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>> Everybody, welcome to chat box.

I am David Cruz and we are set up Reading Earth Day this week.

In a few minutes we will look at all the factors affecting the health of our planet here in our neighborhood.

That is in a few minutes.

This week also marks WNET -- 4/20 so we thought it would be appropriate to begin the discussion with the state of our states cannabis industry and the commission created to regulate it.

They have been in the news of late and not in an entirely good way.

The news is not all bad.

Let's bring in the chairperson of the cannabis regulatory commission.

Madam chair, good to see you again.

Diana: Always good to talk to you, David.

David, why was the cure leave license renewal rejected?

Why was it then reinstated in a few days?

>> The commission makes determinations based on information it gets from staff and the business.

So, while New Jersey is not a one company industry, we have more and more entrepreneurs coming online to make sure we are not reliant on one company.

And if a player does not uphold commitments, consumers will find options elsewhere.

But, I am pleased that CureLeaf has come to the commission willing to address the issues that were raised by the board.

So, the commission will continue to hold businesses accountable for commitments and claims as well as making sure that our license holders are abiding by statewide regulations.

David: Let me try again.

Why was there a renewal rejected?

What did they not do that they are supposed to be doing?

Chair Houenou: During Thursday's meeting of the cannabis regulatory commission commissioners pointed to concerns with equity and labor commitments.

Now, I am happy that CureLeaf is willing to address those concerns.

But, the board members stated on the record that about what their concerns were and pointed to those reasons for their actions.

I wanted to let the board's decision stand for themselves.

I am pleased we have identified a path forward here and we are working collaboratively.

David: We just had Senator Vin Gopal on.

He was saying that suddenly within just a few days, there was an emergency meeting held to reinstate our license.

Can you talk about what kind of pressure there was from CureLeaf to get the commission decision reversed?

Chair Houenou: We understand there were a lot of concerns raised and a lot of questions raised about what the board's actions would mean for the market.

Luckily as I mentioned before, we are not reliant on one company.

What we have done is make sure we uphold principles and commitments to ensuring equity and labor protections for our cannabis workers.

We have workers across the state that are with entities that have adhered to their requirements.

We continue to Leave The Door Open for any business that wants to be involved in the cannabis industry in New Jersey so long as they play by the rules.

David: So you have given them until June.

Conveniently you have canceled your May meetings.

I think you said, so that staff can catch up on outstanding applications.

Can they still do that and hold a public meeting?

Chair Houenou: The commission's decision to counsel them -- cancel the May board meeting is completely severed from -- separate from items discussed previously.

But, we continue to review and process applications submitted by New Jersey entrepreneurs so they can get across the finish line as quickly as possible.

David: We hear a lot about big weed big footing everybody in the marketplace.

You congratulated its work on the commission over the past few years but I am sure you know there are many critics out there that same the industry is moving way too slowly.

For instance, how many strictly adult use not medical first dispensaries are operating around the state on this 4/20?

Chair Houenou: As of today we have more businesses up and running that are able to serve medical patients.

Because, medical patients come first.

David: Understood but that is not what the question was.

I am talking about those that are not specifically preapproved to be in the industry because they are able to serve the medical needs of the state.

Chair Houenou: The good thing is we have awarded 100 licenses to none -- new cannabis industries and new cannabis businesses.

They are getting close to the finish line.

David: You said that last time we spoke.

I am sorry to interrupt you, but the question is, how many are operating now that are not in the medical business first?

Chair Houenou: We don't have any adult use only businesses operating now but we expect many more coming online.

We have a new New Jersey based businesses that started in the medical industry.

They are small women-owned businesses that are now open for recreational wit -- reasons as well.

I expect to see more businesses that are adult use only coming online soon.

David: What is the delay?

The licensing process?

A lot of smaller vendors say they are ready to go, except, they cannot get any weed.

Is there a shortage of cannabis?

Chair Houenou: I would say there is no delay.

