New Jersey cannabis history
Reviewed
Official results for the November 3, 2020 constitutional question were 2,737,746 yes and 1,343,637 no. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission said dispensaries opened for adult-use sales on April 21, 2022.
This is a short history, not legal advice. The rules that apply today are on the New Jersey cannabis laws page. A date is included only when the linked page states it.
At a glance
January 18, 2010The medical act was approved as P.L. 2009, chapter 307. It takes effect on the first day of the sixth month after enactment.
November 3, 2020The ballot question asked voters to amend the constitution to legalize cannabis, and said only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannabis.
April 21, 2022The commission said twelve dispensaries opened for adult-use sales that morning. An April 14 release had said 13 retail locations.
The adult-use market
- The commission says the legislature approved P.L. 2021, chapter 16, on February 22, 2021, the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.
- The commission said it would issue licenses to seven alternative treatment centers to begin adult-use operations, including at 13 retail dispensaries, starting on Thursday, April 21.
- The same-day release is the count of stores that opened that Thursday morning.
Sources
- only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannabis
- twelve dispensaries opened for adult-use sales
- P.L. 2009, chapter 307
- P.L. 2021, chapter 16, on February 22, 2021
- 13 retail dispensaries, starting on Thursday, April 21
Citations were checked against the linked pages on October 24, 2026. Claims without a statute, election result, regulator page, court opinion, or news report were left out.