Nearest Asbury Park-Area Recreational Pot Shop Opens Thursday

ASBURY PARK, NJ - Recreational marijuana sales begin in the state on Thursday, April 21 for those 21 and older without a medical pot card.

Although the Asbury Park mayor and council passed an ordinance last year banning all marijuana-related businesses, including cultivation and delivery service, the closest recreational dispensary is less than an hour away.

At just under a one-hour drive, dispensaries in Lawrence (Mercer County) and Elizabeth (Union County) will be opening Thursday. The stores will be under the Zen Leaf banner.

Also opening on Thursday include The Botanist Williamstown, The Botanist Egg Harbor and Curaleaf, at Bellmawr and Edgewater Park.

The state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission states that recreational users can purchase up to one ounce in a single transaction.

13 dispensaries so far have been approved to sell adult-use cannabis products. The approved sellers have been given the green light to open at the following locations:

• Bellmawr
• Bloomfield
• Edgewater Park
• Paterson
• Phillipsburg
• Maplewood
• Rochelle Park
• Elizabeth
• Lawrence
• Williamstown
• Egg Harbor

NJ’s Cannabis Regulatory Committee Chair Dianna Houenou said that patient access and public safety remains the top priority during this new expansion into the recreational market.

"These approvals were given based on commitments from the ATCs that we would not see adverse effects with expansion," Houenou said. "Expansion into the adult-use market – with a substantial advantageous start ahead of new applicants – is a privilege that must not be taken lightly."

You can read the state's guidelines for safe and responsible marijuana consumption here.

New Jersey voters approved a ballot question in November 2020 to legalize regulated marijuana sales in the state for those 21 and older.