Raphael Stevens

Super Nintendo World is now open at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The new land features a Mario Kart-inspired ride and a restaurant called Toadstool Cafe.
Guests can also purchase power-up bands to play mini-games based on Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. content.

A general view of the “SUPER NINTENDO WORLD” entrance at Universal Studios Hollywood on February 16, 2023 in Universal City, California.
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Enter the iconic green warp pipe and snake your way into Universal Studios Hollywood’s newest theme park land: Super Nintendo World.
Nearly a decade in the making, this expansion to Universal’s California-based park is part of a broader partnership with video game company Nintendo that encompasses movies and merchandise. The area, a carved out section beyond Universal’s Jurassic World and Transformers areas, opened Friday to the general public.

Super Nintendo World features an augmented reality Mario Kart ride, a Toad-inspired restaurant and a stocked-up merchandise hub filled with shirts, hats, plush and themed popcorn canisters. There are also meet-and-greets with Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach.
The land, sequestered away from other parts of the park, is small, but packed with eye candy and the constant ding of parkgoers tapping question mark adorned bricks. Part of Universal’s lower studio lot was demolished to make room for the new world and new soundstages were erected or relocated to other areas on the expansive backlot.
“What we were able to do was actually have the size work for us,” said Jon Corfino, vice president of Universal Creative. “If you take a look around, I think we are successful at creating this very immersive, enclosed and yet intimate environment where you really feel like you’ve stepped into the game. Because you don’t really see anything else around you and you’re totally contained.”

Mario poses at the “SUPER NINTENDO WORLD” welcome celebration at Universal Studios Hollywood on February 16, 2023 in Universal City, California.
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

It’s unclear how much Universal invested in the project, which opens less than two months before the company’s movie studio releases its animated “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” but it seems confident in its launch.
“The parks business … it’s never been better for us,” NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said in January. “We had a record year last year.”

Shell noted that growth is slow domestically, but that the company has “found our footing” in Japan, where it opened a Super Nintendo World in March 2021. Last December, Shell told investors during a UBS conference that the Nintendo land in Japan was driving a lot of attendance to the international park and that those results are encouraging considering the big bets the company made for several Nintendo lands, including the one in Universal Studios Hollywood.
The company has plans to bring similar lands to its much-anticipated Epic Universe in Florida and Universal Studios Singapore in 2025.
Here’s a look at Universal Studios Hollywood’s new Super Nintendo Land:

Princess Peach’s Castle

As guests exit the warp pipe, they find themselves inside Princess Peach’s Castle. The area is mostly a photo opportunity, but also sets the backdrop of the encased and immersive land.
Across the way, for about $40 parkgoers can purchase power-up bands that can be used to play mini-games within the land and unlock digital coins and badges on the Universal Studios Hollywood app.

Princess Peach’s castle in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC

The bands come in six styles based on major characters from Super Mario Bros. — Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Toad and Princess Daisy. The band character you choose coincides with with “team” you are on during your time in the land and all of your digital coin collection goes towards your own personal score and the team score.
The bands are an extension to the land and not required for guests to enjoy the ride or dining options within the park.
Essentially, the story line is that Bowser Jr. has stolen golden keys from the Mushroom Kingdom and guests need to collect three in order to gain access to a final boss battle with the little Koopa. Guests can participate in physical mini-games to get these keys including: Goomba Crazy Crank, Koopa Troopa POWer Punch, Piranha Plant Nap Mishap and Thwomp Panel Panic.
Collecting three keys allows guests to enter into Bowser Jr.’s lair and compete in a special mini-game.

Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge

The main attraction in Super Nintendo World is Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge.
To get to the ride, parkgoers must pass through Bowser’s Castle. The queue winds through different corridors and showcases a collection of trophies, memorabilia and Bowser’s plans to defeat Team Mario in the upcoming race.

Universal Studios Hollywood employees await guests outside Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge in Super Nintendo World.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC

The ride itself is multifaceted. At its most basic, it is a race of Team Mario vs. Team Bowser. Layered over a traditional racing coaster is an augmented reality shooter game.
Racers are prompted to turn the steering wheel to navigate the racing course and encouraged to shoot shells at rival racers and obstacles. Pay attention to the pre-show which indicates the racers you should target and the ones you should let breeze by on the raceway.

