(READINGTON, NJ), Feb. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verano™ (“Verano NJ” or “the Company”), a leader among vertically-integrated multi-state operators (MSO) with interests in cannabis cultivation, processing and retail facilities across the nation, today announced that Verano NJ has been issued a permit to cultivate and process medical cannabis by the New Jersey Department of Health (“NJ DOH”). Cultivation operations are set to begin immediately at Verano NJ, which is centrally positioned in the state between Newark and Trenton, in the town of Readington.
Verano NJ was awarded a vertically-integrated license to cultivate, process, and dispense medical cannabis in New Jersey after a highly competitive process that saw over 140 applicants submit a bid to the state for consideration. The current license allows the Company to operate a cultivation and production facility with provisional licenses to add up to three Alternative Treatment Centers (“ATCs” or dispensaries) in the state.
Despite its small geographic footprint, New Jersey boasts a population of almost 9 million residents. It’s currently a medical-use market, steadily approaching 70,000 patients participating in the program, per the NJ DOH. The list of [17] approved medical conditions – conditions for which a doctor can recommend medical cannabis to a patient, which includes PTSD and Chronic Pain, among others – has expanded in the last year. So has the number of participants – in just two years, the state’s patient count has tripled.
“The receipt of our cultivation permit in New Jersey is momentous,” said George Archos, Verano NJ Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to operating here in the Garden State, applying our depth of experience across cultivation, processing & retail to supply the medical-use patients of New Jersey with a full suite of premium medical cannabis flower and products. Our gratitude goes out to the state’s regulatory agencies for their continued hard work, and now we may shift our focus entirely to helping the patients, both current and future, of this state.”
The 120,000 sq. ft. production facility, previously occupied by Walmart, contains ample space to accommodate all phases of cultivation and processing, enabling Verano NJ to bring an extensive product offering to the market, including its first Zen Leaf branded retail facility in the state, which is anticipated to open in Elizabeth, NJ by the spring. The Company’s production facility replacing a vacant, former Walmart signals brighter days ahead for local communities, creating employment opportunities that may have otherwise disappeared with the giant retailer.
Verano NJ plans to introduce New Jersey’s medical-use patient community to the Company’s family of coveted brands & product lines, which includes verano™ flower, and a premier line of topicals/tinctures/tablets under the Avexia™ banner.
Verano NJ
Verano™ is a national, vertically integrated operator of licensed cannabis cultivation, processing and retail facilities; dedicated to improving lives by providing safe access to effective, pesticide-free products that profoundly impact the communities it serves. Verano produces a full suite of premium, artisanal cannabis products, offering superior medicinal therapies. It designs, builds and operates unique Zen Leaf™ branded dispensary environments that offer an exceptional user experience with incomparable customer service and care in both medical and adult-use markets. Verano distributes cannabis concentrates, edibles, extracts, flower, tinctures & topicals, many in precision-dosed THC and CBD formulations, under its trusted premium brands: Encore Company™, Avexia™ and verano™.
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Verano Corporate Office
t: 312-265-0730
Media Relations
e: david@verano.holdings