With the Garden State’s recreational rollout accelerating, this year promises to be as important as it is big for the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association and its new executive director, industry veteran Todd Johnson.
“Huge year,” Johnson says. “The top priority is going to be communicating with regulators and the Legislature to continue to promote common sense rules and regulations that are going to allow for a strong cannabis industry in New Jersey.”
Johnson, who in 2018 co-founded the New Jersey cannabis startup Community Greenhouse with New York Giants legend Amani Toomer (the dispensary recently received a conditional license), first joined the NJCTA as a board member representing Justice Cannabis Co., where he was executive vice president and head of New Jersey operations. He also served as the NJCTA’s treasurer.
Johnson worked as a trader in New York City before transitioning to a 16-year career as a consultant for investors on Wall Street.
But Johnson says he always had a passion for cannabis, which led him to get involved in New Jersey’s medical industry in 2018. In 2020, he was a founding member of the organization he now leads, helping create a way for the industry to communicate with each other and present one voice to regulators.
The year, along with promoting “common sense rules and regulations,” education for licensees is a key goal.
“We’ve worked closely with the [Cannabis Regulatory Commission] to identify topics in which they are receiving concerns and questions from soon-to-be operators,” he says.