Author: Justin Calta

New Jersey Legislation Introduces New Labor Standards for Cannabis Operations

/ Justin Calta

New Jersey recently enacted legislation expanding labor protections for employees working in the state’s licensed cannabis industry. The new law is aimed at addressing long-standing gaps in worker coverage created by the intersection of federal labor law and cannabis-related employment, particularly for employees whose work has historically fallen outside traditional federal protections.

A central feature of the legislation is the extension of collective bargaining rights and unfair labor practice protections to cannabis employees who are not covered by the federal National Labor Relations Act. By doing so, the law establishes a state-level framework governing labor relations in the cannabis sector, bringing these employees more closely in line with workers in other private industries.

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New Jersey Cannabis Reform Proposal: Enforcement Expansion and Key Regulatory Changes

/ Justin Calta

In late 2025, New Jersey lawmakers advanced a cannabis reform bill aimed at strengthening enforcement against unlicensed cannabis activity while also revising key regulatory and ethics rules affecting licensed operators, applicants, and investors.

A central feature of the bill is an expanded focus on illicit market enforcement and represents a definite move away from allowing “home grow” in New Jersey. The legislation would direct the New Jersey State Police, working with the Cannabis Regulatory Commission and local law enforcement, to develop and implement a structured enforcement program to identify, investigate, and pursue coordinated actions against unlicensed cannabis manufacturing and sales.

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New Federal Law Limits Sale of Hemp-Derived THC Products

/ Justin Calta

On November 12, 2025, President Trump signed into law a federal measure that substantially limits the production and sale of hemp-derived intoxicating products across the country. The legislation, tucked into the broader bill that ended the lengthy government shutdown, has generated immediate concern throughout the national hemp industry, with many businesses warning that the new standards may effectively force them out of the market.

Under the newly enacted federal framework, the definition of “hemp” is significantly tightened. All forms of THC, including isomers and precursor compounds capable of producing a psychoactive effect, will now count toward the federal limit. This redefinition includes THCA and other hemp-derived THC compounds that the hemp-derived cannabis market primarily manufactured and sold under the prior version of the law.

The new law also imposes a 0.4 mg total THC limit per container of hemp product.  The prior limit was 0.3% on a dry-weight basis, which still applies in addition to the 0.4mg cap.  This has the effect of significantly limiting the amount of hemp-derived THC that is permissible in a given package.  Products that exceed the new threshold will now fall under federal cannabis prohibitions.

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New Jersey Appellate Panel Confirms Towns Right to Regulate Cannabis Licenses

/ Justin Calta

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently affirmed a trial court’s decision to allow a New Jersey town to deny a prospective retail cannabis business to operate, determining that the municipality has the discretion to decide the necessary requirements for any cannabis retail businesses, and which cannabis retail businesses it chooses to support.

In December of 2022, a lawsuit was filed by Big Smoke LLC (“Big Smoke”), a prospective cannabis retail business, after the Township of West Milford declined to adopt a resolution in support of Blue Smoke’s cannabis retail operation in favor of another cannabis retail business in the same commercial complex. The lawsuit alleges that despite being granted a zoning permit for a retail store in December of 2021, Township officials did not adopt a resolution allowing Blue Smoke to move forward with operations in October 2022, required by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

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New Jersey CRC Recommends Eliminating Cap on Cultivation Licenses

/ Justin Calta

New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) recommended eliminating the current cap on the number of cannabis cultivation licenses at its February 8, 2023 meeting, among other actions.  If that recommendation is adopted, the current limit of 37 licenses would expire on February 22, 2023.   According to the CRC, there are only 17 cultivation licenses and awarding additional licenses would help spur New Jersey’s cannabis market.

“The market is developing, and we don’t want to hinder that. The New Jersey canopy is currently only 418,000 square feet – far below the average of other states with legal cannabis. New Jersey currently has only one cultivation license for every 197,000 residents. The national average is one license for every 31,000 residents. We have a lot of room to grow. We expect that lifting the cap will open the space for more cultivators, ultimately resulting in more favorable pricing and better access for patients and other consumers,” Commissioner Maria Del Cid-Kosso stated. 

New Jersey Enacts Bill Permitting NJEDA to Make Financial Incentives Available to Certain Cannabis Businesses

/ Justin Calta

The continuing federal prohibition of marijuana has made cannabis entrepreneurs in New Jersey rely on personal funds or private financing to get their projects up and running.  This has put up a significant barrier to entry into the market for many license applicants. In effort to free up financing while various bills continue to be introduced at the federal level, Governor Murphy signed bill S2945 on June 30, 2022, enacted as P.L.2022, c.48., which permits the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) to extend financial incentives to certain cannabis businesses as detailed below. 

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Bringing it all Back Home: Cannabis and Zoning

/ Justin Calta

Source: The New Jersey Law Journal

I. Introduction

New Jersey’s recreational cannabis market is finally here and in full swing.  As the market continues to grow, cannabis license applicants must consider how zoning will impact their contemplated business operations in any given New Jersey municipality.  In short, although a license may permit you to operate a cannabis business, zoning will dictate where, when, and “how” – – that is, what conditions are attached to your operation.

To aid applicants in the real estate and zoning component of their businesses and cannabis license applications, this article broadly details the relevant zoning provisions of the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA or the Act) and New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Law, the primary zoning legislation in New Jersey, together with issues that both applicant and lawyer alike should consider when applying to a land use board to obtain approval.

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