The Other Side Dispensary to Close in Jersey City
The Other Side Dispensary (TOSD), a disabled veteran-founded and equity-aligned cannabis business, is closing its doors as a direct result of prolonged municipal inaction, regulatory inconsistency and policy decisions by Jersey City officials that made long-term sustainability impossible.
“This business did not fail because of demand, performance or management,” said Dr. Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez, founder of The Other Side Dispensary. “It failed because Jersey City created a regulatory environment where doing everything right still isn’t enough to survive.”
After more than three years navigating local approvals, delayed ordinances, stalled oversight boards and escalating fees, TOSD’s closure underscores a broader reckoning facing New Jersey’s legal cannabis market—where unchecked license saturation, political gridlock and bureaucratic dysfunction have pushed compliant small operators to the brink while undermining the city’s own equity goals.
A Case Study in Municipal Breakdown
TOSD entered New Jersey’s adult-use cannabis market in early 2022 in response to the state’s call for veteran-led and disadvantaged operators. The dispensary received early state and local approvals, including unanimous support from the Jersey City Cannabis Control Board (CCB). However, what followed was a multi-year pattern of delays and reversals at the municipal level:
Repeated Planning Board postponements, including an expensive and ultimately unnecessary approval process that cost tens of thousands of dollars, a process later removed for future applicants.
Bifurcation of retail and consumption lounge applications, forcing early applicants to wait years for rules that did not yet exist.
Corrupt stop-work orders and inspections that halted construction for months.
A non-functional Cannabis Control Board, leaving applications unreviewed and endorsements unprocessed.
Unrestricted license issuance, resulting in nearly 60 dispensaries in a city of 300,000 — one of the most saturated cannabis markets in the nation.
Nearly 30 months after incorporation, TOSD was finally allowed to open in October 2024, and was already struggling due to the months of holding costs.
Equity in Name Only
The city’s failure to timely implement consumption lounge endorsements proved especially damaging. For early operators like TOSD, lounges were positioned as a critical sustainability tool — yet the city delayed approvals while continuing to issue new retail licenses.
As a result, TOSD faced:
More than $65,000 annually in licensing fees
Local and state quarterly taxes, including a steep municipal cannabis tax
Estimated financial damages exceeding $1.7 million
Eight employees were displaced and more than $300,000 in lost wages and tips
Despite operating profitably, maintaining strong margins and achieving nearly $1 million in revenue in its first year, the business could not overcome the cumulative burden of policy failures and prolonged uncertainty.
“If we were treated like any other business, we would not be closing. In our first year, we generated nearly $900,000 in net sales with gross margins exceeding 60%. By any standard, that is a healthy, high-performing operation. The difference is that cannabis businesses are burdened with regulatory costs and delays that no other industry is expected to absorb,” Brevard-Rodriguez said.
National Industry Headwinds Raise Stakes Even Higher
TOSD’s closure is occurring against the backdrop of significant national cannabis policy uncertainty and financial pressure across the industry:
Federal Rescheduling and Ongoing Legal Uncertainty: There are active federal discussions and executive actions aimed at reclassifying cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, reflecting recognition of medical use that’s intended to reduce onerous tax burdens and enhance research possibilities. However, the practical implementation timeline — and how it will affect the broader industry — remains unclear and unevenly understood, adding to market uncertainty.
Federal Hemp Ban and Market Disruption: A 2025 federal spending bill changed the definition of hemp, tightening THC limits on hemp-derived products in a way that industry analysts say could make the majority of products currently on the market illegal under federal law when the rule takes effect in late 2026. Industry groups warn this could devastate a multibillion-dollar sector and lead to major job and revenue losses.
Debt and Financial Strain Across Operators: Across the U.S., cannabis businesses face mounting debt burdens. Many operators entered the market with heavy upfront costs and limited access to traditional financial services. Onerous federal tax codes like Section 280E (still affecting many state-legal operators) and a lack of consistent financing options continue to squeeze margins and threaten business stability.
These national trends create an environment where even well-run operators struggle to access capital and remain solvent, raising broader concerns that without meaningful federal reform and sustainable policy frameworks, the legal cannabis market could see consolidation, closures and an erosion of legal consumer options — potentially feeding demand back to the illicit market.
A Warning, Not an Outlier
TOSD is not alone. Multiple Jersey City dispensaries have closed since mid-2025, with more expected to follow. Operators warn that without immediate reform — particularly around license caps, fee structures and functional oversight — communities risk hollowing out the legal cannabis market and driving consumers back to unregulated channels.
“This didn’t have to happen,” Brevard-Rodriguez said. “Jersey City had the chance to build a sustainable, equitable market. Instead, it chose delay, saturation, and politics — and small businesses are paying the price.”
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