Mid-December opening for marijuana dispensary

Joseph P. Smith | The Daily Journal

VINELAND – A medical marijuana pharmacy should open here in mid-December, though representatives for the developer say its locally grown products might not be available for sale until early February 2020.

Columbia Care New Jersey LLC representatives were before the city Planning Board on Wednesday night. The board agreed to support the facility opening with only a temporary certificate of occupancy, although the decision must come from the city construction code official.

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Heather Sabetta, an engineer on the project, told the board that the developer expects the dispensary at 1062 N Delsea Drive to be ready to open the week of December 16.

Clint Allen, an attorney for Columbia Care, said the roughly dozen employees initially will only be doing training and “shakedown” runs on operating protocols.

Columbia Care is building a dispensary and a related “grow” facility at different locations in Vineland. Both are still under construction.

The grow facility, at 1560 North West Boulevard, is the sole source of supply for the dispensary or pharmacy. The dispensary is opening in a renovated plumbing and water care business at North Delsea Drive near West Oak Road.

The reason for the special visit to the board is a hiccup in Columbia Care’s application to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for permission to improve a driveway at the pharmacy that opens onto Delsea Drive.

Instead of a quick turnaround, Allen said the state process is “incredibly slow” and might not be done until June. The attorney said there is not a state-set deadline to begin selling but the company wants to be ready as soon as locally grown marijuana becomes available.

“When do they anticipate having the product grown?” city Supervising Planner Kathy Hicks asked.

“My understanding is probably January, sliding into probably February,” Allen said.

Voting to support an opening without the state DOT permit were Chairman David Manders, Vice Chairman Michael Pantalione and members Stephen Plevins, Samuel Fiocchi, Sandy Velez, Robert Odorizzi, David Acosta, and David Catalana.

Joe Smith is a Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer at The Daily Journal in Vineland. Have a news tip? Reach out at (856) 563-5252 or jsmith@thedailyjournal.com or follow me on Twitter, @jpsmith-dj. Help support local journalism with a subscription to The Daily Journal.