Tahir Johnson said he is one of the first people with a marijuana-related conviction to open a licensed dispensary in New Jersey. “It’s a real generational asset for my family to be born in,” he said.
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TRENTON, NJ – Tahir Johnson has been arrested three times for marijuana possession. Now, for the first time in his life, the conviction won’t hurt his employment prospects. They will help.
Johnson, 39, will be one of the first people with a marijuana-related conviction to own and operate a legal dispensary in New Jersey when he opens Simply Pure Trenton next month in his hometown of Ewing, which is the state’s capital city. is within the range of Last year, he was one of about a dozen in the state to win a conditional license because of his status as a “social equity applicant.”
“I checked all the boxes,” Johnson said of his application. “And I was especially confident because of my previous arrests.”
New Jersey is prioritizing licensing of dispensaries run by minorities, women and disabled veterans; dispensaries located in “impact zones” or communities disproportionately affected by policing and marijuana arrests; And dispensaries are run by people who are addicted to marijuana. It’s all part of a concerted effort to redress decades of racially biased anti-drug policies.
Johnson fits all three priority categories. Since he had won his conditional licence, he raised capital, bought a property and got approval from the municipal authorities.
Tahir Johnson fronting “Simply Pure Trenton” soon. The mixed-use property is over 6,000 square feet and is located along a high-traffic roadway.
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A conditional license is a provisional license that allows awardees to begin operations while the requirements for the annual license are met. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, or CRC, issued the first 11 of those in May 2022. Since then, nearly one-quarter of all licenses have gone to social equity applicants, and 16% have gone exclusively to applicants with prior marijuana convictions, according to a recent report from the agency.
“It’s a full circle moment,” said Johnson, whose past is littered with run-ins with police, overnight jail stays, and court battles over small amounts of marijuana recovered during a traffic stop. These days, Johnson spends his time hiring employees, meeting with contractors, and preparing merchandise. They expect the business to be profitable.
“It’s a real generational asset for my family to be born in,” he said.
$177 in the third quarter of 2022 million in statewide marijuana sales, including $116 million in recreational sales alone, according to data from the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
emphasis on equity
Lawmakers say the efforts to prioritize entrepreneurs like Johnson are part of a broader calculus to right the wrongs of the past and give those affected by marijuana prohibition a leg up against corporate competitors. Similar initiatives are underway in states like New York, which has reserved the first 150 licenses only for people with marijuana-related offenses or their relatives.
“There are a lot of people who have been incarcerated or jailed for marijuana who have more experience than these corporate entities,” said Trenton Mayor Reed Guciora. “We wanted to make sure they were able to get themselves in the door and be successful as a company coming here from Colorado.”
Trenton Mayor Reed Gucioara stands on the balcony of his office at City Hall. This storefront fronts a busy commercial strip including “NJWeedman’s Joint & Dispensary”.
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Guciora, who helped introduce legislation for recreational use, said he is thrilled with the influx of marijuana businesses trying to open in Trenton. He hopes the city can be a model for what a healthy, equitable legal market looks like. But before that happens, those most affected by the war on drugs need to be included, Guciora said.
“The whole purpose of legalization was to put drug dealers out of business,” Meyer said. “And now unless you allow them to enter legally, it defeats the whole purpose of legalization.”
John Dockery has been in the marijuana business since he was a teenager in the 1990s. He stated that his first charge at age 19 for simple possession greatly limited his job prospects and kept him employed.
John Dockery said he was “accustomed to the feeling that it was not programmed for us” and was surprised to be awarded a license last year.
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“From the beginning of my adulthood, I had to disclose my fees whenever I went for a job, and it kept me from progressing in life,” said the Trenton native, who received a conditional license last year. Was one of the doers.
At first, Dockery was skeptical of New Jersey’s legalization efforts. He had made six relegations over the years but said it was “the norm” for Trenton.
“I don’t know a lot of people without at least one marijuana charge,” Dockery said. “Whether it’s a misdemeanor or a felony, everyone here has at least one.”
John Dockery rolled a combined. he’s sold marijuana since he was
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In Trenton, African Americans are represented nearly half of the city’s population. In recent years, the state said it was a “zone of influence,” or an area where marijuana criminalization contributed to high concentrations of law enforcement activity, unemployment, and poverty. In Mercer County, where Trenton is located, African Americans were more than four times as likely White residents would be accused of drug possession, despite similar rates of use.
Dockery said that even though he was exactly the type of applicant the state had promised priority when issuing licenses, he was “accustomed to the feeling that it’s not programmed for us” that the award was a Came as a surprise.
From ‘Legacy’ to Legal
New Jersey lawmakers hope that individuals like Dockery who deal marijuana in the current illegal or “legacy” market may want to join the growing legal market and apply as social equity applicants.
For longtime dealer Ed Forchian, the decision to be legalized concludes a decades-long saga of arrests, raids, court battles and incarceration. Forchion, 58, has sold marijuana most of his life and has gained a reputation as a staunch advocate for legalization in New Jersey, running for political office in the state through his Legal Marijuana Party.
Ed Forchian, who also goes by “NJ Weidman,” stands outside Trenton City Hall. Marijuana has been decriminalized in New Jersey, and individuals like Forchian have largely reversed their crimes in recent years.
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He began openly selling weed at his Trenton storefront in 2016. His dispensary, the “NJ Weidman Joint,” is located opposite Trenton’s City Hall.
“Who wants to be under threat of arrest all the time?” said Forchian, who also goes by the nickname “NJ Weidman”. “While I was prepared to fight, while I was prepared for war, I wanted to pay taxes and be legal, and be considered an ingenious, smart, intelligent businessman rather than a slick, manipulative drug dealer.” Was.”
Marijuana has been decriminalized in the state, and individuals like Forchian have largely reversed their crimes in recent years.
While he’s ready to join the legal market, Forchian sees some shortcomings in the cannabis regulatory commission’s proposed framework, such as a ban on dispensaries selling any type of food or beverage.
Ed Forchian smokes marijuana at his dispensary located across the street from Trenton City Hall. His decision to go legal concludes a decade-long saga of arrests, raids, court battles and jail time.
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“I don’t see how I can comply,” said Forchian, whose dispensary doubles as a restaurant.
Still, Forchion applauds the agency’s efforts to pave the way for people like him. It is also moving towards legality – albeit at its own pace.
“There was a black market here before, so the state has to catch me and people like me,” he said. “But ultimately my goal is to pass down a thriving, legit business to my kids.”