High Time in Montclair: Meet the Locals Behind the Town’s Cannabis Future

Why doesn’t Montclair have any legal weed stores? This week on The Montclair Pod, we tackle a question that has floated around town for years, with a deep look at Montclair’s cannabis landscape, tracing how a town that once hosted New Jersey’s first medical dispensary now has zero open shops. Farnoosh and Mike walk through the long, complicated road to legalization in New Jersey, the zoning bottlenecks in Montclair, and the Catch-22 of opening a dispensary in a system where you need a lease before you have a license.

We unpack:

• How state and municipal approvals have slowed Montclair’s cannabis rollout.

• Why the town may be missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual tax revenue.

• The real numbers behind dispensary sales in New Jersey.

• An in-depth conversation with Jake Kushner, founder of Kush Connection on Bloomfield Avenue, who shares the multi-year, financially draining journey to opening a dispensary in his hometown.

• A behind-the-scenes look at Genuine Grow, Montclair’s first legal cultivation facility, with founder Andrew Marshall explaining the three-and-a-half-year road from idea to harvest, and why he’s betting on small-batch, craft cannabis grown right on Pine Street.

Also: Montclair’s special election is off. A Superior Court judge has invalidated the December 9 ballot questions, ruling the wording unclear and legally insufficient. We break down what the ruling means, why the ballot language failed, and how the district might navigate a shortfall with layoffs already underway.

In lieu of Farnoosh & Mike Eat Food this week, we explore the psychology of giving and receiving feedback, as part of our series sponsored by Twocents. The hosts chat with Montclair customers and business owners about what makes helpful feedback, how often people leave reviews, and why private, measured comments often matter more than public criticism.

In Ask Our Agent segment, sponsor and real estate agent Karin Diana of Compass returns to explain what sellers should actually look for during a bidding war. She breaks down why the highest price doesn’t always win, which terms matter most, and how contingencies, lenders, and even an agent’s reputation influence a seller’s decision.

We wrap with local headlines, including a state grant to redesign Church Street, a new community survey on weekend transit service to New York City, and the Montclair-born musical Spiral Bound heading to Lincoln Center. Plus: Farnoosh’s long-awaited tickets to see Conan O’Brien and Stephen Colbert, and Mike’s search for a gym that won’t leave him gasping on day one.

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