N.J. legal weed launched a year ago, but few new shops are opening. Here’s why.

As the sun rose a year ago Friday, dozens of people eagerly lined up to be among the first to buy weed legally from one of a dozen state-licensed dispensaries across the Garden State. By the close of business that day, 12,000 customers had spent $1.9 million. A promising new industry was born. “Tomorrow is going to be bigger than today,” Ben Kovler, the CEO and chairman of GTI, told the gathering at his RISE dispensary in Paterson that morning. “Next month is going to be bigger than this month.” A year later, New Jersey’s cannabis market is indeed bigger. There are 24 retail shops open — doubl…

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