New Jersey Officials Celebrate Completion Of Marijuana Training Academy Curriculum To Help People Enter The Legal Industry

New Jersey officials have completed the curriculum of a no-cost marijuana training academy that’s meant to support entrepreneurs interested in entering the cannabis industry.

About six months after the Department of State’s New Jersey Business Action Center (NJBAC) first started developing the program, it announced late last month that it has finalized the core curriculum for the Cannabis Training Academy (CTA) and the certificate of completion students can receive if they take the more than 60 courses available to them.

The technical assistance program is free of cost to participants and covers processes around applying for a business license, obtaining municipal approval, raising capital and navigating issues like zoning and day-to-day operations. It’s also supported by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC).

NJBAC said that, since its launch in October 2024, more than 1,300 people have enrolled—and officials have produced more than 20 hours of supplemental videos that students can view to learn the ins and outs of licensing and operating a marijuana business.

“To see this program fully completed in roughly six months after its launch is an incredible accomplishment,” NJBAC Executive Director Melanie Willoughby said in a press release.

“It’s also a testament to the State’s ongoing support and commitment to ensure that this vital resource is accessible to both prospective entrepreneurs and cannabis operators who are looking to level up their knowledge to acquire other additional licenses, or train their staff on the deeper nuances of business management and license operations,” she said. “There is nothing like this program anywhere else in the country.”

Courses are online, NJBAC says allows those enrolled to complete the academy at their own pace. Programming consists of pre-recorded webinars as well as live Q&A sessions with instructors. In-person workshops are also available.

“This is a historic moment for New Jersey, as we wrap up the largest, most comprehensive, cannabis technical assistance program in the country,” Tauhid Chappell, executive director of CTA, said. “The CTA is enhanced by industry experts, supported by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, and accessible to all New Jersey residents ages 21+ who can access our program online 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year through their phones, tablets or computers.”

The academy is aimed at promoting equity in the state’s legal cannabis industry, with officials previously noting that the program “is specifically designed to help those who qualify as members of target Impact Zones, as defined in the [state’s adult-use marijuana law] and subsequent NJ-CRC rules.”

Sam Delgado, vice chairman of the NJ-CRC said the program “has already done a phenomenal job helping to prepare new entrepreneurs and workers to enter and thrive in New Jersey’s cannabis market.”

“Having knowledgeable operators and well-trained staff not only makes for efficient businesses, but also for safer consumers,” he said.

Penni Wild, deputy executive director at NJBAC, said the CTA “does more than just teach cannabis entrepreneurs what they need to know to complete a licensing application.”

“It is giving them the power to understand the licensing process, which according to survey responses from our CTA instructors would typically cost tens of thousands of dollars in outside consulting fees just to have the process explained,” she said. “They are learning it for themselves, step-by-step, to make informed decisions and move forward in their business.”

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Meanwhile in New Jersey, Senate President Nick Scutari (D) recently filed a bill that would re-criminalize purchasing marijuana from unlicensed sources—one of the latest attempts to crack down on the illicit market and steer adults toward licensed retailers.

In March, a former New Jersey Senate leader who’s now running for governor said “it is time” to give medical marijuana patients an option to grow their own cannabis plants for personal use. He also pledged to expand clemency for people impacted by marijuana criminalization if elected, and he expressed support for the establishment of cannabis consumption lounges.

The comments from Steve Sweeney, who was the longest-serving Senate president in the state’s history, on home grow depart from what current Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has said on multiple occasions, arguing that the state’s adult-use marijuana market needs to further mature before home grow is authorized.

Seemingly contradicting that claim, dozens of New Jersey small marijuana businesses and advocacy groups recently called on the legislature to allow adults to cultivate their own cannabis.

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.