Department of Health is expected to name new dispensary operators within weeks

Competition is fierce for six new licenses to operate medical marijuana dispensaries in New Jersey. Two licenses each will be given for north, central, and South Jersey.

Former NFL player Leonard Marshall is promoting a dispensary for Paterson’s rundown Second Ward. The former lineman is a spokesperson for Hillview Med, one of 50 license applicants in north Jersey.

“We’ll create some economic change here in Paterson,” Marshall said. “And I think that, if you take a look around at the landscape of things here, it could use kind of an uplift.”

“Paterson’s economy could use a shot in the arm and this could provide that. We’re not in a position to turn away any potential revenue,” said Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh.

Another company applying for a license in north Jersey is PureNJ. Jordan Lams, who heads up PureNJ, said of the Morris County location where he’s seeking to operate, “We’re respecting the town’s request for lack of disclosure just because it’s still a developing process. That being said, we do, for a manufacturing and cultivation facility, have approval in hand,” Lams said.

The state Department of Health is expected to name the successful applicants for the licenses on November 1.

Read the full story on NJTV News Online, a content partner of NJ Spotlight.