Report · Oct 5, 2026
Ice-T, Raekwon, Whoopi: Why Celebrity Weed Keeps Flopping in Jersey
Three famous names, three New Jersey cannabis businesses, and a lot of unpaid rent. Here’s what happened and what it says about running a shop in this state.
Lawsuits and court records as reported · Jersey Digs · MJBizDaily
Every time a celebrity opens a dispensary in New Jersey, there's a red carpet, a crowd, and a ton of press. A year later, a lot of them are dealing with landlords and lawsuits. Here's what happened to three of the biggest names, and what it says about running a weed business in this state.
Ice-T: The Medicine Woman, Jersey City
- Opened: April 2025 at 660 Tonnelle Avenue, with Ice-T, Coco, and Chicago Fire's Taylor Kinney at the grand opening
- Closed: early January 2026, about nine months later
- The fallout: the landlord sued The Medicine Woman and co-owner Charis Burrett for about $63,600 in unpaid rent and bills. A surveillance company also filed a $51,000+ lien. Ice-T himself wasn't named in the suit.
- Their explanation: the store blamed "the lack of local oversight and regulatory infrastructure." Their California location is still open.
Raekwon: Hashstoria, Newark
- Opened: April 2024 on Broad Street, under a social equity license
- Closed: evicted after court records showed 19 straight months of unpaid rent, around $500,000
- The fallout: contractors say they're owed over $600,000 for renovation work and labor
- What staff said: one employee put it simply: "You can't offer a $60 product inside when they're selling it for $20 outside." Overhead was around $23,000 a month, including a lounge that barely got used. Raekwon's Oregon stores reportedly do fine.
Whoopi Goldberg: WhoopFam, Paterson
This one never even got to open a store.
- WhoopFam leased a property in Paterson from a nonprofit tied to former Paterson Mayor Joey Torres starting in 2023, paying about $5,665 a month
- They stopped paying in September 2024, and Torres' group sued for about $52,500 in back rent
- WhoopFam fired back with a counterclaim for over $167,000, saying Torres told them the property was already approved by the city for cannabis. It wasn't. Paterson has been tough on dispensary approvals, and several applicants got rejected for being too close to homes, schools, or churches.
What these flops have in common
1. Fame only gets you opening day. People will show up once to see Ice-T. They come back for good flower at a fair price. When the shop down the street sells an eighth for way less, a famous name doesn't close that gap.
2. Local approval is its own battle. Two of these three stories come down to town-level problems: Jersey City's process and Paterson's zoning. In NJ, the state license is only half the fight.
3. Overhead kills. Big buildouts, expensive leases, and lounges nobody uses add up fast in a market where prices keep falling. Average NJ prices dropped from around $331 an ounce in late 2024 to about $251 by fall 2025.
4. Celebrity brands often aren't celebrity-run. The famous person is usually the face, while partners and managers handle the day-to-day. If that team isn't strong, the name can't save it.
The bigger lesson
The NJ shops that last tend to be the boring ones: good menu, fair prices, budtenders who know their stuff, and an owner who's actually there. That's who I want to support, famous or not.
And if you're a celeb thinking about opening in Jersey, study your town before you sign a lease.
Sources
Right of reply
I haven’t contacted Ice-T, Raekwon, Whoopi Goldberg, their businesses, their partners or the landlords named for this piece. If anyone named wants to respond or correct anything, what they send goes up on this page.
How this was put together
Written October 5, 2026 from local and trade reporting, linked at the bottom. Dollar amounts are what was claimed in lawsuits, liens and court records as reported, not what a court has decided.