I think that by nature of the process just -- process, a lot of businesses are encountering issues at the local level.

In getting there permits for renovation and construction.

And it just by nature, setting up a new business.

Sometimes, things take longer than anticipated.

But, the commission is getting through its applications on its desk.

As quickly as possible.

I am happy to report that there has not been a single application as of yet that has not started the review process.

All applications have started the review and we have been pushing forward to make it across the finish line.

David: Senator Vin Gopal Said earlier this week he is working on legislation to move the processes and licensing and all that out of the CRC, essentially, abolishing the commission and moving all that stuff over either to treasury your tomb -- treasury or to the health apartment.

Is that something you -- the health department.

It is that something you agree with?

Chair Houenou: I cannot comment on pending legislation but I can say that in the two years that the cannabis regulatory commission has been operational we have done tremendous work.

We have set up a brand-new state agency from scratch.

We have tripled the number of medical descriptor -- dispensaries open to patients and started opening up the adult use market to recreational consumers.

Chair Houenou: -- David: Quickly on consumption lounges and delivery services, how quickly are we to seeing any movement on that?

Chair Houenou: The commission's proposed rules on consumption areas that went through a public comment timeframe that recently closed.

Now the commission is taking all of the comments submitted, identifying if there are any changes we should be making based on comments from the public.

And that new final rule will be proposed -- I'm sorry, adopted at a public board meeting.

We should see advanced immense -- advancements soon as it pertains to cannabis consumption areas and with respect to delivery areas the commission now has to adopt a notice of application acceptance.

So everybody knows when applications for delivery services will open at what they need to do to -- to submit applications.

That will be forthcoming soon as well.

David: The weed world we were promised is still a little ways off but it was -- is still coming.

Dianna, thank you for coming on.

It is also Earth Day this week, the small window we have to reflect on how much we have been savaging our environment.

Look at cities like Newark and Jersey City where once people planted oyster beds.

Now, the water is so bad that EPA signs warn you to not even touch it.

Joining us to help sound the alarm and hopefully leave us with optimism is Marcus Sibley, chair of the New Jersey progressive equitable energy coalition and Ed, director of the New Jersey league of conservation voters.

In the interest of staying is low because we can, let's speculate that climate change is the world's biggest threat.

Marcus, what are some environmental challenges facing New Jersey?

Marcus: For one, David, thank you so much for bringing us on.

It is important to have this conversation, especially during Earth week.

Before we go into specifically Jersey as think we need a conversation about climate change.

One of the biggest problems we have is now it has become a politically charged term that has been weaponized.

In this situation the most adversely impacted.

The rich people are making poor and underserved communities that it is this magical special thing but the only thing climate change is is an exacerbation of what is already happening.

If you have conditions, like, thinking about Patterson's, Camden's, communities who have a lot of buildings.

A lot of building and removing trees.

When you have those new surfaces , you have a lot of he and it impacts people's health.

So, climate change is making it warmer.

So the warmer it gets, the hotter it gets in different cities.

Then you have health conditions getting worse.

David: The old saying it think globally, but act locally.

What are some challenges facing New Jersey's environment?

Stemming, of course, from climate change?

Ed: Marcus is right on that health impacts are a huge concern for all of us and there are also financial invocations.

The average homeowner that has a 30 year mortgage will experience a 100 year storm.

That means floodwaters in their home, added expense getting to and from work and rebuilding homes and businesses.

And billions of dollars.

We look back at Superstorm Sandy for more frequent and intense storms seeing a lot of water in New Jersey.

We are also seeing more wildfires and droughts which also come at a cost for crops and food supplies.

There is no area not touched.

We need to all be very aggressive and realistic about what to do to protect people's health and create good jobs in the green economy and help save people from the worst impacts to be more resilient for changes we know are happening.

David: Recently the governor adjusted his environmental goals.

What has changed?

Is that a bad sign, Marcus?

Marcus: It's a good sign.

It means our state is taking this very seriously.