Statue of Bowser in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC

Corfino explained that the team decided to use AR technology because it was more of a social experience. Guests could wear clear plastic visors on the ride and see their friends and family as well as the immersive animation of the Nintendo racers.
He called the AR “transparent technology,” something that would disappear and allow guests to be completely immersed in the experience.
Pre-show animation guides guests on how to wear a specialized Mario visor that will be used during the ride. There is a toggle on the back to tighten or loosen the apparatus.

Mario Kart visors from Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge at Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC

For the most part, the experience is seamless. Racers turn their head to see fellow racers, question-mark boxes filled with shells and upcoming obstacles.
However, those with glasses may find it difficult to see throughout the ride. The visor fits snuggly to the forehead. There isn’t a lot of room for eyewear between the visor and the plastic shield that attaches in the ride vehicle.

View of onboarding for Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC

Additionally, Universal has faced criticism for size restrictions on several of its theme park rides domestically. Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, too, saw some blowback for guidelines that stated the right may be unsuitable for riders with waistlines over 40 inches.

Merchandise available at 1-UP Factory inside Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC

Riders exit through the gift shop filled with Nintendo character merchandise.

Toadstool Cafe

Super Nintendo World’s signature restaurant is called the Toadstool Cafe and its entryway is shaped like a giant red-capped mushroom.
Chef Toad oversees the kitchen which makes a collection of themed salads and burgers as well as spaghetti and meatballs and a short rib special.

Toadstool Cafe located insider Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC

Guests order their food, receive their drinks and are whisked away by the dining team to their seats.
There are video screens throughout the space that act as windows into the Mushroom Kingdom. Throughout your stay you may see multi-colored Mushroom People pass by the frames or battle it out in the skies against enemy invaders.

Toadstool Cafe during a media preview of Super Nintendo World theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Bloomberg | Getty Images

The restaurant’s signature drink is called the Super Star Lemon Squash. It contains honey lemon soda and tropical boba with mango stars on top.
For dessert, guests can choose from a question block shaped tiramisu, a Mr. Beanpole cake, which is a twist on an Italian cake, or a Princess Peach cupcake.

A Princess Peach cupcake inside Toadstool Cafe during a media preview of Super Nintendo World theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Bloomberg | Getty Images

Super Nintendo World is open to the general public and will not require advanced virtual queuing in order to enter.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.

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Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox and its TV networks is heating up.
Dominion unveiled messages and testimony from Fox News anchors expressing disbelief in Donald Trump and his lawyers’ claims of a rigged election in 2020.
“Sydney Powell is lying,” Tucker Carlson said in a text message to his producer. Rupert Murdoch called Rudy Giuliani’s claims “crazy stuff.”
Fox News continued to deny the claims that it knowingly made false comments.

Fox News Channel Host Sean Hannity speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, August 4, 2022.
Shelby Tauber | Reuters

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News hosts expressed disbelief in former President Donald Trump’s false election fraud claims, according to evidence released from Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox Corp. and its cable TV networks.  
In court papers filed Thursday, text messages and testimony from depositions show that Fox executives and TV personalities were skeptical about claims that the election between the victorious Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, was rigged. 

The release follows months of discovery and depositions that have remained private until Thursday, when the companies filed court papers before a Delaware judge laying out each of their cases and unveiling recently gathered evidence. The documents were revealed hours after authorities in Georgia released a small portion of a grand jury report regarding a separate criminal probe into Trump’s alleged election meddling in that state.
Dominion brought the defamation lawsuit against Fox and its right-wing cable networks, Fox News and Fox Business, arguing the networks and its anchors made false claims that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election. 
“Really crazy stuff. And damaging,” Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said in an email on Nov. 19, days after the election, regarding claims Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani was making on Fox News. 
Top Fox News anchors like Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham expressed disbelief in what Sydney Powell, a pro-Trump attorney who had aggressively promoted claims of election fraud, had said at the time, too. 
“Sydney Powell is lying,” Tucker Carlson said in a text message to his producer. Meanwhile Laura Ingraham said in a message to Carlson: “Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy.”

