This bill establishes new criminal penalties for the sale and purchase of marijuana from unlicensed businesses in New Jersey. Specifically, it makes it a third-degree crime for business owners to manufacture, distribute, or dispense marijuana without a license from the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, with penalties including three to five years of imprisonment and fines up to $15,000. Additionally, the bill categorizes individuals who lead illegal marijuana business networks as committing a second-degree crime, which carries a punishment of five to ten years in prison and fines up to $150,000. It also creates a disorderly persons offense for individuals who knowingly purchase marijuana from unlicensed businesses, punishable by up to six months in jail and fines not exceeding $1,000.

Furthermore, the bill empowers the New Jersey State Police, in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General, to take necessary actions to close any unlicensed business violating these provisions and to seize any marijuana involved in such violations. This legislation aims to strengthen the enforcement of marijuana regulations and ensure that only licensed entities engage in the manufacture and distribution of cannabis products.