Congrats NJ folks.
We legalized weed thru referendum in MA back in 2016, didn't finally really open until until 2018/2019, and now it's just normal. When it first started there were only two adult use dispensaries in the state, long lines, overcrowding, short supply, chaos. But within about 6 months it got settled, and now it's just normal. There's probably like 10 or more adult use dispensaries around me, and they're pretty much just normal businesses, I don't think much about them. Although the other day I was driving down the highway and noted that like 5 of the billboards on this ~5mi stretch of highway were all dispensaries.
MA has had good laws about ensuring community ownership and requiring a certain percentage to be minority owned, but I'm not sure how well that played out. It's been hit or miss. Before the law was passed we had prescription weed, and no laws around those being minority owned or in places hardest hit by drug laws exist, so when weed became legal all of those medical use dispensaries had a leg up on new ownership. 2+ years later, there's more minority owned dispensaries, but they're still something like 10% of all dispensaries in the state, and only like 3-4% of all marijuana related businesses in the state.
Success and a Waiting Game:How the Massachusetts Cannabis Mandate Helped and Harmed Minority-Owned Dispensaries
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