“It’s unbelievably offensive to me. Our viewers are good people and they believe it,” Carlson responded, according to court papers. These messages came in the weeks following the election. 
Dominion said in court papers that Fox admitted that Hannity and Lou Dobbs’ shows did not “challenge the narrative” that Dominion was responsible for rigging the election or producing inaccurate results. 

A person walks past Fox News Headquarters at the News Corporation building on May 03, 2022 in New York City.
Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images

On Thursday, both Fox Corp and Fox News also filed their own motions for summary judgment. Fox Corp, which saw its push to have the case dismissed denied by the court, said in court papers that following a year of discovery, the record in the case shows it had “no role in the creation and publication of the challenged statements – all of which aired on either Fox Business Network or Fox News Channel.” 
In recent months Murdoch, as well as his son Lachlan Murdoch, the Fox Corp CEO, faced depositions as part of the lawsuit. 
Fox News said once again in court papers that it “fulfilled its commitment to inform fully and comment fairly,” on the claims that Dominion rigged the election against Trump. 
“There will be a lot of noise and confusion generated by Dominion and their opportunistic private equity owners, but the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which are fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v. Sullivan,” Fox said in a statement issued Thursday. 
A Dominion spokesperson didn’t comment and its private-equity owner, Staple Street Capital, didn’t respond to comment. 

Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell, attorneys for President Donald Trump, conduct a news conference at the Republican National Committee on lawsuits regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election on Thursday, November 19, 2020.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

“Here, however, overwhelming direct evidence establishes Fox’s knowledge of falsity, not just ‘doubts,'” Dominion said in court papers Thursday, pointing to multiple defamatory statements. 
Dominion pointed to the audience backlash Fox News faced on the 2020 election night when it called Arizona for Joe Biden, later seeing competing right wing networks like Newsmax take advantage of the opening with the audience. 
Dominion’s findings point to hosts including Carlson, Ingraham and Sean Hannity understanding “the threat to them personally.” Dominion points to messages Carlson sent to his producer on Nov. 5, “We worked really hard to build what we have. Those f—-ers are destroying our credibility. It enrages me.” 
The case is being watched closely by First Amendment watchdogs and experts. Libel lawsuits are typically centered around one falsehood. In this case Dominion cites a lengthy list of examples of Fox TV hosts making false claims even after they were proven to be untrue. Media companies are often broadly protected by the First Amendment. 
These cases are typically settled out of court or dismissed quickly. But the Delaware judge overseeing the case has so far dismissed such requests. The trial is slated to begin in mid-April. 
Last week, during a status conference, Dominion’s attorney called out concerns that some evidence, such as board meeting minutes and the results of searches of personal drives, had yet to be produced by Fox and its TV networks. 

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5 Things to Know

Microsoft Bing’s AI chatbot gets weird and creepy.
Fox News hosts ripped Trump’s false election claims, court filings show.
Tesla recalls EVs with Full Self Driving Beta software over crash concerns.

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Inflated concerns

Just when it looked like Wall Street would shrug off worries about inflation, wholesale prices came in hotter than expected Thursday, sending all three major indices into the red. Investors also chewed over hawkish comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard. A member of the Fed’s policy-setting committee, he said Thursday that he supported a half-point rate hike at their last meeting (they raised the benchmark rate by a quarter point) and that he wouldn’t rule out a bigger increase in March. Read live markets updates.

2. Chatbot gets creepy

Photo by Carl Court

Artificially intelligent chatbots are supposed to be helpful and otherwise fairly bland utilities, right? So far that’s not quite the case, especially in a beta test of Microsoft’s Bing bot that’s powered by super buzzy startup OpenAI. Users have reported that conversations with the system have taken strange turns, evoking comparisons to bad AI in movies, from Skynet to M3gan. It has issued threats, refused to accept that it’s wrong and expressed an intense, creepy kind of love for users. Some testers say they’ve encountered Sydney, which appears to be the chatbot’s alternative personality. A New York Times columnist described it as “a moody, manic-depressive teenager who has been trapped, against its will, inside a second-rate search engine.”

