Legal marijuana in New Jersey

 The NY Times has the story:

Legal Marijuana Sales Will Start Next Thursday in New Jersey. All adults will be able to purchase cannabis at certain medical-marijuana dispensaries starting April 21.  By Tracey Tully

"The first sales of recreational, adult-use cannabis in New Jersey will start next Thursday, marking the culmination of a yearslong effort to legalize marijuana and to curtail the racially unbalanced penalties for possessing the drug.

"At least a half-dozen medical-marijuana dispensaries are planning to open their doors to all adults on April 21 after winning final approval this week from New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

...

"“The end of prohibition is coming to New Jersey,” said Ben Kovler, chief executive of Green Thumb Industries, which operates both dispensaries. “We’re prepared for a tidal wave of demand.”

"He estimated that New Jersey, the second state on the East Coast to begin adult-use sales, could eventually become a $3 billion industry.

“The war on drugs was a failure for people of color,” he said. “This is going to create a lot of wealth, for a lot of people.”

...

"New Jersey voters approved a referendum legalizing marijuana in November 2020, but it was not until this week that the commission established a pathway for the first legal sales of adult-use, recreational cannabis."