New Jersey fills remaining slots on marijuana oversight commission

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy moved quickly to complete the five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission, only two days after signing adult-use marijuana implementation legislation into law.

State regulators now have 180 days from the bill’s enactment to develop rules and regulations.

That means existing medical marijuana operators could begin adult-use sales before year-end.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) will regulate New Jersey’s medical marijuana program and also provide oversight for the impending recreational market.

The following three appointees will join Chair Dianna Houenou and Jeff Brown on the CRC:

• Maria Del Cid, director of policy and legislative services at the New Jersey Department of Health.
• William Wallace, director of the professional division of Local 342 of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union.
• Sam Delgado, who served as vice president of external affairs at Verizon before retiring.

“This has been a week of great progress on cannabis in New Jersey,” Edmund DeVeaux, president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association, said in a statement.

DeVeaux said the business group looks forward to working with the CRC  “to create a responsible, sustainable, diverse and profitable cannabis industry in New Jersey.”