Nicole Cokley Dunlap will oversee the strategy and execution of the retailer's goals, as well as build relationships with customer communities and diverse business vendors.

Focused on fresh food and meal solutions, the offering joins locations in Brookdale, Greenwich and Burlington, and Monroe, N.Y.

Yet to be announced is when applications to run businesses - including dispensaries, grow facilities, manufacturing and processing facilities, delivery operations, and wholesalers - can be submitted for consideration.

Wesley McWhite III will lead the Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s office in charge of establishing and administering practices and procedures to bring socially and economically disadvantaged New Jerseyans into the state's medical and adult use cannabis industries.

The deal includes an initial cash payment of $25 million with an additional $25 million payment comprised of a combination of cash and TerrAscend common shares to be paid on or before Dec. 31.

In 2022, kids can be kids at the department store when the retailer plans to rollout the concept, which will include remnants of the formerly Wayne-based brand, including nods to Geoffrey the Giraffe.

After an hour of delays attributed to technical difficulties, the group convened in a public meeting in front of nearly 1,000 New Jerseyans to lay out the groundwork paving the way for the state's adult use industry, which included the prioritization of social equity, diversely owned and impact zone businesses; easing access to the market for entrepreneurs; working with municipal partners; and laying a foundation of safety.

The licensing agreement will provide access to top-shelf genetics and debut “Cookies Corners” in the company's three Apothecarium dispensaries in the state.

Grand opening events in Edison and North Brunswick will feature giveaways, music and free t-shirts for the first 100 customers.

Columbia Care now operates in 12 states, with a third New Jersey location expected to debut by the shore in the fourth quarter.

Cannabis businesses have long struggled to get appropriate insurance coverage due to the product’s continued scheduling under the Controlled Substances Act: Schedule I classification means that any “manufacturing, possession, sale or use of marijuana” is a federal crime, and the conflict between federal and state laws cause issues with respect to criminal liability for insurance providers.

The Aug. 21 deadline for municipalities to decide whether they will, or won't, be a home for the state’s earliest adult use cannabis businesses is fast approaching.