The legalization of marijuana in the Garden State — and the social and economic justice goals that underpin the new laws — have made the city of Passaic a prime candidate for cannabis investment.
Given the right applicants, Passaic said, it would back cultivation plans. Last year it adopted zoning permitting its growing and manufacturing east of Route 21.
Now, Mayor Hector Lora said, there are three businesses seeking cultivation licenses in the city. One is a standard license and two are microbusiness cultivators. The city supports all three in their bids.
The standard applicant is Maria Canna Rosa LLC, which hopes to grow at 220 Passaic St., a large strip mall.
Luxxe Green, which is looking to establish a microbusiness on Eighth Street, and Garden State Born, on Fifth Street, are the other two.
“We had quite a number express interest,” Lora said.
City officials viewed many would-be applicants — especially those seeking retail sales licenses — with skepticism.
Historically, too many of the state’s poorest and least-powerful residents have paid a disproportional price for the sale or possession of marijuana, and to Lora it seemed a slap in the face to those who had been incarcerated to see someone else profiting from a local dispensary.
Masks: Murphy lifting mask mandate in NJ schools. Here’s what parents, educators have to say
Local: Pizzeria collects money, clothes and more for employee who lost everything in Passaic fire
City Councilman Terrence Love agreed that retail sales would be exploitative. “At the end of the day, it is not going to be our people benefiting from what could be a lucrative business endeavor,” Love said.
However, once New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission came out with regulations and guidelines for cultivation, manufacturing and distribution for recreational use, discussions went from hypothetical to more practical.
The guidelines give priority to women-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses. They also prioritize applicants who have been arrested on marijuana infractions or live in municipalities with disproportionate rates of marijuana arrests or that are economically disadvantaged.
The three applicants in Passaic all have strong New Jersey ties and have shown they will be a boon to the city, Lora said.
Weed: Bergenfield Sears site could yield 5 tons of marijuana a year, and a windfall for the town
Weed: Mahwah will consider Route 17 marijuana shop. Here’s what happens next
Viviana Lamm, Luxxe Green’s owner and president, said it is the company’s intent to start with a microbusiness and eventually expand to full-scale grower.
Microbusinesses are limited to 10 employees and 2,500 square feet, and if successful would be allowed to expand in accordance with consumer demand.
Luxxe’s principals meet all three preferences, in that Luxxe is owned by a woman and has minority co-owners, one of whom is a veteran.
Lamm said they have been working to gain the city’s support for the past couple of years. Luxxe helped the city reach out to get residents vaccinated and contributed to the city’s food distribution during the pandemic.
“We are very focused on giving back and other philanthropic efforts,” Lamm said.
She added that Luxxe has committed to sharing 2% of its profits in addition to the local taxes the city can impose on Luxxe sales.
Her partner Imtiaz Kahn said they plan to hire most of the workers from the city.
Lora said the city was impressed by Luxxe’s efforts.
More recently, Lora said Joe Smouha of Mynt Properties (its best-known property is the old Botany Mills site) has expressed an interest in a cannabis manufacturing site on the old ShopRite property on Eighth Street.
Smouha did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
All the applications are awaiting state approval. If they win New Jersey’s approval, the growers will need to work out details with Passaic, including site plans.
Matt Fagan is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: fagan@northjersey.com
Twitter: @fagan_nj
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic NJ: Legal weed shops interest picking up in city
Be the first to comment