New Jersey officials voted on Thursday not to renew Curaleaf’s license to grow and sell cannabis in the state’s recreational market, citing the company’s failure to properly notify the Cannabis Regulatory Commission about layoffs as the company prepared to shut down one of its two Garden State cultivation sites.
Curaleaf’s annual license will expire on April 21, meaning its three locations in Bordentown, Bellmawr and Edgewater Park can no longer sell recreational cannabis after that date. Those three sites also sell medicinal marijuana, and it’s unclear whether those services would be shut down, too.
New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission did not respond to a request for comment.
The unexpected move has the potential to further reduce the cannabis giant’s national footprint after it voluntarily backed out of California, Colorado and Oregon earlier this year. Curaleaf attributed that decision to plummeting weed prices and the persistence of the illicit market in those states.
Boris Jordan, the chair of Curaleaf’s board, called the move “very disappointing” in a statement issued by the company Friday. He went on to say that the commission’s “decision to retaliate against Curaleaf for our need to consolidate production into one local facility is lacking in merit.”
Curaleaf is also threatening legal action. The company said it will remain open for business and will continue working with the commission board to get the licenses renewed, “including by any legal means necessary.”
“It’s important for the board to have proper insight and timely notice of major changes to a facility’s operations,” said Dianna Houenou, the regulatory commission’s chair, at Thursday’s hearing.
She abstained from the vote on whether to renew Curaleaf’s recreational license. Of the five board members, two abstained, two voted against renewal and one voted in favor.
Curaleaf was one of seven companies with medical marijuana licenses in New Jersey that were selected to launch the state’s recreational market a year ago.
Curaleaf still operates 150 dispensaries nationwide and has licenses in 19 states, including a medical marijuana license in New York. The company is one of four medical marijuana companies that recently sued New York in a lawsuit challenging the legality of its decision to allow social equity applicants to enter the recreational market before everyone else.
Curaleaf’s cannabis sales in New Jersey have generated more than $5 million in tax revenue for the state, said James Shorris, the company’s chief compliance officer, during Thursday’s hearing.
He added that the company has bargained in good faith with New Jersey employees who have joined the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360. But elsewhere, the company’s labor track record has been spotty.
Last year, the National Labor Relations Board cited Curaleaf for violating the law by refusing to recognize and bargain with unionized workers in Chicago. New Jersey cannabis regulations call for companies to pursue labor peace agreements if a majority of employees express interest in unionizing.
H/T: gothamist.com
