How do you compete with a lobbying firm controlled by one of Gov. Phil Murphy’s closest allies and friends?
For Precious Osagie-Erese, co-founder of an East Orange small cannabis company applying for a license to run a retail store and delivery business, it’s rallying her community for support. In New Jersey, before a cannabis business is fully licensed it must get local approval with their host municipality — which can be a separate approval process with different rules from the state’s regulatory entity.
At the upcoming Monday East Orange City Council meeting, Osagie-Erese has called for residents and other cannabis advocates to challenge what they say could be a backdoor deal hiding in plain sight.
“We have been championing a safe and equitable New Jersey cannabis industry with an intentional focus to build and support our hometown,” Osagie-Erese said in a released statement.
Multiple applicants in East Orange, including Osagie-Erese, have brought up concerns city leaders are being influenced by one of the state’s most dominant power brokers, State Democratic Committee Chairman LeRoy Jones Jr., through his lobbying firm 1868 Public Affairs, which is representing an applicant in the city’s selection process.