Ivy League student-athlete alumni to launch New Brunswick dispensary

Earth & Ivy, a recreational dispensary founded by three student-athlete alumni from the University of Pennsylvania, is set to open its doors in New Brunswick.

Located at 355 George St., the storefront will begin welcoming customers May 20 following a 9:45 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The dispensary’s founders – Anthony Lotti, chief executive officer and a former football player; Sasha Stephens, chief revenue officer and a former soccer player; and David Ryslik, chief operating officer and a former football player – told NJBIZ they all found their way into the cannabis industry through similar circumstances.

“We are all former Division 1 athletes who have dealt with a plethora of injuries and were prescribed harsh pharmaceuticals while simultaneously being told the harms of cannabis use and how this could lead to us being dismissed from our respective teams,” they said. “We realized that this was a microcosm for society as a whole and we wanted to bring awareness to this issue.”

By using their experience mixing cannabis and sports recovery, they hope to destigmatize cannabis use while providing customers of all demographics with access to high-quality products as well as education.

“Earth & Ivy is an elevated brand that aims to bridge the gap between professionalism and cannabis culture,” the co-founders said.

Besides being the first standalone adult-use cannabis retail dispensary in New Jersey and a certified woman-owned business enterprise, Earth & Ivy’s ownership group is the youngest in the U.S., with an average age of 25 years old.

In fact, Stephens is the youngest black woman to own a cannabis dispensary in the country, Earth & Ivy said.