State cannabis commission seeks to improve equity for recreational licenses

Minority, women and veteran entrepreneurs looking to break into New jersey’s marijuana market continue to face challenges.

The local industry is currently dominated by large corporations. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission is looking to change this.

The NJ CRC is responsible for approving marijuana licenses. The commission says its two main goals are safety and social equality.

“There are lots of things outside of the control of the CRC. These include things like access to capital for entrepreneurs, hurdles they face at the municipal level, hurdles they face in finding real estate, the challenges that they face as far as the ongoing illegal status of this drug at the federal level. So there are certainly things outside our purview. It doesn’t mean we’re not trying to address them,” says executive director Jeff brown.