Recreational Pot In Warren: Closest Place To Buy

WARREN, NJ — Recreational marijuana sales begin in the state on Thursday for those 21 and older without a medical pot card.

Although the Warren Township Committee passed an ordinance last year banning all marijuana-related businesses, including cultivation and delivery service, the closest recreational dispensary is less than an hour away. Read more: Public Hearing, Final Vote Set For Marijuana Bans In Warren

Within a one-hour drive, dispensaries include:

• Zen Leaf, 117 Sprint Street, Elizabeth
• Zen Leaf, 3256 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Township
• Apothecarium, 1865 Springfield, Avenue, Maplewood
• Apothecarium, 55 South Main Street, Phillipsburg
• Ascend Wellness, 174 Route 17 North, Rochelle Park
• RISE, 26-48 Bloomfield Avenue, Bloomfield
• RISE, 196 3rd Avenue, #3C, Paterson

Also opening on Thursday include:

• The Botanist, 100 Century Drive, Egg Harbor Township
• The Botanist, 2090 N Blackhorse Pike, Williamstown
• The Cannabist/Columbia Care, 1692 Clements Bridge Road, Deptford – 5 PM Open for recreational
• The Cannabist/Columbia Care, 1062 North Delsea Drive, Vineland – 5 PM Open for recreational
• Curaleaf, 640 Creek Road, Bellmawr
• Curaleaf, 4237 US-130 South, Edgewater Park

Recreational cannabis customers will be able to buy up to 1 ounce of dried flower or up to 5 grams of concentrates, resins, or oils, or 10 100mg packages of ingestible items in a single transaction, according to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

With 13 dispensaries so far being approved to sell adult-use cannabis products, customers should expect the stores to be busy.

"The dispensaries have assured us that they are ready to meet the demand without disrupting patient access, and with minimal impact on the surrounding communities, but patience will be key to a good opening day," said said Jeff Brown, executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

Dispensaries are required to put patient access policies in place so that registrants in New Jersey’s Medicinal Cannabis Program do not have to wait on long lines or risk not getting their medicine. Facilities are expected to implement special lines or hours, online ordering, curbside pick-up, or home delivery to ensure patient access is uninterrupted.

NJ's Cannabis Regulatory Committee Chair Dianna Houenou said that patient access and public safety remains the top priority during this new expansion into the recreational market.

"These approvals were given based on commitments from the ATCs that we would not see adverse effects with expansion," Houenou said. "Expansion into the adult-use market – with a substantial advantageous start ahead of new applicants – is a privilege that must not be taken lightly."

You can read the state's guidelines for safe and responsible marijuana consumption here.

New Jersey voters approved a ballot question in November 2020 to legalize regulated marijuana sales in the state for those 21 and older.

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