Medical weight loss in Rockaway Borough, NJ

ROCKAWAY, NJ — A brand-new retail marijuana dispensary in Rockaway has officially opened for business, making it the first legal recreational marijuana dispensary in all of Morris County.

Kind Kush staged its grand opening earlier this month on Aug. 19 in the Rockaway Borough shopping center off of Route 46, which is anchored by Tractor Supply Co., after its preliminary soft launch in late July.

The dispensary received final approval from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission on July 18. "The wait was stressful, but we can finally say that we made it, and like we’ve said before, we’re beyond excited to meet you all in-person," Kind Kush officials said.

According to the dispensary's website, packaged goods include cannabis supplied in natural flower-bud form, pre-rolled joints, edibles, vape cartridges, as well as accessories such as lighters, rolling paper and grinders.

Customers must be at least 21 years old and may purchase no more than one ounce at a time.

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Prices on their website range from $55 for 3.5 grams of pure indica, $38.67 for a five-pack of pre-rolls, and $30–$40 for edibles.

The dispensary is open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. on Sundays.

For more information, visit kindkushdispensary.com or email [email protected] or call 973-586-9333.

Although Kind Kush is the county's first recreational dispensary, nearby communities are close behind, with the most anticipated coming to Morristown in the near future.

The business will be housed in a two-story building on Ridgedale Avenue, making it Morristown's first cannabis dispensary. The initial decision and plan presentation occurred last month, but the final approval came on March 23.

Uma Flowers will be located at the former Sam's Automotive Repair location, 102 Ridgedale Avenue.

The land is currently owned by the neighboring Morris Brick and Stone Co., which will lease it to Uma Flowers to run the cannabis business.

The store's debut date was not specified during the plan's presentation, but the dispensary will sell both recreational and medicinal marijuana.

Tejal and Priyanka Patel, the sisters-in-law behind Uma Flowers, told the Morristown planning board that they had worked in public health and medicine before launching the cannabis company around a year ago.

The dispensary will initially be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

In 2021, New Jersey became the 13th state in the nation to legalize marijuana, joining states like California, Colorado, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts where marijuana is legal. The move came after a majority of New Jersey voters (more than 70 percent) supported legalizing marijuana, via a change to the state's constitution.

Adults 21 and older have the legal right to consume cannabis in New Jersey. They must smoke in private spaces. However, landlords may prohibit weed consumption on their property.

Know the laws when it comes to cannabis. Find out more from the state's FAQ page on recreational use.

ROCKAWAY BOROUGH — Years of planning and $2 million later, borough officials are celebrating the completion of the Parks Lake project.

The lake, also known as Fox Pond, is used by residents of Rockaway Borough and Rockway Township, but the renovations were completed only on the borough side, as the municipalities didn't see eye to eye on how to pay for the dredging portion of the project, the removal of sediment and debris from the bottom of the lake

"For the past seven years we've been trying to sock away money for this project," said borough Mayor Tom Mulligan. "At this time, Rockaway Township had other prioritization, so they didn't participate in the dredging of the lake."

Borough officials closed out the project last Friday with an estimated cost of $2 million. Work included replacement of the dam, dredging the Rockaway Borough side of the lake and extending the beach area. The walking path by the dam and the beach was also repaved.

Rockaway Township Mayor Mike Puzio said they expect renovations and improvements on their side of the lake to happen by next year. They are currently drafting up plans with township engineers.

" I had to make some tough choices in terms of what the residents were going to get the most use out of," Puzio said. "We are planning on doing our section [of Park Lake], our gazebo side and improving the landscape."

Residents in the area use Parks Lake for swimming and fishing, and it includes a 0.7-mile walkway around the lake. More than 10 years ago, the state's Department of Environmental Protection informed the municipality that the dam needed to be replaced, Mulligan said.

"So we've had over 10 years of planning, reengineering, property acquisition," Mulligan added. "We were putting money in our budget every year to cover, pretty much, the cost of this project."

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The Rockaway Township side of the lake includes a gazebo and needs renovations, according to the DEP. In February 2020, borough officials asked the neighboring township to financially contribute to the dredging. Township officials told them they had other financial priorities, officials said.

"We were hoping to have the opportunity to dredge with them, since we had all the permits in place," Mulligan said.

DEP permits were obtained and they were “a considerable expense” for the borough. The permit to lower the lake's water was valid between Aug. 31 and Sept. 31.

The two municipalities split costs for other shared services, including garbage and snow removal and portable toilet rentals for the lake. Officials from both municipalities have been meeting since 2018 to discuss the project. The renovation portion of the project lasted almost a year. Mulligan said there was a lot of frustration from residents and households along the area who were not able to use it.

"But since we're done, they're all smiles," Mulligan added.

With the Parks Lake project completed, the borough will focus on residential and business construction, including a 72-unit senior housing project on West Main Street.

Jessie Gomez is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com and NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: [email protected]

They were always only planning to allow two NJ adult use cannabis dispensaries to open. Rockaway Boroough likely thought the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) would decide who would be allowed to open within their borders.

