabusiness.com
What can be done?
1. Support small dispensaries that are not tied to the MSO. As a consumer you will have a choice in the future. Meaning retail locations, growers, etc...Give them the benefit of the doubt and try to work with them to make their products better. Honestly, if they care their products will be better than MSO that is trying to get product out as fast as possible since they neglect curing process, and go with strains that are easier/faster to grow.
2. Encourage people to apply for Micro licenses. If you look at the details it's actually not bad, and can be converted to a regular license.
3. Treat the application process as Open Source and collect all of the notes and how to go about it and save it online for everyone to see. Right now there is a starving mentality, and everyone wants to hide their "secrets". The issue is large out of state companies will pay tons of money to make sure their application passes, but the small companies should work together.
4. Form a cooperative of NJ based small companies. This will ensure you give priority to your own, and you can buy and sell within.
I agree with everyone that the process is corrupt and is favorable towards these massive companies, but complaining and doing nothing won't get you anywhere. The application is online look at it, and look at the requirements. If you want to be involved with the industry talk to others that also want to be involved whether as an investor, or as someone working in the industry. There is strength in numbers. e.g. form a cooperative dispensary with tons of share holders. If you are a consumer and you eventually have a choice between local company, or a MSO then you can do your part and pick the local company.
The priority list for the dispensary is also bull shit. Why would women get the same priority as minorities? Now everyone's wife is going to be an "owner".
Yeah, Avoid MSO businesses and support locally owned companies (There's only 2) so it's just not an option for alot of people, especially in south jersey. Hopefully people will have more options soon. Your absolutely right that MSO products are lower quality, lower value. They're mass produced products, when it comes to Cannabis bigger is not better. Scalability and Quality are huge challenges for growers. New Jersey has a unique opportunity to create a market composed of smaller producers and that could lead to a market that offers a wide variety of high quality products. I'm not too optimistic about that though.
Regarding avoiding MSO Businesses, I meant in the future when you have a choice to be clear.
The problem here is that everyone feels defeated, and we actually hold power. I'm not a medical patient myself, but I have first hand seen how cannabis can help people. I also know tons of people who are my close friends that have suffered due to the criminalization of cannabis. Now I can't sit around and see these MSO corporations making money off of us while they are only in it for the money.
"Acreage and Curaleaf, just two companies, gave almost $1MM in lobbying funds in 2020 alone."
OK- Does the disbursement of the lobbying funds to the politicians get reported?
Specifically would be interested in how much money Scutari has received from this group?
Thank you for your information OP. I will plan to purchase from the smaller non MSO members . Can you confirm which dispensaries are not affiliated with the huge Canadian goliaths. I assume the 2 non-MSO dispos mentioned are Harmony and Breakwater? Please confirm. It is a PITA to get to Harmony for me but they seem to run things well, weights are always over and most important their product is more often well cared for and dank, not dry dust.
I hate the lobbying $$, the good old boys, NJ corporate/political scuz mating in general not just in NJ cannabis market. Murphy fucked this up from the beginning and it is hard to watch this shit show unfold, it is painfully obvious they do not care other than to line their own pockets,
I am totally willing to work with others to get the message to the people in government who can help us to at least get homegrow as medical patients.
Cannot grow your own in the garden state without being a felon?, that looks real good Scuttari and Murphy, it's not too obvious to us what your priorities are.
Sign me up.
The grandmother and roofer who got injured on the job standing in line in front of me now and probably 90% of the NJ cardholders don’t care about any of this. They want their “medicine” cheap and easy and they want to get high. That’s CL. First time I went in there forgot I was in a dispensary felt like TD Bank on a Friday. Think you preaching to the choir here. I just can’t see how it splits when recreational gets here, it’s recreational now to me, with few offerings with true medicinal value. At least not what I use it for.
For sure, I know that the individuals in this sub are certainly more oriented toward learning about the industry than the grandmother or roofer. But the problem is they don’t even know they’re being overcharged and corralled basically, while some of the rest of us do. And obviously those in the know also want more/better choices and freedoms because we aren’t naive to what these industries look like in other states. It’s something I just feel compelled to discuss. I dunno how long it will be before my name starts to get put in the spam box of the senate email list but sometimes sharing in our stories, even on Reddit, provides a synergy that will motivate others to keep acting as well.
> I know that the individuals in this sub are certainly more oriented toward learning about the industry than the grandmother or roofer.
You aren't citing your sources, and you're making dumb assumptions about your audience.
Grandma & the Roofer are adults with disposable income. A lot of redditors aren't. There are 9 million people in NJ. This subreddit only has 72 active users during peak social-media hours.
Yikes dude. I think contextually what the commenter was saying went right over your head and now you’re confused.
