New Jersey Cannabis Hits $1.164B as LEAF Loans Open, June 2026
The New Jersey cannabis retail June update lands with the state’s certified billion-dollar year on the books and capital finally moving toward smaller license holders. Recreational sales kept climbing even as flower prices fell more than 23%, the NJEDA opened a $15 million LEAF loan program, and Nabis announced a deal to enter the state through a license and warehouse acquisition. Meanwhile, two Camden County boroughs took contrasting positions on local licensing, and testing labs flagged a sharp jump in yeast and mold failures.
Top Headlines This Month
- 📊 NJ certifies $1.164B in 2025 sales; mold failures spike 307%
- ⚖️ DEA expands cannabis registration to manufacturers, distributors, labs
- 💰 NJEDA opens $15M LEAF loan program for small cannabis businesses
- 🏙️ Barrington moves to permit Class 3 cannabis wholesale on the White Horse Pike.
- 🤝 Nabis announces deal for Hudson Distribution license to enter New Jersey
📊 NEW JERSEY: NJ-CRC MAY DATA SHOWS $1.164B IN 2025 CERTIFIED SALES AS FLOWER PRICES FALL AND MOLD FAILURES SPIKE
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s May 14, 2026 meeting presented certified full-year 2025 sales of $1.164 billion, with $1.118 billion coming from recreational purchases (up 11.8% year-over-year) and $46.2 million from medicinal sales (down 45% year-over-year). As of May 4, 2026, the commission had approved 2,521 of 3,212 total applications, and more than 300 medicinal and recreational dispensaries were open across 21 counties. Adult-use flower prices continued to compress, falling from $8.86 per gram in April 2025 to $6.80 in April 2026, a 23.3% year-over-year decline. The commission also flagged a sharp rise in yeast and mold testing failures, which climbed from 1.11% in April 2025 to 4.52% in April 2026, a 307% increase, with significant variation in failure rates across the four deidentified testing labs that handled more than 100 tests in April 2026.
The recreational growth numbers confirm the market is still expanding in dollar terms even as per-unit prices fall. The medical program decline is steepening, with total monthly medicinal sales in April 2026 down 42.3% compared to April 2025, and the yeast and mold spike across labs points to a quality control issue the commission will need to address directly.
Source:
https://www.nj.gov/cannabis/documents/meetings/2026-05-14/May%2014%202026%20slides.pdf
⚖️ FEDERAL: DEA TO LAUNCH REGISTRATION FORMS FOR STATE-LICENSED CANNABIS MANUFACTURERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AND TESTERS
The Drug Enforcement Administration announced it will soon launch registration forms for state-licensed medical marijuana manufacturing, distribution, and testing businesses that want to access federal protections under rescheduling, building on an existing form already in place for dispensaries. The DEA also recently updated its controlled substances lists to formally note that marijuana subject to a state medical cannabis license falls under Schedule III. Separately, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives posted draft revisions to its firearms transaction record (Form 4473) that would stop treating state-legal medical marijuana use as a disqualifier for gun purchases, following the Trump administration’s rescheduling move. That revision is a proposed rule open for public comment, not yet final, and recreational use would remain disqualifying.
The DEA announcement extends the federal registration framework beyond dispensaries to cover manufacturers, distributors, and testers, giving more license classes a forthcoming pathway to apply for federal protections tied to the Schedule III designation. The ATF form revision, moving through a separate agency on a parallel track, reflects how the rescheduling decision continues to generate administrative changes across multiple federal departments.
💰 NEW JERSEY: NJEDA OPENS $15 MILLION LEAF LOAN PROGRAM FOR SMALL CANNABIS BUSINESSES
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority began accepting applications for the NJ LEAF (Lending for Equity, Access, and Financing) Program on April 20, 2026. The $15 million low-cost lending initiative offers two tracks: Fixed Asset Loans from $100,000 to $1.5 million for property and equipment purchases, and Working Capital Loans from $100,000 to $500,000 for operational expenses. To be eligible, a business must be a New Jersey-based cannabis cultivator, manufacturer, or testing laboratory holding a valid recreational annual license, have been in operation for at least one calendar year, employ fewer than 250 people, and report annual gross revenues of $5 million or less. Five percent of total program funds are reserved for businesses located in designated impact zones.
