Plantabis in Rahway in Union County and Blue Oak in Bloomfield in Essex County and recently opened New Jersey weed dispensaries.
By Heady NJ’s count, they opened the 92nd and 93rd New Jersey adult-use weed dispensaries. Both are locally and majority women-owned.
The pace of New Jersey weed dispensaries openings has become furious. About three others opened around the same time that Heady NJ will cover later.
Delays that had agonized the New Jersey cannabis industry and consumers have been overcome. Scrappy entrepreneurs, along with corporations of different sizes, are racing to be among the first 100 adult use New Jersey cannabis dispensaries.
The race for the first 100 New Jersey cannabis dispensaries has been won, with a few competing for last place.
The next race to win is the first 100 New Jersey adult-use cannabis dispensaries. Then, the race is for the first 100 exclusively adult-use cannabis dispensaries. Most of the first 35 or so sold medical cannabis first. They are largely Multi-State Operators (MSOs) based elsewhere owned by White men with some exceptions.
The NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) has been eager to promote the number of women and minority-owned businesses in the adult-use market.
However, they have not released many statistics on local ownership recently.
A lot of small MSOs are coming to Jersey. They range widely in quality.
Plantabis Dispensary Opens in Rahway
Plantabis has opened the first weed dispensary in Rahway. Last week they had a busy Grand Opening with several budtenders helping customers. Plantabis had food and a DJ outside playing music for a festive atmosphere for the occasion.
The cozy place has a great chandelier and colorful atmosphere pictured above.
They have a drive-through along with a small parking lot on Route 1. It’s an interesting location near the Merck pharmaceutical operations in Rahway.
For the Grand Opening, they had Brand representatives with tables from 1906, which is owned by New Jerseyan, who moved to Colorado along with the corporate Multi-State Operator (MSO) TerrAscend.
Plantabis had several white-labeling brands like Cookies. This means companies make deals with the existing MSOs to get their products on shelves. Some white labelers bring their own seeds, plants, formulas, and ingredients to the product, while others just slap a new label on it, hence the name. They also featured MSO brand flower, edibles, vapes, and dabbing products.
Plantabis is eager to feature more independent brands like many others.
Ownership Background
Plantabis is a locally owned New Jersey weed dispensary.
They are a women-owned business with Corby Pascucci as the CEO and majority owner. She lives in Little Silver in Monmouth County. Her lawyer explained at a Rahway Planning Board meeting Pascucci has a background in liquor sales.
She is partners with Darden Mati, a Montclair liquor store owner and Artie Maglio, a real estate agent who used to live in Rahway and now lives in Jersey City.
Securing Local Approval to Open a NJ Weed Dispensary
Plantabis received its approval to open from Rahway earlier this month after getting the resolution needed last March and Planning Board approval in June.
They applied for their dispensary license in April 2022, shortly after the portal opened.
Plantabis won their conditional dispensary license from the NCJRC in September 2022, and their conversion to the annual license needed to open from the NJCRC in September 2023.
Blue Oak Dispensary Opens in Bloomfield
Blue Oak is a women-owned micro weed dispensary in Bloomfield that opened recently.
They are in a doctor’s office building a quick walk from the Holsten’s ice cream shop which served as the final scene in the hit show The Sopranos.
Blue Oak will offer curbside delivery in their parking lot behind the place. The place had a lot of informative diagrams about cannabis science since they really want to educate people on it.
Owner Danielle Wildstein wants to educate people more on cannabis. She is eager to reduce the stigma she sees around mothers like herself. So they had an infographic on terpenes.
“You can still be a great mom and still have a high-powered job and do cannabis,” Wildstein declared.
In an interesting twist, Blue Oak has a consulting room where cannabis newbies and novices can ask questions in a medical vein.
Notably, in the lobby, they had a pillow that called for home growing of cannabis, which remains a felony in New Jersey.
Wildstein said the name is from Blue cannabis while oak trees symbolize wisdom and healing in some cultures.
Her budtenders worked for larger MSOs before joining Blue Oak.
They are eager to work with other women-owned independent New Jersey weed dispensaries.
Blue Oak is the third Bloomfield dispensary to open after the MSO GTI Rise and out-of-state women majority-owned Nightjar. Both are far enough away to hope to avoid the distance concerns of many New Jersey cannabis dispensary owners.
Local Woman Owned
Wildstein has been a cannabis consumer for some time. She got into cannabis due to its therapeutic properties. Her late mother was unfortunately very sickly and had to take many pills at the end, which were not that effective.
“I wish she had access to medical marijuana, just for quality of life,” Wildstein said.
Blue Oak is the first business she has owned. However, Wildstein worked for dynamic start-ups in the past and her husband has a business. She previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry and entertainment. So Wildstein is very familiar with the issues of the industry of getting a legal drug to the market.
She said she used her life savings to open to overcome the issue of lack of capital that has hurt the efforts of so many in the New Jersey cannabis industry.
Wildstein is from Pompton Plains in Morris County and now lives in Scotch Plains in Union County.
She wants to help out in the community now that they’re open.