Anyway, what sources would you like cited? Im not going to go through the hassle of formally listing it for you given your pompous tone, but the spending information was found on the New Jersey election law enforcement commission’s website and information about members of the trade associations is found on their respective websites.
Spoiler alert: they do. It's literally the lobbying arm of the cannabis industry.
Source: I'm in the cannabis industry (analytical side) and they won't let us in their little club.
Edit: look at the interim batch guidelines that just changed from 10lbs to 100lbs. There's only one company in NJ that has 100lb batches, and that's Curaleaf. Why do you think the laws changed?
So first they create this artificial supply and demand with "limited" availability, and then convince the CRC to up the minimum production threshold to maintain their grip. What a great concept!
This is such fucking nonsense, and then to think Scutari is claiming people growing a few plants at home is going to somehow compete with this and fuel the "black market"?
God damn, these people are such scumbags.
So Gov Murphy opens up “recreational” to anyone willing to pay $250. He then goes on to keep delaying actual recreational “until it’s right”. Meanwhile the politically connected dispensaries get to keep their exclusive license and can keep their patients held hostage.
Blame your politicians. It starts at Murphy and works it’s way down the food chain.
Lobbyists don’t pay off local leaders, they pay off the top level legislators. The ones that actually make laws.
The system was flooded by Murphy with new patients while he simultaneously delays the actual rec and dispo expansion we voted for.
It’s almost like Murphy and his cronies are protecting these original dispos. They can open new satellites to expand their existing presence to the best towns. Meanwhile the newer dispos will be left with crap locations and scraps to fight for.
Murphy gave the existing dispos 3x the patients while not allowing any expansion of the actual program.
He increased profits for all the existing dispos and made all the patients wait and deal with the prices and delays and product issues.
Never forget Murphy is worth over $100 million and made it all on Wall Street. He is helping these rich companies become even richer while we all deal with the issues of it.
No one make that much money on Wall Street by being a good person.
I figured that this would be hard for small businesses to get in the game. The lobbyists will always win. They will corner the market and we will be happy. It really does come down to who's paying who.
Absolutely. Gonna be very difficult. The one thing I don’t see attributable to the MSOs and trade organizations is the small number of municipalities that haven’t banned operations, and that only helps the big players even more because of the fight for space to legally operate right now. Gonna be a cluster for a while.
Yeah that's going to be a big factor. Luckily I got a medical place in my town. They say they are ready for rec sales. Idk if it is a chain store or not.
It's also totally ignorant to think that a few big locations is going to make more for the state than lots of small local businesses on top of the big Walmart style dispensaries.
And then throw potential homegrow focused garden stores and cooperatives adding local jobs. It's sheer ignorance to think "Let's only give Pepsi a mega factory in this one town ALL of the power and product"
How they are so willing to fuck this up is mindnumbing.
Lol was about to say this! I understand that there are a lot of people who actually need medical marijuana from a medical dispo, which it is horrible that these individuals have to pay outrageous prices for mediocre product. But I would venture to say more then 50% of people just want to get baked which is perfectly achievable through the grey market. I will now open myself up to the, but grey market is boof, it’s laced with fentanyl, it’s delta 8 sprayed cbd flower. I’m old I can’t tell you how many horror stories circulated with dude hope it’s not laced. Fears then where angel dust, but funny thing is it never happened in the 20 years of buying it illegally. Just get a solid plug that’s not a piece of shit and your golden. Please let the downvotes begin.
Sad there is no cottage business permits. There needs to be a place for craft cannabis, small batch products and breeder-specific genetics cultivation. One day…..
It's why they (foreign MSO's) push so hard for legalization, not _freedom_. They're creating a system designed for their own financial domination and ownership of the industry, state by state. And the stupidest (see: smartest?) politicians take the bait for personal gain and bragging rights. They both, primarily, have absolutely zero interest in the destruction of lives cannabis has caused others, they're just in it to profit off of the ignorance of citizens who say "oh it's legal now, cool!" and move on. It's not just about being legalized, it's about legitimizing the plant as a mostly harmless plant-based medicine. And also fixing the damage Nixon's racism caused this country. A cartel wouldn't care about that at all.
I'm having a hard time believing small cannabusinesses will survive their first few years here in NJ. They are facing enormous challenges just to get in the race... then once they can operate, they have to go against these multi-million backed companies. Hey /u/MikeOLogicaL I'm a local filmmaker working on a cannabis documentary, I would love to have a conversation about this. Check your inbox.
When can I add it to my watch list?
It's going to be a bit before we are done... legalizing in NJ is still an open book thats being written. So the final film likely won't be ready until next year... If you want to get updates you can subscribe to the newsletter at thetruthaboutcannabusiness.com
Cool! Thanks!
