The state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will not begin accepting new applications for business licenses by this weekend, thereby missing a statutory deadline intended to keep development of the legal weed marketplace on track.
But the commission at its meeting Tuesday evening did approve a new licensing platform to help it process applications when the time comes, and says that alone is a significant step toward launching the new industry.
Legislators baked clear deadlines into the legalization law — six months from law’s signing, a commission would need to have rules, and within another six months, it needs to pick a date for legal sales to begin — to avoid further delays in starting legal weed sales.
Between those lies the process for licensing more businesses to grow, process and sell marijuana to the public. The law mandates the commission begin accepting and processing new applications for licenses within 30 days of adopting its initial rules. That deadline hits Saturday.
A commission source who was not authorized to speak publicly said officials would not meet the deadline or open applications within days. Instead, the commission will publish a notice in the New Jersey Register that lists the start date for application filing and the necessary materials an applicant will need to submit, adhering to a process laid out in its regulations. [Read More @ NJ.com]
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