Several people in the New Jersey cannabis industry made the High Times 100, the magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in cannabis in 2021.

The list includes executives at multi-state operations, activists, attorneys, regulators and nonprofit leaders.

The New Jersey cohort includes Jessica Gonzalez. Now an attorney at Hiller PC in New York, she is a lifelong New Jersey resident and was an associate at Bressler Amery & Ross in Florham Park during the hot-and-cold legislative legalization process that included fits, starts, and the voices of New Jersey voters. Leading up to the ballot initiative, she led the social impact committee for NJ CAN 2020, the coalition that pushed for adult use legalization and helped shape cannabis policy on the statutory, regulatory and municipal levels in the state. Gonzalez is outside general counsel for Minorities for Medical Marijuana Inc. and last year made NJBIZ’s Next Generation of Leaders list.

Sapphire Risk Advisory Group Managing Partner Tony Gallo made the list, as well. Since 2013, his firm has been focused on developing cannabis security strategies for businesses and High Times dubs him “the O.G. of cannabis security.” Gallo, who received his degree in criminal justice from New Jersey City University, grew up in Carteret and has spoken at over 100 conferences on cannabis security from application to operation nationally.

Activist and longtime New Jersey resident Leo Bridgewater also made High Times’ list. Bridgewater is the national director of Heart Community Capital, where he collaborates with pro athletes, creatives and activists, and cannabis industry experts to invest in minority owned-cannabis businesses. A multi-tour veteran, Bridgewater is the director of veteran’s outreach at Minorities for Medical Marijuana. He was co-founder of the NJ Cannabis Commission between 2016-2018, and he may be the only person on the list with a cannabis strain named after him.

Also on the list were Dasheeda Dawson, founder of The WeedHead & Co. and cannabis czar in Portland, Ore.; and Roger Volodarsky, CEO of cannabis vaporizer company Puffco. Dasheeda is New Jersey educated — Princeton University for undergrad, Rutgers University for graduate school — and Volodarsky was partially raised here in the Garden State.