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MasterDave t1_iy3i0vz wrote

It costs over a million dollars just in fees to get started, how do you expect someone with oh let's say any amount of jail time in their entire life to qualify for a loan for any of that (not to mention how much it costs to get a storefront, and either grow or buy inventory)?

The idea that your local weed guy could suddenly come up with a business plan and get a store going just from the money they didn't save up from selling weed for a decade was always a myth. It was never set up for that person to succeed and never will be.

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YUdoth t1_iy3108c wrote

Why? The State has spent the past five years ensuring this would be the standard for how cannabis works in NJ. No home cultivation for anyone, a township chosen tax and approval, and ridiculous prices for even a shot at a license. All the while Scutari and the rest of them scream the entire reason they've done anything to weed law has been about righting the wrongs done to our states minorities.

Look, this guy's got my sympathy, having spent so much money for a chance in the business is outrageous, but this young man is the exact person who wouldn't have had any issues had he gotten caught with weed in the past, simply because of money. Halfway through the article it talks about him and his parents spending nearly a million fucking dollars, just for a shot at a licence. This reads more like the opinion of a young man who's dad's about to give him the whooping of a lifetime if he loses the million he invested in his reefer business than it does someone who gives a shit about actually righteous cannabis laws.

After calling and bothering our reps for years prior to legalization, literally close to a decade, I can assure you - they don't give a shit. The second legalization rumors were on the board and it was an option, myself and hundreds of other frustrated NJMMP patients were calling and calling. No one cares about your opinion in NJ unless you've got the cash for play. I've been a medical patient for ten years and calling for improvements to the program for just as long, but they know best, and we didn't want perfect to the be the enemy of progress, so these are the laws we've got. "Don't worry, cheaper prices and home grow will come. Eventually." - My reps in 2016.

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SyndicalistCPA t1_iy3im8c wrote

This like when the papers do a story on a mid-ass white person not getting into the college of their dreams. Like, you'll be okay, my dudes.

Or even better, the stories about how a young couple were able to afford a nice home and you scroll all the way down to discover that their parents helped pay for it. Thank you, very informative.

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whatsasimba t1_iy4d7v6 wrote

There was an article where the person paid down their 100k student loans and bought a 400,000 house within 2 years of graduating college. Oh yeah, they moved in with their parents, lived for free, and got a down payment from parents.

Shit...why didn't I think of that!

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boojieboy666 t1_iy3ooks wrote

We need to legalize home grow. It’s absolute bullshit we can’t legally grow.

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doglywolf t1_iy40s1g wrote

i thought the original bill allowed some small amount to be grow for private use? did that change?

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mooslar t1_iy4fdom wrote

No. AFAIK, home grow is still treated as if weed was never legalized. Straight to jail, felony, very bad, etc.

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Jake_FromStateFarm27 t1_iy5osd2 wrote

Homegrow is not allowed at all in the state. They should have at minimum allowed medical users 2-4 plants like every other states medical plans.

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KneeDeepInTheDead t1_iy4kp74 wrote

nice username

Although I think if homegrow were allowed from the get-go, it wouldve never gone through. Gotta get your foot in the door first imo.

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sutisuc t1_iy3rx3t wrote

Remember when they told us the delay was so “they could get it right” and make sure the people were most harmed by the old marijuana laws would be able to get in on the ground floor?

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doglywolf t1_iy410rk wrote

Yea plus crazy application and processing fees in the thousand just to get a shot at the 2-3 license they city might give out. How much did they make off people via that process knowing damn well their political buddies were already promised those licenses

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ratatosk212 t1_iy4vbvx wrote

Yep, they were just waiting to get their palms greased by the right people. Big shock. Very Jersey.

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PIZT OP t1_iy4dowc wrote

Yeah the catch is to make the barrier to entry so high it scares away most people

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FartFragrance t1_iy33plq wrote

Small business is dead in NJ and has been for a long time so not sure why anyone would assume that the weed business would be any different. Welcome to capitalism USA the home of corporate America where only big businesses survive and the little guy gets eaten up and spit out.

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[deleted] t1_iy3ldjo wrote

[deleted]

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diggstownjoe t1_iy3noby wrote

It's not always a bad thing, but it's often a bad thing, especially in non-unionized workplaces. At a certain scale, employees become interchangeable "human resources," just pieces on a game board. We'd be better off if our federal, state, and local governments made it easier for small businesses to operate and compete with larger businesses. Competition is the key to unlocking the benefits of capitalism, but ironically, it takes government regulation to ensure that competition isn't just squashed by monopolies and oligopolies.

