Cannabis

MAKING HIS CASE – Gary Burnett describes the cannabis business he wanted to put in a building at DeMott Lane and Amwell Road at the August 7 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. An application to locate a cannabis dispensary in a residentially zoned building at DeMott Lane and Amwell Road was denied August 7 by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. …

An application seeking permission to locate a cannabis dispensary in a residential zone is scheduled to be heard by the Zoning Board of Adjustment at its August 7 meeting. The applicant, Hound Town 543, wants to take part of the Bilco bicycle repair shop at the corner of Amwell Road and DeMott Lane and transform it into a dispensary.

A GROWING SECTOR – Five of the township’s cannabis-related businesses recorded sales of at least $1 million in the first half of 2025. (File photo). Cannabis-related businesses in the township generated more than $278,000 in sales taxes in the first half of 2025. That translates to nearly $14 million in sales, and a Franklin cannabis industry on track to eclipse …

OFFICIAL RIBBON-CUTTING – Deputy Mayor Shepa Uddin and Township Councilman Ram Anbarasan cut the ribbon March 22 at Herb’s Premium Dispensary on Franklin Boulevard. One of the township’s newest cannabis dispensaries held a grand opening party on March 22. Herb’s Premium Dispensary, located at 757 Franklin Boulevard, brought in a DJ, food trucks, barbecue and catered food to formally celebrate …

MULTI MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS – Bloc Somerset, located in the Village Plaza shopping center on Easton Avenue, recorded more than $6 million in sales in 2024. (File photo.) The 12 cannabis retailers operating at least part of 2024 in Franklin generated nearly $400,000 in sales taxes paid to the Township. Cannabis retailers pay 2 percent of their receipts to the …

It doesn’t look like retail cannabis businesses in the township will have the chance to expand their business to include “cannabis consumption areas.” There is no interest on the part of the Township Council to make the needed code changes to allow for the smoking parlors, Mayor Phil Kramer said on December 18.

ASKING FOR HELP – Shani Madaminova, co-owner of Leaf Haus dispensary, asked the Township Council to pass a cap on the number of dispensaries allowed in Franklin. Township Council approval of an ordinance that limits the number of cannabis retailers in the township – while grandfathering in a few more that haven’t moved beyond receiving their state licenses – comes …

POT TALK – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker talks about the proposed ordinance amendment limiting the number of cannabis retailers in the township to 18. The number of cannabis retailers in the township would be officially limited to 18 under an ordinance amendment introduced at the Township Council’s October 8 meeting. There is some leeway in that number, however. If a …

GRAND OPENING – Leaf Haus co-owner Shani Madaminova, assisted by Township Councilman Ram Anbarasan, cuts the ribbon at the Leaf Haus grand opening in August, 2023. (File photo). Sales taxes paid by the township’s four operating cannabis dispensaries totaled to more than $200,000 in 2023, a Township official said. Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said the Township received $201,076 from the …

ASKING FOR HELP – Shani Madaminova, co-owner of the Leaf Haus cannabis dispensary on Easton Avenue, told the Township Council on February 13 that her business is suffering because of the Township’s current signage regulations. A plea from a local small business owner at the February 13 Township Council meeting spurred the governing body to create an ad hoc committee …