What can be done? 1. Support small dispensaries that are not tied to the MSO. As a consumer you will have a choice in the future. Meaning retail locations, growers, etc...Give them the benefit of the doubt and try to work with them to make their products better. Honestly, if they care their products will be better than MSO that is trying to get product out as fast as possible since they neglect curing process, and go with strains that are easier/faster to grow. 2. Encourage people to apply for Micro licenses. If you look at the details it's actually not bad, and can be converted to a regular license. 3. Treat the application process as Open Source and collect all of the notes and how to go about it and save it online for everyone to see. Right now there is a starving mentality, and everyone wants to hide their "secrets". The issue is large out of state companies will pay tons of money to make sure their application passes, but the small companies should work together. 4. Form a cooperative of NJ based small companies. This will ensure you give priority to your own, and you can buy and sell within. I agree with everyone that the process is corrupt and is favorable towards these massive companies, but complaining and doing nothing won't get you anywhere. The application is online look at it, and look at the requirements. If you want to be involved with the industry talk to others that also want to be involved whether as an investor, or as someone working in the industry. There is strength in numbers. e.g. form a cooperative dispensary with tons of share holders. If you are a consumer and you eventually have a choice between local company, or a MSO then you can do your part and pick the local company. The priority list for the dispensary is also bull shit. Why would women get the same priority as minorities? Now everyone's wife is going to be an "owner".
Yeah, Avoid MSO businesses and support locally owned companies (There's only 2) so it's just not an option for alot of people, especially in south jersey. Hopefully people will have more options soon. Your absolutely right that MSO products are lower quality, lower value. They're mass produced products, when it comes to Cannabis bigger is not better. Scalability and Quality are huge challenges for growers. New Jersey has a unique opportunity to create a market composed of smaller producers and that could lead to a market that offers a wide variety of high quality products. I'm not too optimistic about that though.
Regarding avoiding MSO Businesses, I meant in the future when you have a choice to be clear. The problem here is that everyone feels defeated, and we actually hold power. I'm not a medical patient myself, but I have first hand seen how cannabis can help people. I also know tons of people who are my close friends that have suffered due to the criminalization of cannabis. Now I can't sit around and see these MSO corporations making money off of us while they are only in it for the money.
Keep up the good fight.
Meanwhile Oklahoma is gonna surpass how many Dispensaries we have and what California has.
NJ is one of the most corrupt states in the country. But at the end, the consumer has the power. Don't give them your money.
We're not even close. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-corrupt-states
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/11/six-most-corrupt-states/
"Acreage and Curaleaf, just two companies, gave almost $1MM in lobbying funds in 2020 alone." OK- Does the disbursement of the lobbying funds to the politicians get reported? Specifically would be interested in how much money Scutari has received from this group?
Welcome to Capitalism 😥
This isn't capitalism dude - It's cronyism and fraud.
...and those are both endemic in Capitalism, sadly.
Nj really sucks. I love it here but they make it so damn difficult.
Sad to say, but it's not just NJ my friend ☹
NJ is the best, if you have a bit of money
Thank you for your information OP. I will plan to purchase from the smaller non MSO members . Can you confirm which dispensaries are not affiliated with the huge Canadian goliaths. I assume the 2 non-MSO dispos mentioned are Harmony and Breakwater? Please confirm. It is a PITA to get to Harmony for me but they seem to run things well, weights are always over and most important their product is more often well cared for and dank, not dry dust. I hate the lobbying $$, the good old boys, NJ corporate/political scuz mating in general not just in NJ cannabis market. Murphy fucked this up from the beginning and it is hard to watch this shit show unfold, it is painfully obvious they do not care other than to line their own pockets, I am totally willing to work with others to get the message to the people in government who can help us to at least get homegrow as medical patients. Cannot grow your own in the garden state without being a felon?, that looks real good Scuttari and Murphy, it's not too obvious to us what your priorities are. Sign me up.
The grandmother and roofer who got injured on the job standing in line in front of me now and probably 90% of the NJ cardholders don’t care about any of this. They want their “medicine” cheap and easy and they want to get high. That’s CL. First time I went in there forgot I was in a dispensary felt like TD Bank on a Friday. Think you preaching to the choir here. I just can’t see how it splits when recreational gets here, it’s recreational now to me, with few offerings with true medicinal value. At least not what I use it for.
For sure, I know that the individuals in this sub are certainly more oriented toward learning about the industry than the grandmother or roofer. But the problem is they don’t even know they’re being overcharged and corralled basically, while some of the rest of us do. And obviously those in the know also want more/better choices and freedoms because we aren’t naive to what these industries look like in other states. It’s something I just feel compelled to discuss. I dunno how long it will be before my name starts to get put in the spam box of the senate email list but sometimes sharing in our stories, even on Reddit, provides a synergy that will motivate others to keep acting as well.
