Come the end of summer, Cape May County could see what may be its first legal cannabis dispensary open for business.
Shore House Canna LLC, located at 124 Sunset Blvd. in West Cape May, hopes to start legally selling cannabis by Labor Day — a move that would make it not only the county’s first legal dispensary, but among the first in any beach town in New Jersey, save for Atlantic City.
“We can smell the finish,” said Dave Christian, a principal with Shore House Canna.
The opening of Shore House Canna will cap off a two-and-a-half-year journey for Christian, fellow principal Nicole Melchiorre and CEO Tomas Nuscis.
Nuscis, the owner of Pappy’s Pig Roast & Barbecue in Marmora, Cape May County, has been interested in the cannabis industry since New Jersey started medical marijuana sales about a decade ago, Christian said.
Finding the right town — and one that would allow them to open — was the difficult part, Christian said. That’s not unique in New Jersey. An estimated 70% of the state’s municipalities have opted out of allowing marijuana businesses, leaving about 170 marijuana-friendly towns in the state. Of those that opted in, Christian said, many adopted