Report ·
What to Watch at the October 29 CRC Meeting, and How to Get Your Say
The fee that’s supposed to rise as prices fall, the other items worth watching, and every deadline for getting your say.
CRC meetings page · CRC Resolution 2025-12-17-02 · CRC slides, Apr to Oct 2026 · Heady NJ
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission meets again on Thursday, October 29 in Trenton. The agenda isn't posted yet, but one item is close to a sure thing: the social equity fee, which decides how much money goes back to the communities hit hardest by the drug war.
The basics
- When: Thursday, October 29 at 11 a.m.
- Where: 200 Riverview Plaza, Trenton. That's not the usual South Clinton Avenue building, so double check before you drive.
- Watch: Zoom or YouTube, linked on the CRC's meetings page.
- Speak: register by Tuesday, October 27 at 5 p.m. You get three minutes, one time. Groups pick one speaker.
- Write in: written comments are due Friday, October 30 at 5 p.m. Your name and comment become public record.
The big one: the social equity fee
The Social Equity Excise Fee, or SEEF, is a per-ounce fee growers pay when they sell flower to other cannabis businesses. The money is supposed to go back to the communities that paid for prohibition. Right now it's $2.50 an ounce, the rate the CRC set for 2026 last December. It brought in about $11 million in 2025.
The CRC's own rules tie the fee to price, and they run backwards. When the average ounce costs $350 or more, the fee is $10. Between $250 and $350 it's $30. Between $200 and $250 it's $40. Under $200 it's $60. The CRC waived that schedule and kept the fee at $2.50 instead.
When it set this year's fee, the CRC put the average ounce at $251.06. Prices kept falling after that. Adult-use flower went from $8.33 a gram in June 2025 to $6.51 in June 2026, by the CRC's own numbers.
At the September 9 meeting, Chair Harris Laufer said the CRC has "made the deliberate decision not to raise it" for five years, and that they're now "reevaluating the level" of the fee. The rules say next year's fee has to be published by November 1, and October 29 is the last scheduled meeting before that.
A fee built to climb as prices fall has sat at $2.50 while flower dropped by about a fifth in a year. To be fair to the CRC, a big jump lands on growers who are already getting squeezed by falling prices, and some of that cost ends up on the shelf.
Also worth watching
- The Next Chapter Market. Its ownership change passed on September 9, but Commissioner Nash asked for clarification on an investor who owns parts of other dispensaries before the final decision goes out. Watch for whether that comes back.
- Magic Garden Botanicals. Its grow license has been suspended since October 7. Any next step goes through the Commission.
- Licenses. Regular meetings usually approve new licenses and conditional-to-annual conversions. As of September 1, only 504 of 1,700 conditional licenses had converted.
- The lab testing review. Proposals for the outside expert are due October 22. I don't expect a pick that fast, but if they name one, I'll write it up.
How to get your say
- Register to speak by October 27 at 5 p.m. Three minutes, once.
- Pick one point and stick to it. On the fee, the two questions are whether it should go up, and whether the money is actually reaching the communities it was promised to.
- Can't make it? Send written comments by October 30 at 5 p.m.
- Watch the stream even if you don't speak.
I'll be watching October 29 and breaking down what they decide. If you're planning to speak, tell me what you're bringing. My DMs are open.
Sources
- CRC public meetings page: date, location, how to speak and comment
- CRC Resolution 2025-12-17-02: the 2026 fee, the price schedule, and the $251.06 average ounce
- NJCRC Fines Company $10K for Opening Bags, Plans to Evaluate SEEF Tax (Heady NJ)
- CRC May 14, 2026 meeting slides: 2025 fee revenue
- CRC July 16, 2026 meeting slides: flower price per gram
- CRC September 9, 2026 meeting slides
- CRC October 5, 2026 meeting slides
- NJCRC Biannual Cannabis Testing Program Assessment RFP
Right of reply
This preview is built from the CRC’s own documents and public reporting. Nobody was contacted for it. If the agenda or anything else changes before the meeting, it gets updated on this page.
How this was put together
Written October 7, 2026 from the CRC’s meetings page, its December 2025 fee resolution, its 2026 meeting slides, and Heady NJ’s report on the September 9 meeting, all linked at the bottom. The October 29 agenda wasn’t posted yet, so what’s actually on it is the CRC’s call.
Questions people actually ask
What’s happening at the October 29 CRC meeting?
The CRC meets Thursday, October 29 at 11 a.m. at 200 Riverview Plaza in Trenton. The agenda isn’t posted yet, but the social equity fee is expected to come up. It’s $2.50 an ounce for 2026, the CRC’s own rules call for more as prices fall, and next year’s fee has to be published by November 1. Register to speak by October 27 at 5 p.m.
When is the next NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission meeting?
Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 11 a.m., at 200 Riverview Plaza in Trenton, not the usual South Clinton Avenue building. It also streams on Zoom and YouTube.
How do I speak at a NJ CRC meeting?
Register on the CRC’s meetings page by Tuesday, October 27 at 5 p.m. for the October 29 meeting. Each person gets three minutes, one time, and groups pick one speaker. Written comments are due Friday, October 30 at 5 p.m. and become public record.
What is the social equity excise fee in New Jersey?
A per-ounce fee growers pay when they sell flower to other cannabis businesses. The money is supposed to go back to the communities that paid for prohibition. It’s $2.50 an ounce for 2026 and brought in about $11 million in 2025.
Will the NJ social equity fee go up in 2027?
The CRC hasn’t decided. Its own rules raise the fee as prices fall, up to $60 an ounce when the average ounce is under $200, but it waived that schedule and kept the fee at $2.50 for 2026. In September, Chair Harris Laufer said the CRC is reevaluating the level, and next year’s fee has to be published by November 1.
What else could come up at the October 29 CRC meeting?
The agenda isn’t posted yet. Things to watch include the Next Chapter Market ownership change, Magic Garden Botanicals’ suspended grow license, new licenses and conversions, and the outside review of lab testing, whose proposals are due October 22.