Columbia Care, a cultivator, manufacturer and provider of cannabis products in the U.S., has started operations in its new, approximately 270,000-square-foot cultivation and production facility in New Jersey.
The company has also started using post-harvest automation equipment and expanded its adult-use shopping hours at both of its Cannabist locations in Deptford and Vineland to the maximum number of hours allotted by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC).
The company received approval from the New Jersey CRC to commence operations at its second cultivation and production facility on May 25, 2022, along with the approval to begin using post-harvest automation equipment. The introduction of this equipment will reduce the “harvest to shelf” time for products, making it easier to meet the rapidly-growing patient and customer demand.
“After 10 years of navigating the ever-evolving cannabis industry in various markets, we have so many lessons learned and have been able to bring those to bear in how we approach New Jersey, knowing how it will serve as a model for those east coast states transitioning to adult use in the near term. We are proud of how we managed to scale alongside the demand in the last month and are thrilled to be able to serve more patients, customers, and wholesale partners with our newest cultivation facility and equipment,” said Nicholas Vita, CEO, Columbia Care. “As always, we owe a debt of gratitude to the CRC as well as local officials and our communities for their support in our efforts to make New Jersey one of the strongest cannabis markets in the world and a beacon for the industry.”
Both Cannabist locations began adult-use sales on April 21 as one of the first seven operators to receive initial approval in the state and have continued to expand their hours. Each dispensary will continue to have medical-only hours, along with medical-only parking spots, pick-up lines and dedicated phone lines to ensure that patient access remains unaffected. Adult use customers will now find an even broader range of edibles, flowers, pre-rolls and vapes as more products are approved through the state’s third-party testing requirement. The menus also include an expanding brand selection, including Columbia Care brands Seed & Strain and Triple Seven, with more planned, pending regulatory approval.
In addition to the new 270,000-square-foot cultivation, manufacturing and processing facility, the company also operates a 50,000-square-foot facility, also located in Vineland. The company has a third retail location in development in New Jersey, which is expected to open later in 2022.