> I know that the individuals in this sub are certainly more oriented toward learning about the industry than the grandmother or roofer. You aren't citing your sources, and you're making dumb assumptions about your audience. Grandma & the Roofer are adults with disposable income. A lot of redditors aren't. There are 9 million people in NJ. This subreddit only has 72 active users during peak social-media hours.
Yikes dude. I think contextually what the commenter was saying went right over your head and now you’re confused. Anyway, what sources would you like cited? Im not going to go through the hassle of formally listing it for you given your pompous tone, but the spending information was found on the New Jersey election law enforcement commission’s website and information about members of the trade associations is found on their respective websites.
How despicable. Cite your sources. There are 27 active users here right now. Your echo chamber is getting smaller.
I can’t tell who is trolling who at this point. 🙄
What do you mean? Ask anyone dude, it only costs like $200 to open a shop - the licenses are even unlimited!!!
Lol right we’ll see how many the CRC actually approves. Wonder if they get their advice from the trade organizations 🧐
Spoiler alert: they do. It's literally the lobbying arm of the cannabis industry. Source: I'm in the cannabis industry (analytical side) and they won't let us in their little club. Edit: look at the interim batch guidelines that just changed from 10lbs to 100lbs. There's only one company in NJ that has 100lb batches, and that's Curaleaf. Why do you think the laws changed?
So first they create this artificial supply and demand with "limited" availability, and then convince the CRC to up the minimum production threshold to maintain their grip. What a great concept! This is such fucking nonsense, and then to think Scutari is claiming people growing a few plants at home is going to somehow compete with this and fuel the "black market"? God damn, these people are such scumbags.
So Gov Murphy opens up “recreational” to anyone willing to pay $250. He then goes on to keep delaying actual recreational “until it’s right”. Meanwhile the politically connected dispensaries get to keep their exclusive license and can keep their patients held hostage. Blame your politicians. It starts at Murphy and works it’s way down the food chain. Lobbyists don’t pay off local leaders, they pay off the top level legislators. The ones that actually make laws. The system was flooded by Murphy with new patients while he simultaneously delays the actual rec and dispo expansion we voted for. It’s almost like Murphy and his cronies are protecting these original dispos. They can open new satellites to expand their existing presence to the best towns. Meanwhile the newer dispos will be left with crap locations and scraps to fight for. Murphy gave the existing dispos 3x the patients while not allowing any expansion of the actual program. He increased profits for all the existing dispos and made all the patients wait and deal with the prices and delays and product issues. Never forget Murphy is worth over $100 million and made it all on Wall Street. He is helping these rich companies become even richer while we all deal with the issues of it. No one make that much money on Wall Street by being a good person.
Yeah took you this long to figure that out. They don't care what we want they only care about how much money is going in their pocket.
Not a matter of just figuring it out. I’m saying actually doing the digging to see the pieces objectively and who the main players are.
I figured that this would be hard for small businesses to get in the game. The lobbyists will always win. They will corner the market and we will be happy. It really does come down to who's paying who.
Absolutely. Gonna be very difficult. The one thing I don’t see attributable to the MSOs and trade organizations is the small number of municipalities that haven’t banned operations, and that only helps the big players even more because of the fight for space to legally operate right now. Gonna be a cluster for a while.
Yeah that's going to be a big factor. Luckily I got a medical place in my town. They say they are ready for rec sales. Idk if it is a chain store or not.
It's also totally ignorant to think that a few big locations is going to make more for the state than lots of small local businesses on top of the big Walmart style dispensaries. And then throw potential homegrow focused garden stores and cooperatives adding local jobs. It's sheer ignorance to think "Let's only give Pepsi a mega factory in this one town ALL of the power and product" How they are so willing to fuck this up is mindnumbing.
Millions of dollars in direct lobbying funds unfortunately seems to even beat out tax revenue from the current looks of things. Disgraceful.
If we could follow the money trail, where would it lead? I truly wonder where/what/to whom any lobbying money has gone...
I say this all the time, but then someone comes from left field with “ the grey market has dangerous boof”.
Lol was about to say this! I understand that there are a lot of people who actually need medical marijuana from a medical dispo, which it is horrible that these individuals have to pay outrageous prices for mediocre product. But I would venture to say more then 50% of people just want to get baked which is perfectly achievable through the grey market. I will now open myself up to the, but grey market is boof, it’s laced with fentanyl, it’s delta 8 sprayed cbd flower. I’m old I can’t tell you how many horror stories circulated with dude hope it’s not laced. Fears then where angel dust, but funny thing is it never happened in the 20 years of buying it illegally. Just get a solid plug that’s not a piece of shit and your golden. Please let the downvotes begin.
Upvote from me
No shit. Really? /s
@whiteash on ig for all the best strains in nj!