The program is limited to cultivators, manufacturers, and testing laboratories, excluding retailers and other license classes. The revenue and employee caps make clear this capital is directed toward smaller license holders, and the impact zone carve-out reflects the state’s ongoing focus on directing resources toward communities most affected by past New Jersey cannabis prohibition.
🏙️ SOUTH JERSEY: BARRINGTON MOVES TO PERMIT CLASS 3 CANNABIS WHOLESALE ON THE WHITE HORSE PIKE
Barrington’s borough council introduced a set of cannabis ordinances on first reading at its April 14, 2026 meeting: Ordinance 1231 (cannabis zoning), Ordinance 1232 (Class 3 cannabis), and a companion fee ordinance, 1233. Together they would amend the borough’s zoning code and cannabis ordinance to allow Class 3 cannabis businesses (wholesalers) in Barrington’s commercial district. The change would clear the way for a proposed operator on the White Horse Pike, which already holds approval for a Class 5 retail license at the site, to function as a dual-use wholesale and retail location.
Barrington opening a specific license class adds to the patchwork of municipal decisions that determines where cannabis businesses can operate across New Jersey. Only about a third of the state’s municipalities permit cannabis businesses at all, so each town that opens a new class shifts where supply-chain operators can actually set up.
Source:
http://barringtonboro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Council-April-14-2026.pdf
🤝 NEW JERSEY: NABIS ANNOUNCES DEAL FOR HUDSON DISTRIBUTION’S CANNABIS LICENSE TO ENTER STATE IN H2 2026
Nabis, the largest licensed cannabis wholesale platform, announced plans to acquire Hudson Distribution Services LLC’s New Jersey cannabis distribution license along with the company’s warehouse lease. Hudson Distribution grew out of the former distribution business of Hudson News Distributors LLC, with more than 100 years of distribution history behind the Hudson family of companies. Under the terms of the deal, Hudson Distribution and affiliated parties will become Nabis shareholders through a seed investment in Nabis’s New Jersey operations, and Nabis will assume Hudson’s warehouse lease to gain immediate access to existing logistics infrastructure. Nabis expects to launch its wholesale technology platform and distribution services in New Jersey in the second half of 2026.
The deal brings a wholesale commerce platform with real-time inventory visibility, automated payments, and financing tools to New Jersey brands and retailers. By pursuing an existing license and warehouse rather than building from scratch, Nabis positions itself to enter the state with established infrastructure and operator relationships already in place.
🌿 New Jersey Cannabis Portfolio — Active Listings
✅ Fully Licensed Retail — Ready for Buildout | Butler, NJ
Asking: $400k
- Status: All state, township, and DOT approvals secured
- Market: 1 of only 3 approved in Butler | Northern NJ
- Traffic: 70K+ cars daily | Direct highway access | Route 23 corridor
- Facility: 2,794 SF | 12 to 15 parking spaces
- Lease: $14,000/mo (can be renegotiated with owner)
🏪 Operational Dispensary — Open & Generating Revenue | Irvington, NJ
Asking: $500K or best offer
- Status: Open 9 months | Established customer base
- Location: Irvington/Newark border | Former bank building connected to bus station | Heavy foot traffic
- Facility: 1,344 SF retail | Full basement with bank safe | 500 SF office
- Lease: $7,000/mo gross
🔄 Operational Dispensary — Value Add / Turnaround | Maywood, NJ
Asking: $1.5M
- Status: Open and operating | Underperforming due to mismanagement
- Location: Bergen County | Multi-tenant strip center
- Facility: 1,778 SF within 7,200 SF building | 40 parking spaces
- Terms: 24 month entitlement at $3,500/mo | Post entitlement rent $9,779/mo
🚧 Shovel Ready — All Approvals in Hand | Gloucester City, NJ
Asking: $1.5M
- Status: State ATC, local, planning, and construction permits all secured
- Location: Gloucester City | South Jersey | Camden County
- Buildout: Approximately $200K from completion
- Facility: 3,047 SF | 25 parking spaces
- Market: City permitting 2 dispensaries total | ATC license allows 2 additional locations
- Real Estate: $1.2M included
- Terms: 12 month entitlement at $2,000/mo
The Bottom Line
The New Jersey cannabis market crossed $1.164 billion in certified 2025 sales while wholesale prices kept compressing and quality control issues surfaced at testing labs. New capital through the $15M LEAF program and Nabis’s announced entry signal that infrastructure is catching up to demand, even as municipal-level decisions continue to shape where cannabis retail and supply businesses can actually operate.
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