Manuel Caban is a lifelong Camden, New Jersey, resident who was arrested twice for marijuana offenses and a decade ago spent 30 days and then a year in prison for dealing.
That, he figures, makes him an ideal candidate for a license to sell cannabis now that New Jersey has legalized it with a focus on giving individuals who suffered under cannabis prohibition a solid path into the industry.
“I’m not a bad kid. I just got caught up selling weed,” said Caban, 38, who now runs a small catering business and intends to apply for a license to open a cannabis store in the city with two Camden friends, who also grew up poor in rough neighborhoods.