Legendary rapper shuts down N.J. weed store after less than a year

The store’s website no longer lists its Jersey City location and Google search results say it has permanently closed. Heady NJ, a local cannabis news site, first reported the closure.

In a statement, the dispensary owners blamed a lack of local government support and mounting costs for the business’ failure.

“Despite significant investment, compliance, and readiness to launch, the lack of local oversight and regulatory infrastructure undermined our ability to grow and sustain operations, effectively driving the operation into the ground before it ever even had a real chance to get started,” company officials said.

Other cannabis shops associated with celebrities have also struggled to stay open. In Newark, a celebrity-backed cannabis store, Hashstoria, closed last year. Its backers included members of the Wu-Tang Clan and radio host Charlamagne tha God.

In some towns, weed dispensaries have had difficulty drawing enough customers to stay open.

New Jersey’s cannabis law allows municipalities to set restrictions and caps on the number of dispensaries. While an estimated 70% of the state’s municipalities have opted out of allowing weed shops, Jersey City is among the cities that allowed unlimited stores. However, the city has restrictions on the distance between dispensaries — a rule that has faced legal challenges.

More recently, city officials have moved to limit the number of dispensaries amid concerns that an oversaturation of shops could lead to increased competition for a limited customer base.

Atlantic City has taken similar steps to limit cannabis stores.