MIDDLE TOWNSHIP – The INSA dispensary planned for a site at Route 9 and Avalon Boulevard cleared one of its major hurdles to opening when the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved the shop’s first annual license at its Dec. 12 meeting.
The commission’s approval means INSA likely will open in early 2025. The store’s opening date has long been a moving target: It was first scheduled for spring 2024, then midsummer, then fall, and then again for winter, sometime before 2024 came to a close.
The store is essentially ready for operation; interior work on the building was completed earlier in 2024. INSA is a Massachusetts-based cannabis group with locations in Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Massachusetts. Its Middle Township location marks the company’s first foray into New Jersey.
Joseph Kelley III, INSA’s regulatory compliance attorney, said in a call with the Herald that regulatory hurdles remain, but a 10-week timeline to opening day is possible. First, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission must assign a “field monitor” to INSA’s Middle Township location; this person will conduct an inspection of INSA’s facilities and review its standard operating procedures to ensure compliance with the law. The monitor will provide a report to the commission, and then a 30-day comment and review period begins.
“The worst-case scenario here is that the CRC is understaffed and we don’t get a field monitor for a while, or there’s a problem with the documents or the facility to address. That could delay it another two months at a maximum,” Kelley said. The inspection usually takes three weeks, he said.
Once the facility passes review, INSA staffers must undergo background checks by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission so they can receive badges that allow them to handle marijuana. Once that happens, a “seed-to-sale” inspection will review the marijuana products INSA plans to sell, ensuring that every step in the process – from first cultivation to manufacturing, to the end product at the dispensary – complies with New Jersey’s regulatory standards. That part of the process takes one to two weeks, Kelley said.
He said that the operational approval process, at its fastest, will take eight to 10 weeks.
“We have been ready for a long time,” Kelley said. “The delays have come from licensing. It’s a lot of work for them, they’re overworked, there isn’t a lot of staff, and there’s a lot to review.
“New Jersey’s process is very well thought out and very safety- and consumer-oriented. Some people might argue that it’s burdensome to a fault, but for kicking off a program like this in such a densely populated state, I can’t say they are doing things the wrong way.”
Middle Township Mayor Chris Leusner said in a call with the Herald that although he opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana when he was police chief, he is eager for INSA to open.
“I feel very comfortable after researching that this isn’t going to have any kind of negative impact on our community,” he said, adding that the additional revenue brought to the township by a dispensary will be “worth it.”
“There are two dispensaries south of us, there’s going to be one in Woodbine. People can already have it delivered to them anywhere in town,” Leusner said.
“I’ve spoken with Chief Dekon Fashaw in Cape May, with business administrators in Atlantic County, with former Police Chief Tom McQuillen in Sea Isle City. They haven’t seen any negative impacts.”
INSA has a history in Middle Township dating to 2021, when the Township Committee voted in support of its proposal for a marijuana-growing facility on Indian Trail Road. The facility never materialized, but INSA remains the only marijuana company to have the backing of the township’s governing body.
The committee passed an ordinance in August 2023 that says Middle Township can grant two cannabis retail licenses.
“We have people who reach out every single week who want to open a dispensary. Our order says we can open two, but we have only supported one as of now. I have a wait-and-see attitude,” the mayor said.
Vince Conti contributed to this article. To contact Collin Hall, email chall@cmcherald.com or call him at 609-886-8600, ext. 156.
