Marijuana Dispensary That Is Moving To Morris Was First To Open In NJ

WHARTON, NJ — A marijuana retailer is relocating one of their stores to Morris County this month, with a grand opening set for June 28 to welcome customers and the cannabis-curious to the dispensary.

Ascend Wellness sells cannabis products for medical and adult recreational purposes, and said they are shutting down their Montclair store — which has been open since 2012 — to do business in a more underserved area.

This new location in Wharton will be 3,000 square feet and include a drive-thru lane for better accessibility, as well as 13 sales terminals for quicker service, Ascend said. Customers will find a curated selection of whole flower cannabis products, vaporizers, edibles, topicals, concentrates, and pre-rolled joints from various brands.

The Wharton dispensary is scheduled to open sometime in mid-June, ahead of the previously-mentioned grand opening celebration on Friday, June 28. That will take place at the new Ascend store, located at 325 State Route 15 in Wharton, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Glazed & Confused donut truck will be on site until noon, and Ascend said the event features product demonstrations, vendor pop-ups, and special prizes for Ascenders Club members.

The celebration is free to attend.

Ascend Montclair Dispensary, formerly Greenleaf Compassion Center, was the state’s first medical marijuana dispensary to open for business. A group of 22 customer service representatives, or "budtenders," also formed a union at the Montclair store in 2022, as Patch reported.

News first surfaced late last year that the company may be pulling out of the Essex County community, with Ascend citing an oversaturated legal cannabis market as the main reason.

For more information on Ascend Cannabis, which is part of Ascend Wellness Holdings, visit them online or on Instagram. Ascend also has locations in Fort Lee and Rochelle Park.

Morris County has two other cannabis dispensaries: Kind Kush Dispensary and Holistic Re-Leaf, both in Rockaway.

Just this week, the town council in Morristown denied a cannabis license renewal to Uma Flowers, which has been in the process of building a store in town. The company told Patch they plan to appeal the decision.