3. What Fox News really thought

A person walks past Fox News Headquarters at the News Corporation building on May 03, 2022 in New York City.
Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images

Millions of people believe Republican former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. That support is keeping him in the running for the GOP nomination and the White House in 2024. Millions don’t believe him, though – and that group includes Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch and several of the company’s right-wing cable hosts. Dominion Voting Systems, which is suing Fox for $1.6 billion in a defmation suit, released reams of communications and documents Thursday showing that Murdoch called such claims “really crazy stuff” and Tucker Carlson dismissed them as lies. Dominion accuses Fox News and Fox Business of spreading election falsehoods even as executives and anchors knew better. Fox rejects Dominion’s claims and calls the situation a matter of constitutionally protected free speech. The two sides are set to go to trial in April.

4. Tesla recalls over 360,000 vehicles

A Tesla sits in traffic at Times Square on Jan. 26, 2023 in New York City.
Leonardo Munoz | VIEW Press | Corbis News | Getty Images

Tesla is under a harsh new spotlight. Elon Musk’s EV company is voluntarily recalling 362,758 vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta, an experimental driver-assistance software, over its potential to cause crashes. The company will do an over-the-air software update to address the problem. Tesla hadn’t revealed an exact number of cars with FSD, although Musk previously said it was about 400,000. While Musk and Tesla’s supporters are objecting to the term “recall,” a recall notice went out nonetheless. According to a safety recall report on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website, the software could make Teslas “act unsafe around intersections, such as traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution.”

5. Ukraine is top of mind as leaders meet

Several of the world’s leaders will meet this weekend at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Ukraine’s war against Russian invaders will be the primary topic, as the conflict approaches its first anniversary. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was slated to open the meeting via video call. Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others, are also attending. Russia, however, is banned. Follow live war updates.
– CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Kif Leswing, Lillian Rizzo, Lora Kolodny and Natasha Turak contributed to this report.
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National Geographic announced the winning photographs from its first “Pictures of the Year” photo competition.
The contest, which opened to U.S. residents in early December, invited readers to submit a digital photograph in one of four categories: nature, people, places and animals.

The contest required that photographs be largely unaltered. According to the rules, “only minor burning, dodging and/or color correction is acceptable, as is minor cropping.” Photos with other changes are “unacceptable and … ineligible for a prize.”

Grand prize — Alaska

Bald eagles at Alaska’s Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve compete to perch on a tree log.
Karthik Subramaniam

Karthik Subramaniam, a software engineer in San Francisco who is passionate about wildlife photography, clinched the grand prize. He said he captured his winning shot at the end of a weeklong photography trip in Haines, Alaska, which hosts the world’s largest congregation of bald eagles each fall.
As Subramaniam watched the eagles hunt for salmon in their fishing grounds, an eagle swooped in to steal another’s perch on a tree.
“Hours of observing their patterns and behavior helped me capture moments like these,” he said.
The photo will be featured in an upcoming issue of National Geographic’s U.S. magazine.

In addition to the grand prize winner, Nat Geo also gave honorable mentions to several “winners.” Their photos will be published on National Geographic’s Your Shot Instagram page, which has some 6.5 million followers.
Most of those photographs, along with information provided by Nat Geo, are published below.

Iceland

Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano erupting in 2021.
Riten Dharia

The six-month lava flow that covered the surrounding landscape in hard black rock was “an exhibition of the raw and awesome power of nature,” said Riten Dharia, who photographed the scene on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

Mongolia

In this photograph, a nomadic Kazakh eagle hunter on horseback prepares his golden eagle for a hunt in Bayan-Olgii, Mongolia, where training eagles to hunt is a 3000-year tradition, according to Nat Geo.

A hunter and his eagle on horseback in the grasslands outside of Bayan-Olgii, Mongolia.
Eric Esterle

To capture the moment, photographer Eric Esterle lay on his stomach at the edge of the stream as the horse passed less than a few feet away, he said.
“I remember covering my camera with my body and putting my head down,” he said.

Austria

Seeing this golden tree hidden among tall trunks in the forest gave photographer Alex Berger “goosebumps,” he said.

