Pennington will soon see a long-awaited cannabis retail store open in the Pennington Square Shopping Center on Route 31. Jersey Meds is planning to open their cannabis wellness dispensary March 8.
The new business will be run by its owners, Dolly Lalchandani, Kapil Mansharamani,* Pratibha Rao, and Allen Tolani in a store that will carry an extensive selection of products including flowers, concentrates, vape cartridges, and pre-rolls. Additionally, they will offer premium quality edibles, drinkables, topicals, and tinctures. The team sees recreational cannabis as a contemporary approach to well-being that contributes to wellness in body and mind.
Security is priority for the owners, with a full time security staff on site at all times during their hours of operation. In order to enter, customers will have to see the security guard and be cleared to enter with identification proving they are over 21, the legal age to purchase recreational cannabis.
“It has been years that some of our members have been working with regulated products like alcohol, tobacco, and lottery,” said Rao. “They evolved into being even more compliant by doing things like moving all tobacco to one location.”
Dolly shared that she has been running businesses in the area since 2007 by acquiring the Lukoil on Pennington Circle followed by the BP station. But by 2013, they decided that they did not want to deal with selling age-restricted tobacco items in those locations due to concerns over the youth in the community. The tobacco items were removed from the gas stations and moved to a smoke shop across the Circle, which restricted shoppers to over 21.
“We made a decision that it is good for the community,” said Dolly.
Their journey to opening Jersey Meds has not been without its issues. Dolly said that at a Pennington Borough Council meeting where the group was working to get approval, they learned that their original planned location for the business was across the parking lot from the Cambridge School.
“As soon as we found out, we said it was not going to work,” said Dolly. “We would not be comfortable to be in the backyard of a school.”
Jersey Meds quickly switched their location, which is now near Regent Floor Covering and Pru Thai. Their store passed its final inspection in advance of their opening this Friday and anticipates a grand opening celebration later in March.
Information on the store can be found at their website or on Instagram.
*Edited 3/3 at 7:29am to correct the owners’ names and again on 3/5.