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OttoBaker t1_iy5wzlx wrote

Small businesses can’t compete with larger companies for healthcare and other benefits, nor with the online retail. Small businesses in the USA are best suited with an owner, and maybe only the owner, actually working behind the counter. Maybe it’s not a good idea to leave your customers in the hands of a minimum wager, who could care less about your success or failure. Customer service from anyone other than the owner is usually non-existent. I can’t stand to hear small business owners complain ad nauseam about the government when they are not even minding their shop. Some have no real business plan. Example: walk into a downtown clothing boutique and good luck getting a greeting, assistance, or answers to questions. They can’t even bother to clean the sidewalks. It’s a 180 of what I’ve experienced in Europe yet the popular opinion is that European countries make it impossible for small businesses. Don’t get me started on window displays.

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ClericOfThePeople t1_iy3l8gr wrote

With weed illegal at the federal level small businesses are unable to get the standard financing loans/grants opportunities they usually have through traditional banking.

The only groups with large amounts of money are going to be corporations who made their money off of legal weed in other states or international organizations from Canada that have access to traditional financial instruments.

No state entity is going to have the reserves to prop up a small business cannabis ecosystem by itself.

Just kind of a lose/lose , I know the push for legal weed at the federal level has slowed down since a ton of states have it now but these are the tangible repercussions of the state/federal lag.

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LeftHandedAnt t1_iy3rg26 wrote

Not Delta Don in New Brunswick. Highly recommend.

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jarrettbrown t1_iy44z00 wrote

Isn't all delta 8 or am I being mislead by the internet.

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LeftHandedAnt t1_iy46b3w wrote

Being mislead. 100% Cannabis store. Moonrocks, prerolls. THC.

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center_hall_colonial t1_iy5lull wrote

These Grey Market shops are popping up in every city since the state dragged their feet so much. Our town has one and they have a hand written menu and sell twenties. LOL no thanks.

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LeftHandedAnt t1_iy5pgmm wrote

Delta Don is a highly respectable shop. Don't talk smack about someone's business before you've patronized it. Not cool. They're not corporate like the rest. They're awesome and have excellent reviews (4.7) on Google and other platforms. You, Sir, are a shill for the corporations.

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center_hall_colonial t1_iy6ryy2 wrote

lol its literally a delta8 shop! You don't even know what the fuck you are smoking!

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LeftHandedAnt t1_iy7ldcc wrote

It's literally not. You're an idiot stop disparaging this man's business. You corporate shill.

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center_hall_colonial t1_iy9lpnl wrote

Dude it literally is. it has "Delta" in the name. https://www.reddit.com/r/NewJerseyDispoReviews/comments/xmq97l/has_anyone_tried_any_products_from_delta_don_in/

I don't really want to argue with you, but if you knew me you would know I am absolutely not a corporate shill. I am trying to point out that this store is selling THC-O and DELTA8 as if they are real cannabis and not cbd bud sprayed with chems and terps. Check out the google reviews page for a real eye opener, you aren't even smoking weed lololol. Straight up rookie move my guy.

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Auisfdfj t1_iyag7qn wrote

Have you ever heard of delta 9? Dude, it literally has delta in the name.

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LeftHandedAnt t1_iy9s6pa wrote

You are a corporate fucking shill. They sell both Delta8 AND THC products. STOP spreading misinformation about this man's business. They are a mom and pop WEED shop. You're a fucking moron. Meet me there and I'll prove you wrong. Call them right now 973-876-3954 and ASK them. What you're doing to their business is criminal. We're loyal customers who buy from them and we know what we're getting. You haven't even googled them you're just going by the name what a tool you are. Fucking shill. You must be behind the Instagram attacks too.

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center_hall_colonial t1_iy9wy3i wrote

Oka my guy, idk, your mama and shit, stop cussing at me. Is Ddon your daddy or something? You sound like the one shilling hard here actually. I have actually never been there but I did google it out of curiosity and all the reviews said THC-O, HHC, and Delta8, as did posts from Don himself! So, are these the "thc" products you are talking about?

I actually don't care because I don't buy my weed or "THC Products" from a store, I grow it myself and I know exactly what goes into it from seed to harvest. Also you don't seem like someone who is smoking real weed, you have a crazy aggro streak going about literally a store.

This is the real shame, that people have to go into a store to buy "weed" and that stores are even selling this garbage.