Sugar Leaves owner Usman Khawaja is a local Pakistani American seeking to open a New Jersey adult use cannabis dispensary in town. He has launched a petition to get the town to allow him to open.

Khawaja is seeking people to advocate that he be allowed to open at the next council meeting this Thursday, September 28^th.

“I was the first one to get a license. The town is telling me you’re going to get it,” he said. “I don’t know what they were thinking. They took the money from all 5,6.”

Rockaway Brough Administrator/ Chief Financial Officer Patricia Reiche has running the local cannabis licensing process.

Sugar Leaves recently received their annual license necessary to open approval from the NJ-CRC since they had a location and the necessary town resolution. But with the town cap they cannot get the final paperwork from Rockaway Borough to open.

“Neither are minorities. One is an MSO (Multi-State Operator corporation),” Khawaja noted. “A millionaire came into town and they forgot about minority businesses.”

Rockway already has a dispensary open with the company Kind Kush.

Fighting for an NJ Adult Use Cannabis Dispensary

Khawaja has worked for nearly 3 years to open an NJ adult use cannabis dispensary. Initially, the town didn’t allow any.

“I advocated for it, I fought for it,” he explained. “I kept going back and forth with the town.

Sugar Leaves has been paying rent on their location in a coveted Green Zone spot where cannabis companies are allowed for 3 years.

“You know how hard it is to get in the zone? I got fucking blessed,” Khawaja exclaimed. “Now they won’t let me open up. That hurts to my core.”

He noted Sugar Leaves could donate 3 to 5 percent of their earnings to the town as a community giveback.

“I want to work with the town. We’re bringing people from this community. We’re hiring minorities,” Khawaja said.

Passionate About Cannabis & Sugar Leaves

He has been passionate about cannabis for years. In 2016 a car accident left him badly injured. Initially he tried legal medical pills to treat the pain.

“I developed anxiety. Here’s an anxiety pill. A month later I was on 5 different meds I never needed,” Khawaja noted.

Cannabis helped him heal.

He thought the name Sugar Leaves would stand out.

The original definition of Sugar Leaves is trimmed weed like “I got the sugar leaves.”*

Khawaja launched Sugar Leaves as a clothing brand first.

He has a background in sales and management. Khawaja was previously an assistant manager at cell phone stores. He came to United States when he was 12 when his family moved to Dover in Morris County from Pakistan.

“This is home. That’s why I’m fighting so hard,” Khawaja said.

Rockaway Borough and Dover have a combined school district so the two towns are closely linked he explained.

At 28 he’s a family guy with 2 kids.

“I’m at work every single day. I would love to be home with my kids,” Khawaja noted.

Running a CBD Store

While he was waiting to open an NJ adult use cannabis, Khawaja opened up a CBD store.

“The town loved me for that. I got the mayor to come in for the ribbon cutting when we opened up the CBD store,” Khawaja noted.

A lot of money that went into converting Sugar Leaves to a NJ adult use cannabis dispensary was generated from the store.

He has been selling Delta 8 and legal Delta 9 THC hemp-derived products and CBD.

“We don’t sell weed,” Khawaja declared.

He noted many smoke shops have been doing so.

But the CBD store sales can be hit or miss.

“Most come wanting actual weed,” Khawaja noted. “People don’t want to hear about that Delta stuff.”

Raising and Spending Money

“I spent over half a million trying to get a build out. I have money invested,” he noted.

Khawaja said he raised the money from smaller personal loans from friends and family.

“I put too much money into it: I can’t just move to another spot. I don’t have money to move. I’m running on my last fuckin dime,” he lamented.

Khawaja said the construction and conversion of his CBD store to a licensed New Jersey adult use recreational cannabis dispensary is almost complete.

“I’m 80 percent done with my build-out. I could open in less than a month,” he noted. “I don’t need millions of dollars to do it.”

Wary of Many Cannabis Investors

“The State is telling us you need money. But they want you to partner with investors. They’re leeches,” Khawaja exclaimed. “They want… everything from you.”

He is in a Catch-22.

“The investor wants the town to give me my last permit. The town wants me to show investors before they give me the license,” Khawaja lamented. “I don’t know how to move forward.”

“If I could get town approval, then I could be in a better position negotiating,” he noted. “They want me to be desperate to take these deals.”

“We want 50 percent of your company. I know a lot of suppliers. We would be able to get the inventory without paying upfront,” Khawaja recounted investors saying.

He explained investors are uninterested in Social Equity and giving back to the community. They want to take it over and make him a figurehead puppet.

Khawaja is fearful he could lose the company to investors. Some potential investors wanted 60 percent of the company.

He tried to enter the NJ-EDA’s grant program for cannabis companies. But their initial pilot program filled up quickly.

“As a minority, what are we supposed to do? The State isn’t helping. The towns are not helping,” Khawaja said. “Minorities don’t have the money to open up.”

His story is not unique. Khawaja is not the only one telling horror stories about potential licensed New Jersey cannabis business investors.

Determined to Move Forward

Khawaja is unhappy that for all the great rhetoric that went into passing New Jersey cannabis legalization, the results seem very different.