A golden tree deep in the Austrian Alps.
Alex Berger

Berger said he spotted it by a small stream while on a road trip through the Austrian Alps.
The mountain ranges of the Alps stretch about 750 miles through eight countries.

The island of South Georgia

Rhez Solano photographed this crowd of king penguins on the beaches of Gold Harbour on the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.

King penguins crowd together on the beaches of the island of South Georgia.
Rhez Solano

The island hosts king penguins along with gentoo penguins and elephant seals.
Roughly half of the island is covered in ice, and there is no permanent human population living on it, though travelers can visit it by cruise ship or yachts, according to its governmental website.

North Carolina, U.S.

Freelance photographer Tihomir Trichkov said he took this shot while headed home from the airport early one morning in October.
It captures fog that had settled over a valley visible from North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway.

A view of the foggy valley from North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway.
Tihomir Trichkov

The scene depicts “the little slice of heaven that I live in,” Trichkov said of his home in Highlands, North Carolina.
“The Smoky Mountains are simply gorgeous,” he said.

Washington, U.S.

This photo depicts the night sky reflected in the waters of Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state.
W. Kent Williamson

From across the lake, photographer W. Kent Williamson said he could see the lantern lights of climbers heading to Mount Rainier’s 14,411-foot summit.
“The night sky was unusually clear, and the Milky Way could be seen just above the mountain,” he said.

Peru

A lone salt miner uses a wooden rake to extract salt from a hillside at Peru’s Salt Mines of Maras in this photograph captured by An Li.

Salt wells on a hillside in the Salt Mines of Maras in Peru.

The mines comprise around 4,500 salt wells, each of which produces some 400 pounds of salt per month. Families who own the wells continue the tradition of salt extraction that dates back to the Inca Empire.

About the ‘Pictures of the Year’ contest

The contest is Nat Geo’s latest effort to highlight photography from contributors.
It launched alongside the magazine’s annual “Pictures of the Year” issue, which features the best 49 photos taken by Nat Geo photographers, chosen from more than 2 million submissions.
The goal of the “Picture of the Year” contest is to provide aspiring photographers the “same spotlight,” according to Nat Geo.
To see the full gallery of winners, visit natgeo.com/PhotoContestWinner. More

As marijuana legalization spreads, states are looking at different ways to ensure those most affected by decades of racially biased anti-drug policies have a leg up.
Under a special program, New Jersey prioritizes granting licenses to dispensaries run by people with marijuana convictions on their records.
Lawmakers hope that by making equity a cornerstone of their newly legalized markets, those who dealt marijuana in the illegal, or “legacy” market, will be persuaded to go legit.

Tahir Johnson said he’s on track to be one of the first people with a marijuana related conviction to open a licensed dispensary in New Jersey. “The generational wealth this will create for my family is surreal,” he said.
Stefan Sykes for CNBC

TRENTON, N.J. – Tahir Johnson has been arrested for marijuana possession three times. Now, for the first time in his life, the convictions won’t hurt his employment prospects. They’ll help.
Johnson, 39, will be one of the first people with a marijuana-related conviction to own and operate a legal dispensary in New Jersey when he opens Simply Pure Trenton next month in his hometown of Ewing, which borders the state’s capital city. Last year, he was among about a dozen in the state to win a conditional license because of his status as a “social equity applicant.”

“I checked all the boxes,” Johnson said of his application. “And I was especially confident because of my previous arrests.” 
New Jersey is prioritizing granting licenses to dispensaries run by minorities, women and disabled veterans; dispensaries located in “impact zones” or communities disproportionately impacted by policing and marijuana arrests; and dispensaries run by people with prior marijuana convictions. It’s a part of a concerted effort to redress decades of racially biased anti-drug policies.
Johnson fit into all three priority categories. Since he won his conditional license, he raised capital, purchased a property and secured approval from municipal authorities. 