We recognize we are in a climate crisis and it is decisions we need to make today to make sure we have a better tomorrow.

On that end we are excited.

We are excited our administration is not taking our climate reality as a joke and they are putting necessary steps in place to preserve and prolong our future.

The flipside of that coin is there is still a lot of work to do.

There are still a lot of communities that will not see the immediate impact of this change.

There are groups like mine that are excited about the dedication and moving forward our goals.

We are also a little nervous because we see that.

Currently, we do not see we will achieve those goals in every community.

Some communities will benefit right away.

Our traditionally overburdened and exploited communities, our low to moderate income communities, we do not know if this will actually hit them directly.

So we want to continue to work with our administration to prioritize these communities.

So they do not get left out while we are looking to the future which we have now moved ahead by 13 years.

David: And if you are a community of means it means one thing for you.

But, as Marcus suggested, a community that is challenged in so many different ways, the changing of goals will impact those communities even more so, right?

Yes.

Ed: The hope is we get emissions down across the state and I think where we make our power makes a difference and how we make it.

Fossil fuels are very very bad for the air, water, and land.

But they are mostly concentrated in black and brown communities and we need to move to renewable and clean energy sources like solar and responsibly developed offshore wind.

Offshore wind can provide 97% of American energy needs, closing down fossil fuel plants polluting the air.

We need to make sure we do that in a way that is affordable and reliable.

I think our governor in New Jersey, Governor Murphy is on the cutting edge leading the nation.

He is buttressed with President Biden and what has happened in Washington DC with the inflation reduction act to bring resources in our region to make substantial process -- progress.

With electrified vehicles.

We have a lot of work ahead of us and we have to make sure every community is benefiting, particularly, those that have been left behind by previous transitions.

Between energy had -- transition has to clean up the air and improved health for economically disadvantaged black and brown communities in our state.

David: I am curious about what environmentalists think about nuclear energy has an option.

Let me get each of you to answer that.

Is nuclear still a responsible option for energy?

Marcus -- Ed: Right now, we get about 40% of our power from nuclear produced in our state.

Those licenses last well into the 20 40's.

The governor's goal of 100% clean energy, and nuclear counts under the definition in New Jersey, by 2035 a big portion, 40%, is coming from nuclear.

There are big conversations around the future of nuclear that we want to monitor.

There are concerns and benefits from the teen energy produced with nuclear.

We want to make sure we are mitigating any of those concerned if we choose to move forward with nuclear as part of the mix for our clean energy future and mitigate any negative implications.

Marcus: We do not qualify nuclear as renewable energy.

As Ed pointed out, we recognize 40% is coming from that source of energy.

But, we want to continue to study it.

Our goal is to phase it out eventually.

David: The administration also put forward so-called environmental justice rules.

What are they?

What is the potential impact?

How have some polluters managed to avoid compliance?

Ed: New Jersey has a nation leading cumulative impact law and it is important that groups working and leading in the environmental Justice space speak to these directly.

Our view, what we have been looking at is they are taking a strong stand in saying we will protect communities from polluting sources that are near each other and add up to be more than anyone can handle, both for human and environmental impact.

It is really critical.

We -- they put a provision in there that is very strong to ensure that when looking at the public benefit we don't look at economic feasibility from that perspective.

So you cannot say cost is a consideration and this will create good jobs and therefore you should breathe toxic air or drink toxic water.

Those days will be in the rearview mirror for our state but we have to stay vigilant because these rules can be weekend through all sorts of litigation -- legislation.

We are pleased with what the governor has done but it is up to all of us to stay linked arm in arm to make sure we make significant reduction.

Environmental racism is real.

David: I see you nodding, Marcus.

Marcus: As Ed said, environmental racism is very real.

We are still combing through the roles that were released Monday.

Now it's Thursday and earth weekend we have been extremely busy all across the state.

We have not had a chance to digest these rules and really go through them and have our opinion.

But one thing we can say about them, we commend our Department of environmental protection for really taking the time.