“They’re supposed to be helping minorities out,” he declared.

Despite the time and the great difficulty, he has made great progress jumping over the hurdles of the New Jersey cannabis industry.

“It’s not easy. I have a passion for it. That’s the only reason I stuck along,” Khawaja noted.

“This is what I was meant to do with my life. It’s truly what I believe. I gotta just keep moving forward. This is the fight of our lives,” he added. “Either I gotta sue the town, or I gotta sue the State.”

Location: Rockaway Borough Fireman’s Field

Address: 144 Beach Street, Rockaway, 07866

Event Date: 07/29/2023

Event Time: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

Event Description:

The Rockaway Borough Food Truck & Music Festival takes place on Saturday, July 29, 2023 at Firemans Field in Rockaway. The event is from 11:00 am until 7:00 pm. Admission is $5, but kids under 5 can attend for free. Visit the Just Jersey Fest website to learn more about this event.

The Rockaway Borough Food Truck & Music Festival offers up to 15 food trucks and music all day. Dogs are welcome at this event. Tickets for the festival are available on-site. Follow Just Jersey Fest on Facebook for event updates and more details.

Every Just Jersey Fest festival is guaranteed to feature over 20 gourmet food trucks per event. In addition, all festivals are kid friendly and many events are dog friendly as well. (It’s best to check with each event for more info about rules regarding pets.) Other benefits of Just Just Fest Events include craft beer, sangria, and margarita bars. Plus, all events feature either a live band performance or a DJ.

Just Jersey Fest does ask guests to bring their own blankets or chairs, as they do not provide seating. Likewise, they do not permit outside food, drinks, or coolers. (Food and refreshments are available for sale at every event.) Finally, Just Jersey Fest asks all attendees to consider bringing a non-perishable canned or boxed item for donation. These donations are provided to local food pantrys.

Allison Kohler is the president of both Just Jersey Fest and JMK Shows. With over 35 years of experience in event promotion, she is the premier event organizer for food truck festivals. She also organizes the Big Brew Beer Festival, Beer BBQ Bacon Showdown, Taco Palooza, and many other local festivals.

Click Here To See More Events on Best of NJ.

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Upcoming Events at Rockaway Borough Fireman’s Field:

One of North Jersey's largest church organizations is about to embark on an ambitious mission to construct a $30 million care center to offer an array of services from a food pantry to legal counseing, health care and more assistance aimed at those in need.

David Ireland, founder-pastor of Christ Church, said all construction approvals have been obtained and a 2025 groundbreaking is planned for the CARE Center of New Jersey on the congregation's 107-acre campus in Rockaway Township.

That campus - formerly owned by Hewlett Packard subsidiary Agilent Technologies and purchased by the church in 2003 - includes three buildings. One of those was converted into the 160,000-square-foot church facility that currently hosts about 2,500 worshipers for Sunday services.

A second 123,000-square-foot attached building, which has gone unused to date, will be gutted and reconstructed to serve as the home for 15 community services "that will help under-resourced and marginalized individuals and families from across New Jersey rebuild and transform their lives."

“Approximately 10 percent of New Jersey residents remain trapped in cycles of poverty, grappling with economic hardship, systemic inequities, and a lack of access to critical resources,” Ireland wrote in his project announcement. “As such, the urgency to rethink the way we alleviate poverty has never been greater. By providing an integrative approach to community care that combines 15 core programs tackling mental health, food insecurity, financial literacy, and skill-building, The CARE Center of New Jersey is poised to help to break the cycle of poverty."

Wednesday, Ireland hosted a walkthrough of the empty building, where renderings of the new facilities stood on easels in the open spaces. Walking through the existing campus facilities, which include a 1,100-seat main sanctuary, reception halls, a spacious lobby, classrooms, children's spaces and more on two floors, he pointed out a window to the empty building space, indicating where the church lobby will be connected to the CARE Center lobby.

The open space is large enough that one of the facility managers uses a motorized scooter to get around. "They manufactured microchips here," Ireland said of the former owners as he pointed to an area where the roof will be raised for a "high school-size" gymnasium.

Thirteen of the 15 services planned for the care center are already up and running in some manner, including a food pantry, thrift store, multisensory room and counseling center. All will have a dedicated space in the new facility.

"We're trying to start the renovation around this time next year," Ireland said. "It will take about 12 months for everything to be finished."

Also in Clifton, Montclair

Christ Church currently operates on an estimated $12 million annual budget funded by donations, Ireland said. The $30 million needed will come from a combination of grants, donations "and a loan if we need it," Ireland said. They hope to raise up to $15 million from federal, state and private grants and $10 million from the congregation.

The church has additional locations in Clifton, Montclair and Rockaway and claims a diverse membership of more than 10,000 people representing 70 countries. The new center also will create 30 full-time jobs in the community, Ireland said.

Some services offered by the CARE Center will be free of charge while others will carry a "highly discounted" fee. Some will be offered through mobile service units.

The list of programs and services includes:

"This comprehensive model isn’t just about short-term relief," Ireland said. "It’s about creating long-term pathways for families to independently thrive.”

More information about the project is available online.