Micro New Jersey Weed Dispensary Issues
Blue Oak won an annual micro dispensary license from the NJCRC in February 2023.
However, Wildstein was unhappy being a micro license applicant did not come with more help. In reality, it only lowered a few state fees compared to the numerous private sector business costs.
She’s not the only one noticing that after struggling.
“There’s no support,” she lamented. “It’s a challenge. “There’s only a handful of us in the state living it.”
Something was really for her and many others was to pay rent for two years in the space to be able to open since site control was needed and landlords are often devious and greedy.
“I’m the little guy,” Wildstein noted. “How do we have a union of sorts?”
Unfortunately, the Legislature did not give the NJCRC a large budget to launch. The way the adult-use cannabis referendum law was written, the more New Jersey collects adult-use cannabis tax revenue, the more they can fund social programs, which they have been doing slowly with out-of-state companies winning grants.
She was skeptical of the experience of the teachers of the Cannabis Training Academy which is delayed.
It might be easier for them to open once programs are running smoothly. But by then there might not be many openings for a micro to be able to legitimately compete.
Micro dispensaries are able to convert to regular dispensaries after a certain amount of time.
Despite the issues, Blue Oak has opened while others have given up.
The Adult-use New Jersey Weed Dispensaries List:
- Apothecarium Dispensary 55 SOUTH MAIN ST. PHILLIPSBURGMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Apothecarium Dispensary 1865 SPRINGFIELD AVENUE MAPLEWOODMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Apothecarium Dispensary200 NJ-17 LODIMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Ascend 174 ROUTE 17 NORTH ROCHELLE PARK -Rochelle-Park Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- Ascend 461-469 WEST STATE STREET FORT LEE Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- Ascend 395 BLOOMFIELD AVE MONTCLAIR Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- Aunt Mary’s Dispensary 100 REAVILLE AVE. SUITE 211 FLEMINGTON Medicinal and Recreational
- Ayr Wellness (formerly Garden State Dispensary) 950 US 1 NORTH WOODBRIDGEMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Ayr Wellness 59 MAIN ST EATONTOWNMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Ayr Wellness 2536 RT 22 UNION Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- BLOC 1075 EASTON AVE SOMERSETMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- BLOC 501 US-9 WARETOWN Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- BLOC 1761 NORTH OLDEN AVENUE EWINGMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- The Botanist 100 CENTURY DRIVE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- The Botanist 2090 N BLACKHORSE PIKE WILLIAMSTOWNMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- RISE 196 3RD AVENUE #3-C PATERSONMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- RISE 26-48 BLOOMFIELD AVE BLOOMFIELDMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- The Cannabist 1062 NORTH DELSEA DRIVE VINELANDMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- The Cannabist 1692 CLEMENTS BRIDGE RD DEPTFORDMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Curaleaf 191 RTE 130 BORDENTOWN Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- Curaleaf 640 CREEK ROAD BELLMAWRMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Curaleaf 4237 US-130 South EDGEWATER PARK Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- MPX NJ 153 S. NEW YORK AVENUE ATLANTIC CITY Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- MPX NJ 5035 CENTRAL HWY PENNSAUKEN / Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- MPX NJ 581 BERLIN-CROSS KEYS ROAD SICKLERVILLEMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Zen Leaf 3256 BRUNSWICK PIKE LAWRENCE TWP.Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- Zen Leaf 117 SPRING STREET ELIZABETHMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- Zen Leaf 2100 ROUTE 66 NEPTUNE Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- downtown FLWR 141 NEWARK AVENUE JERSEY CITY Medicinal and Recreational
- Valley Wellness 407 US-202 RARITAN Medicinal and Recreational
- RIPT 220 BROADWAY JERSEY CITY Medicinal and Recreational
- NJ Leaf 546 PARK AVENUE FREEHOLD Medicinal and Recreational
- Design 710 112 PARK PLACE ATLANTIC CITYMedicinal and Recreational
- Brute’s Roots 6206 BLACK HORSE PIKE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIPMedicinal and Recreational
