I'm not going to lie.
By now, I really thought the state of New Jersey would've begun the transition into a state that enjoys the many benefits of full-scale cannabis legalization. After all, part of Governor Phil Murphy's campaign was based on legalization. And poll after poll showed that once that scumbag prohibitionist Chris Christie moved out of the Governor's mansion, residents would be keen to approve the legalization of adult-use cannabis.
Then reality set in, as a number of hold-out prohibitionist threw up some pretty significant road blocks to Murphy's plan to legalize. Now, it is unlikely that New Jersey will legalize any time before 2019.
Although this does put a burn in the bellies of plenty of legalization advocates, Governor Murphy has sought to expand the state's medical program, and now wants to double the number of producers in the state, as New Jersey is dealing with growing supply issues.
According to the New Jersey Department of Health, the current medical cannabis program is adding up to 500 new patients every week. Today, there are in excess of 25,000 registered patients, which is about double the number of registered patients at the end of 2017.
At the moment, there are only a couple of public companies with direct exposure to New Jersey: Terra Tech Corp. (OTCBB: TRTC) and Invictus MD (OTCBB: IVITF). The latter has exposure to New Jersey after acquiring Acreage Holdings, which announced back in May that it landed a deal with a non-profit dispensary and cultivation operation called Compassionate Care Foundation, which is in Egg Harbor, New Jersey.
As the New Jersey market expands, however, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few other public cannabis companies move in, such as MariMed (OTCBB: MRMD), Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR), and Green Thumb Industries (OTCBB: GTBIF).
Although the state of New Jersey has been unable to gain much ground in terms of adult-use legalization this year, this market is still not one to trivialize, and investors would be wise to continue to watch it closely.