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LeftHandedAnt t1_iya33zo wrote

Meet me there. We'll film ourselves asking the staff and whoever is wrong will make a public apology and we'll post it here on the subreddit you fucking shill. Fuck you. So fucking wrong and arrogant.

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mataushas t1_iy6il9a wrote

How much is their eighths? Place by me.is 65 bucks an eigth.. way too expensive.

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LeftHandedAnt t1_iy7lhsd wrote

They're listed on Google and the Clover App, all prices on there.

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sparky1976 t1_iy49ps5 wrote

I think this article is a paid advertisement made to seem like it's a news article.

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ruckh t1_iy5lo3t wrote

Buddy of mine just got his license approved, I can confirm he is not a big Corp. probably 12-18 months out though

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solesme t1_iy3gh9t wrote

You are going to have the opportunity to choose between large corporations and local businesses in the next 1-2 years. Now what you do with that is up to you. It's up to people in NJ to say fuck you, and go with local companies.

I would look at micro licenses, and retail licenses that are not vertical. Then you can understand if it's a large corporation or not.

People are going to do what you want, but maybe it's worth paying a little more for a local shop than going to some corporate bull shit store that doesn't care about you, or it's product.

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baboo512 t1_iy3xq2v wrote

Big corporation or small business I don't care but Sussex County needs one stat

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Dur-gro-bol t1_iy41jze wrote

Big smoke in Hamburg, they have been open for over a year. I'm pretty sure there's one in Sussex too.

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baboo512 t1_iy46uhd wrote

Thank you, I'll have to check it out not too far from my house

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theirishcannoli t1_iy40u2m wrote

Lol what did you expect? The state is as corrupt as it gets, legalize home grow already

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MicrowavedMayonnaise t1_iy44of2 wrote

as a NJ resident who has always wanted this for my state. i really want to find employment with the right bud related organization for the state, but everything is just big corp run so far so ive been unsure where to turn.

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aden_feifdom t1_iy4bbqx wrote

honestly, why are we surprised when the process has become so bureaucratic only large companies with legal teams at their disposal can navigate the process. the average peon can pound salt according to the marijuana commission composed of bureaucrats

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drkensaccount t1_iy4j5dq wrote

There's going to be another NJ Cannabis Commission hearing on Dec 2nd at 1pm. This should involve a second round of annual licenses. If you want to speak during the public comment section, you can find info on that here. But, you'll have to register by Nov 30th if you want to do that. Hopefully, there will be more recreational dispensaries approved at this meeting and at least one of them can be in Hudson County, which currently has 0. At the very least, lets hope NJ can approve a 2nd micro-business dispensary as only one was approved last month.

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JizzyTurds t1_iy4rb1g wrote

We knew the state wouldn’t allow any small time mom and pop shops to get a slice, that’s the way it goes, still have to continue growing and selling on the street, it does nothing to stop crime and actually raises street prices because stores charge obscene amounts for product, this actually helps street dealers

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MrWolfensteinn t1_iy5vma2 wrote

Look into what it takes and how much it takes to start one of these businesses. Of course big corp will run it.

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BerryExpensive t1_iy4mxat wrote

Somehow you just knew that was going to happen.

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surrealchemist t1_iy4zpz7 wrote

It would be helpful if they had a different type of license for smaller scale operations. If anyone wants to learn more about the industry, I find the guys that run CannabisLegalizationNews on youtube are great source of information. The one guy is a cannabis lawyer so he knows all the specifics.

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Bass1059 t1_iy5qho0 wrote

What did you expect?

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Soft_Turn408 t1_iy6xnrd wrote

And for some reason I can’t seem to find any in my area. Argh 😠. I live in ocean county.

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Kasanova1226 t1_iyb67e8 wrote

Its waaaayyyyy too expensive to even start the process for a regular joeschmo like us. You need big investors and a huge legal team just to break a samll thin layer. Plus all the towns against it and their ridiculous startup fees and yearly renewal fees. This is the reason why street dealers or thriving right now. Even my relative who has a medical card still gets their weed from their local dealer. Moral of the story, weed is way too expensive to become mainstream in NJ.

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alttabdeletedie t1_iycxix1 wrote

Most stores are incredibly overpriced for the quality you get too. They should at least make it legal to grow your own plants at home.

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doglywolf t1_iy40jw4 wrote

They were the only ones with enough bride..... i mean campaign contributions to be first on the list for licenses

Some towns even do a "Bid" process so of course big corpo the only one gonna have the cash to drop huge bids.

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