New Jersey’s recreational weed stores open to long lines, cheering customers

Opening day is here: On Thursday, April 21, New Jersey marijuana stores start selling to all adults 21 and older, marking the end of prohibition and the start of a new legal era.

Leafly editors Calvin Stovall and Bruce Barcott are in NJ for the big event. They’ll team up with contributing writers sending in reports from stores up and down the state. We’ll update this page hourly with photos, quotes, stories, and highlights from a historic day.

6 a.m.: Melissa Correa makes the first purchase in Bloomfield

First in line at the RISE store in Bloomfield was Melissa Correa, 42, from Plainfield. She waited through the night to step into the store at 6:00 a.m. this morning.

Time to RISE and shine

An eager crowd of consumers waiting outside the RISE store in Bloomfield, NJ, in the early morning hours of April 21.

End of prohibition 2.0

Ben Kovler, the chairman and CEO of Green Thumb Industries, which operates the RISE stores in Bloomfield and Paterson, marked the day: “It’s a huge event,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s a moment in time when prohibition 2.0 is lifted.”

Shoutout to NJ Weedman

New Jersey’s cannabis pioneer marked 4/20 by dropping an NFT yesterday. Learn more about Ed Forchion in this profile Leafly ran in 2016.

Jon Bong Jovi? Not bad, not bad…

Stephen Colbert went off on 4/20 and New Jersey’s opening day on The Late Show last night, offering a number of new Jersey-centric strain names and a not-too-subtle munchies plug for his fabulous Americone Dream ice cream, courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s.

It’s called progress

Long lines: an opening day tradition