There were many complaints from us too about how long it took to come out but they took the time to go across the state and get the tenor of the community and various communities.

They took the time to really listen to all of the feedback and they responded to all of the feedback.

David, I would say if anything else it will go through and we will see if they took our recommendations to make sure we prioritize people over profit.

We will find that out soon.

I appreciate the took -- they took the time to get the feedback of the people and put it into those rules.

I give them kudos for that.

David: One of you guys will have to say something bad about the governor.

He says he has been the greatest environmental governor since, I don't know, the Industrial Revolution.

Do you want to confirm that or refute some of that?

We were getting concerned.

This man supports the expansion of the Turnpike extension saying all cars will be electric.

Sorry, I interrupted you to rant.

Ed: It is a really important distinction to make.

We early on in New Jersey gave him the title of greatest governor and it is something he earned.

Most recently in our report card we removed that had a because other governors were really getting ahead of where we were in New Jersey area -- New Jersey.

The governor came out with really bold announcements.

We have not best out of title exactly back.

But no doubt, there are opportunities for every elected leader to do more and do better.

We like to call those out, particularly, as we are looking for protecting our drinking water supply.

There are areas where we have identified with the water supply master plan and others that are falling a little behind the timescale.

When it comes to cleaning up our air quality with the cumulative impacts bill and what has been happening in energy, he is really back to leading the nation with, you know, the biggest and boldest initiatives.

We need to make sure we are getting that out there and building up support because there are a lot of monied interest, deep-pocketed fossil fuels, polluters, trying to paint a different picture of what that looks like for our future.

Instead of having asthma and cancer, which is the reality for us, we can clean up the air.

I don't want that.

They want profit.

That the problem for us.

David: Marcus, he supports Turnpike expansion.

How does that jive with being the greenest governor in America?

Marcus: Based on earlier questions answering honestly, I am a fan of giving props where props are due.

I also recognize it is our job and duty to hold everyone accountable.

Like, when I pointed out we received rules Monday, when Earth Day is Saturday, that is a critique.

Because, I understand the symbolism of getting them out on the start of Earth week.

But, we should have had that long ago so we could have had a formalized really good opinion and can answer them right now for Earth week and earth day Saturday.

There are contradictions and that is why our fight is a long fight.

We will acknowledge when our governor and governing bodies do the right job and point out when things are contradictory.

It is contradictory having a nation leading bill that is taking into account the impact and cumulative impact of pollution.

It is contradictory to then not just flat out any attempts to bring gas power plants to our state.

So, then, there are a lot of contradictory messages.

This is why it's important for us to continue to educate our constituents about what things are.

Because, as Ed was alluding to, there are multi-million-dollar and billion-dollar campaigns to spread misinformation and keep us ignorant of the truth.

So, we know that and we have data to show all of the different fossil fuel companies that are funding groups saying they are for the community, but, they are just spreading the same lies.

You cannot be this and then there is so much of that happening simultaneously.

So, this is up to us.

But we are just a small group.

We need all the constituents to raise their voices, to contact legislators, to let them know.

We need our health prioritized.

We need affordability prioritized.

We need at the Tinley Ness of our towns prioritized.

-- the cleanliness of our towns prioritized.

It is a small group of activists about compared to all the constituents, the phone number, it's incredible.

We need that force.

David: Stay alert people and give the earth a hug this weekend if you can.

Marcus Sibley, Ed Potosnak good to see you both and thank you for coming on.

That is ChatBox for this week and thank you to Dianna Houenou.

From all the crew here at the Gateway Center in downtown Newark, thank you for watching.

We will see you next week.

>> major funding for ChatBox is provided by the members of the New Jersey education Association making public schools grade for every child.

Njm insurance group, serving the insurance needs of New Jersey residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Promotional support is provided by insider NJ a political intelligence network dedicated to New Jersey political news.

InsiderNJ is committed to giving serious political players and interactive form for ideas, discussion, and insight.

Online at insidernj.com.