The regulations are subject to a period of public comment that will last through Sept. 30.

The state is getting its inaugural Black, female, disabled war veteran-owned dispensary; another from a veteran-turned-rapper-turned-actor-turned-owner; and celebrated the opening of its debut drive-thru.

The site, located at The Apothecarium cannabis dispensary in Maplewood, features exclusive Cookies products and accessories.

Business hopefuls need to understand the challenges to entering the legal "green" market before diving in, including real estate limitations and high initial investment, a panel of experts explained during an NJBIZ Business of Cannabis discussion.

Based in Englewood Cliffs, DLC is a diversified food and agriculture safety company.

The move from the Cannabis Regulatory Commission codifies its licensing process – which prioritizes social equity business applications and those from certified minority-, women-, and disabled veteran-owned operators – and includes some of the lowest application fees for cannabis businesses nationwide.

During NJBIZ's virtual Business of Cannabis panel discussion, experts explained the importance of understanding what it takes to enter the state's legal cannabis space before diving in, including running into real estate limitations and high initial investments.

Ten percent of proceeds from each sale of the brand, founded in collaboration with hip-hop filmmaker Fab 5 Freddy and activist Bernard Noble, will go toward From the Block to the Boardroom, a state-based organization that provides resources and educational opportunities for those impacted by the penal system.

Kristen Goedde, founder and COO of the accredited cannabis and hemp lab, said she was proud a small business like hers was the inaugural recipient. “My goal has always been to ensure that products are tested accurately, with consumer safety and transparency as the priorities,” she added. “This is a very important step in getting the industry to that point.”

The three locations opening this week will bring the state's total up to 16 and expand offerings in "the currently under-served and densely populated Central New Jersey market."

Operations are up and running at the new 270,000-square-foot site, which coincides with the expansion of adult-use shopping hours at the operator's Deptford and Vineland Cannabist dispensary locations.

“We’ve always said that UFCW supports cannabis industry workers from seed to sale,” said Hugh Giordano, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360 director of organizing. “We’ll need to amend that soon, so that it reads from seed to sale to smoke."