- Eastern Green 78 ROUTE 73 VOORHEES / Medicinal and Recreational
- Garden State Botanicals 1345 US-1 NORTH BRUNSWICK Medicinal and Recreational
- Garfield Gardens Dispensary 517 RIVER DRIVE GARFIELD Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- Union Chill 204 N UNION ST, #108 LAMBERTVILLE Recreational cannabis only
- Holistic Solutions LLC 451 WHITE HORSE PIKE ATCO Medicinal and Recreational
- HoneyGrove 1337 BLACKWOOD-CLEMENTON ROAD GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIPMedicinal and Recreational
- Sweet Spot 903 WHITE HORSE ROAD, SUITE 2 VOORHEESMedicinal and Recreational MSO
- URB’N Dispensary 378 SOUTH ST NEWARK Medicinal and Recreational
- Earth & Ivy 355 GEORGE STREET NEW BRUNSWICK Recreational cannabis only
- Nova Farms 642 MANTUA AVENUE WOODBURY Recreational cannabis only MSO
- Social Leaf, The 334 ATLANTIC CITY BOULEVARD SOUTH TOMS RIVER Recreational cannabis only
- Leaf Haus 900 EASTON AVENUE, SUITE 18 SOMERSET Recreational cannabis only
- New Era Dispensary 80-88 MAIN STREET SOUTH BOUND BROOK / Recreational cannabis only
- A21 Wellness 2507 US HIGHWAY 22 SCOTCH PLAINS Recreational cannabis only
- 1634 Funk 394 COMMUNIPAW AVENUE JERSEY CITY Recreational cannabis only
- Baked by the River 8 CHURCH STREET LAMBERTVILLE Recreational cannabis only
- Camden Apothecary 1205 HADDON AVENUE CAMDENRecreational cannabis only
- The Cannabis Place 1544 JOHN F. KENNEDY BOULEVARD JERSEY CITY Recreational cannabis only MSO
- Cloud Nine Dispensary 513-27 ROUTE 22 NORTH PLAINFIELD Recreational cannabis only
- Cookies Harrison 331 ANGELO CIFELLI DRIVE HARRISON Recreational cannabis only MSO
- Anja 225 WOODBRIDGE AVENUE HIGHLAND PARK Recreational cannabis only
- Puffin Store 382 GEORGE STREET NEW BRUNSWICK Recreational cannabis only
- Noire Dispensary Recreational cannabis only
- Queen City Remedies 1353 SOUTH AVE PLAINFIELD Recreational cannabis only
- Daylite Cannabis 1136 ROUTE 73 MOUNT LAUREL / Recreational cannabis only
- Elevated by TheCannaBossLady 9 HIGHLAND PLACE MAPLEWOOD Recreational cannabis only
- Garden Greenz 190 NEWARK AVENUE JERSEY CITY Recreational cannabis only
- Elevated Herb 1846 ROUTE 23 WEST MILFORD Recreational cannabis only
- Evolve Cannabis 186 US-130 BORDENTOWN Recreational cannabis only
- Fire and Oak 5 WASHINGTON STREET MOUNT HOLLY Recreational cannabis only
- Indigo 302 CRESCENT BOULEVARD BROOKLAWN Recreational cannabis only
- Molly Ann Farms 256 BELMONT AVENUE HALEDON / Recreational cannabis only
- Organic Farms 2895 MOUNT EPHRAIM AVENUE CAMDEN Recreational cannabis only
- Mountain View Farmacy 74 OAK RIDGE ROAD WEST MILFORD Recreational cannabis only
- Unity Rd. Cannabis Shop 441 ELIZABETH AVE SOMERSET Recreational cannabis only MSO
- Hackettstown Dispensary 321 MOUNTAIN AVENUE HACKETTSTOWN Recreational cannabis only
- Hello High 7685 BLACK HORSE PIKE HAMMONTON Recreational cannabis only
- High Street Dispensary 811 HIGH STREET HACKETTSTOWN Recreational cannabis only
- Highway 90 90 OLD MARLTON PIKE WEST EVESHAM Recreational cannabis only
- Kind Kush 279 US-46 ROCKAWAY Recreational cannabis only
- Med Leaf 201 PHILADELPHIA AVENUE EGG HARBOR CITY Recreational cannabis only
- Soulflora 2713 NJ ROUTE 23, SUITE 5A NEWFOUNDLAND Recreational cannabis only
- Noire Dispensary 171 MAPLEWOOD AVE MAPLEWOOD Recreational cannabis only
- Phasal 1100 N BLACK HORSE PIKE RUNNEMEDE Recreational cannabis only MSO
- Phula 60-62 HIGH STREET MOUNT HOLLY Recreational cannabis only
- Pure Blossom 2554 PENNINGTON ROAD PENNINGTON Recreational cannabis only
- Nightjar 549 BLOOMFIELD AVENUE BLOOMFIELD Recreational cannabis only
- Royal M 102A E FRONT ST PLAINFIELD Recreational cannabis only
- Shore House Canna 124 SUNSET BLVD WEST CAPE MAY Recreational cannabis only
- Hashery 409 NJ-17 HACKENSACK Recreational cannabis only
- Terrapin Investment Fund “The Station” 86 RIVER ST. HOBOKEN Medicinal and Recreational MSO
- Joy Leaf 711 EAST 1ST AVENUE ROSELLERecreational cannabis only
- The Leaf Joint 391 CENTRAL AVE, GROUND FLOOR JERSEY CITY Recreational cannabis only
- Voltaire NJ 47 MILL STREET MOUNT HOLLY Recreational cannabis only
- Dank Poet Dispensary 245 E WASHINGTON AVE WASHINGTON Recreational cannabis only
- Cannabis Clubhouse 70-72 E MAIN STREET SUSSEX Recreational cannabis only
- Blue Oak Dispensary 1025 Broad St, BLOOMFIELD, NJ 07003 Recreational cannabis only
- Plantabis 2077 US-1, Rahway, NJ 07065 Recreational cannabis only
- High Profile LAKEHURST Recreational cannabis only 145 NJ-70, Lakehurst, NJ 08733
