The answer is simple. NJ politicians, lawyers, and lobbyists have been making sure it’s hard for regular working class NJ residents be permitted to enter into the industry. The insiders are setting it up so there’s no competition, just giving the industry over to established companies that have the funds to produce at a large scale from the start. Eliminating small businesses from ever having a chance; and the insiders friends get the largest new industry in the 21st century handed to them on a silver platter. Often companies that lobbied to keep it criminal. Actually, they kept it criminal to grow for that very reason. Even though voters overwhelmingly clearly wanted and thought they voted for legalization.

Look at the ATF. Their reasoning is that making moonshine and weapons is dangerous. And they could try to claim they don’t want people to grow because molds can be problematic and cause health problems. There’s other real estate/ insurance related reasons too, because of fire hazards(hence states using 12 plant limit laws. But it’s really bullshit. They want to force everyone to buy from corruptly establishes companies/industries from “out of state” who’ve bribed the NJ politicians. That simple. They also want to keep the price higher than the highes5 black market prices to maximize tax revenue to further their pork spending. If they allow for patients then they have no justification for keeping it illegal for everyone else, because they can’t go claiming they’re trying to protect our health. Again, it’s all bullshit reasoning because the same issues that apply to tomatoes apply to growin* herb.