TerrAscend (CSE: TER) (OTCQX: TRSSF) announced that it has received a permit to cultivate medical marijuana from the New Jersey Department of Health.
The company’s subsidiary TerrAscend NJ will immediately begin cultivation operations at its facility in Boonton Township, located in northern New Jersey.
TerrAscend NJ is the second entity to receive its cultivation permit among the six applicants chosen by the DOH in December 2018. After securing additional processing and dispensing approvals, the full permit will allow TerrAscend NJ to operate a production facility and up to three dispensaries in the north region of state.
TerrAscend in New Jersey
Currently a mediTerrAscendcal-use market, New Jersey is the 11th largest state in the U.S. with nearly nine million residents. According to the DOH, as of January 2020, over 66,000 patients have gained access to the state’s medical-marijuana program. The number of registered medical marijuana patients in the state has tripled since the beginning of 2018. The state currently has a list of 17 approved debilitating medical conditions, including opioid use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and chronic pain.
TerrAscend has secured a 16-acre site in Boonton Township in Morris County. Construction of a 227,000-sq.-ft. facility is underway with the first phase covering approximately 80,000 sq. ft. of cultivation, processing and support space. It is expected to be fully operational within the first half of 2020.
The scaled cultivation capacity will supply cannabis products and brands to TerrAscend’s dispensaries, as well as to wholesale customers. In addition, the facility could supply cannabis to the projected 15 new retail dispensaries expected to be awarded permits by the DOH this year.
The Apothecarium is TerrAscend’s retail banner in New Jersey that has four existing locations in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and is recognized as one of the nation’s premier dispensaries. The first Apothecarium-branded dispensary is slated to open in Phillipsburg in the second quarter of 2020, followed by two additional dispensaries upon regulatory approval.