It’s been a while and we do have quite a bit to report on the Hoboken cannabis dispensary front. The newest addition to the dispensary scene, Village Dispensary, has just opened, with another following shortly, Hudsonica. Due to pending litigation and investigations, Story and Blue Violets have uncertain futures, while The Station has added delivery service for their customers. Oh….and the city is starting to see tax revenue from the dispensaries.

Village Dispensary (516 Washington St) is open for business.

Village Dispensary opened for business with a lot of fanfare - ribbon cutting, catchy advertising, balloon structures, and sidewalk tents. The opening didn’t go unnoticed by the community. In a recent article LINK, Village’s Chief Operating Officer, Jamil Taylor states, “We want to be good stewards of our license, we want to be in Hoboken for a long time.” Village is the third dispensary to open in Hoboken. The fourth, Hudsonica (1427 Grand), is making progress with its build-out and will be open soon.

Cannabis Dispensaries Municipal Tax Revenue

Many residents have asked how much tax revenue is the city collecting from the dispensaries. As of the end of the second quarter in 2024, there were 2 dispensaries open - The Station and Blue Violets (provisionally). Each dispensary is required to pay the city 2% of their sales to Hoboken in addition to the state sales tax of 6.625%. Below is the municipal tax collected.

Note: The Station opened for recreational sales in February 2024. Blue Violets opened at the end of April.

When the city decided to opt into recreational cannabis, they approved allocating 75% of the tax revenue to social justice initiatives, totaling to date $32,726. It was never clear what social justice initiatives were the targeted recipients of these funds, and which board (or individual) would decide where and how to award those funds. It is also unknown if those funds will be accounted for outside of the overall municipal budget. Given the state of Hoboken’s budget, we ask the city to provide clarity regarding the process.

The Station (86 River Street) is offering delivery service.

The Station continues to focus on having the best curated cannabis experience in the state and is now offering delivery service for their customers! The business has been growing and participating in art and retail pop-ups, and some music events. The Station is committed to being a good community member - maintaining a safe and clean operation on the corner of River and Newark.

Story Dispensary (51-53 14th Street) is being investigated. 

It is our understanding that Story Dispensary is being investigated by the Attorney General’s office and we don’t know the status of that investigation. To date, Story has not received a state CRC license and there has been no activity in the location after a long, drawn out approval process.

In May, Leo Pellegrini, the former HHS director for Hoboken, filed a lawsuit against the City of Hoboken and Mayor Bhalla LINK where he alleges the city wrongfully dismissed him last year. Notably Pellegrini refers to his involvement on the Cannabis Review Board (CRB) and the Story Dispensary where the location is owned by Jersey City’s Mayor, Steve Fulop’s wife, Jaclyn and his PAC Treasurer, Drew Nussbaum.

According to the lawsuit, in January 2022, after the CRB approved a cannabis dispensary, Nature’s Touch, between 10th and 11th on Washington Street, Mayor Fulop called Mayor Bhalla. As described in the court document, Mayor Fulop was “very angry” that the CRB approved this new dispensary which was to be located around the corner from Story. Fulop requested that Bhalla quash the Nature Touch application, and in return Fulop would give Bhalla’s law firm contract work.

It appears that Bhalla obliged and quashed the Nature’s Touch application, and subsequently, his law firm did receive a contract LINK from the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency a few months later. Story was then granted approval despite a contested location at 14th and Hudson and public opposition. Based upon the Story/Fulop/Condo Association litigation, Fulop had a lease/buyout option with Story which would have given Fulop $1 million profit on his property and economic interest in seeing the application approved. These corroborated allegations have led to the majority of the city council (Fisher, Ramos, Giattino, Presinzano, Russo) asking for a full investigation by the Attorney General’s office.

Since Pelligrini made these allegations, Nature’s Touch has sued LINK the City of Hoboken, Mayor Bhalla (individually), Mayor Fulop (individually), Jaclyn Fulop (individually), as well as John Does 1-5, who may potentially be named at a later time. Nature’s Touch was granted permission by the court to file a late claim which is the first step of many with this lawsuit.

Blue Violets (628 Washington Street) is waiting for an appellate decision.

Last year, Hoboken for Responsible Cannabis (HRC) won a court case against Blue Violets and the Hoboken Planning Board. The lower court ruled that the Hoboken Planning Board illegally approved the Blue Violets application because it violated the 600 foot school proximity law. Blue Violets is approximately 250 feet away from All Saints Episcopal Day School and Hoboken Charter School. The court has allowed Blue Violets to open provisionally until a decision on their appeal is reached. Now the case is in the appellate division, and we are hoping for a decision early next year.

Blue Violets and their followers have been petitioning the City Council to change the school proximity law from 600 to 200 feet - the closest distance in the nation - in order to allow their business to operate legally. The City Council attempted to amend the ordinance earlier in the year but withdrew the change due to community opposition. Good governance would suggest that laws are not changed to benefit one business given that the majority of the community supports the ordinance in its current form.

Upcoming CRC Meeting

The state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will meet on October 17th to consider another group of dispensaries for state licensing.  Deadline to register to speak will be Tuesday, October 15th at 5 p.m. Register HERE.