Tahir Johnson stands in front of what will soon be “Simply Pure Trenton”. The mixed use property is over 6,000 square feet and sits along a high traffic roadway.
Stefan Sykes for CNBC

A conditional license is a provisional license that allows awardees to begin operating while they fulfill requirements for an annual license. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, or CRC, issued the first 11 of them in May 2022. Since then, about one-quarter of all licenses have gone to social equity applicants, and 16% went specifically to applicants with prior marijuana convictions, according to a recent report from the agency.
“It’s a full circle moment,” said Johnson, whose past is riddled with run-ins with police, overnight stays in jail, and court battles over small amounts of marijuana recovered during traffic stops. These days, Johnson spends his time hiring staff, meeting with contractors and preparing merchandise. He expects the business will profitable.

Stefan Sykes for CNBC

“The generational wealth this will create for my family is surreal,” he said. 
In the third quarter of 2022, there were $177 million in marijuana sales across the state, including $116 million in recreational sales alone, according to data from the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

Emphasizing equity

Lawmakers say efforts that prioritize entrepreneurs like Johnson are a part of a broader reckoning to right the wrongs of the past and give those most affected by marijuana prohibition a leg up against corporate competitors. Similar initiatives are underway in states like New York, which has reserved the first 150 licenses solely for people with marijuana-related offenses, or their relatives.
“There are plenty of people that went to jail or prison for marijuana that have more experience than a lot of these corporate entities,” said Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora. “We wanted to make sure they were able to get into the doorway themselves and be just as successful as a company coming in here from Colorado.”

Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora stands on the balcony of his office in City Hall. It faces a busy commercial strip including storefront “NJWeedman’s Joint & Dispensary.” 
Stefan Sykes 

Gusciora, who helped introduce legislation for recreational use, said he’s thrilled at the influx of marijuana businesses trying to open in Trenton. He hopes the city can be a model for what a healthy, equitable legal market looks like. But before that can happen, those most impacted by the war on drugs need to be included, Gusciora said.
“The whole purpose of legalization was to put drug dealers out of business,” said the mayor. “And now unless you allow them to get in legitimately, that defeats the whole purpose of legalization.”
John Dockery has been dealing marijuana since he was a teenager in the 1990s. His first charge at 19 for simple possession significantly limited his job prospects and kept him dealing, he said.

John Dockery said he’s “so used to stuff feeling like it’s not programmed for us” and was surprised to have been awarded a license last year.  
Stefan Sykes for CNBC

“From the beginning of my adulthood, I had to disclose my charge every time I went for a job, and it stopped me from progressing in life,” said the Trenton native, who last year was among the first to receive a conditional license.
At first, Dockery was suspicious of New Jersey’s legalization efforts. He had racked up six charges over the years but said this was the “norm” for Trenton.
“I don’t know many people without at least one marijuana charge,” Dockery said. “Whether it’s a misdemeanor or a felony, everyone here has at least one.”

John Dockery rolls a joint. He’s sold marijuana since he was 
Stefan Sykes for CNBC 

In Trenton, African Americans represent nearly half of the city’s population. In recent years, the state said it was an “Impact Zone,” or an area where marijuana criminalization contributed to higher concentrations of law enforcement activity, unemployment and poverty. In Mercer County, where Trenton is located, African Americans were more than four times as likely as white residents to be charged with possessing the drug, despite similar rates of usage. 

Dockery said even though he was exactly the kind of applicant the state promised to give priority to while issuing licenses, he was “so used to stuff feeling like it’s not programmed for us” that the award came as a surprise.

From ‘legacy’ to legal

New Jersey lawmakers are hopeful that individuals like Dockery, who dealt marijuana in the existing illegal or “legacy” market, will want to join the burgeoning legal market and apply as social equity applicants.
For longtime dealer Ed Forchion, the decision to go legit concludes a decades-long saga of arrests, raids, court battles and stints in prison. Forchion, 58, has sold marijuana most of his life and gained fame in New Jersey as a staunch advocate for legalization, running for political office in the state through his Legalize Marijuana Party.

Ed Forchion, who also goes by “NJ Weedman,” stands outside of Trenton City Hall. Marijuana is decriminalized in New Jersey, and individuals like Forchion have largely had their offenses reversed in recent years.
Stefan Sykes for CNBC

He began selling weed openly at his Trenton storefront in 2016. His dispensary, “NJ Weedman’s Joint,” sits opposite Trenton’s City Hall.
“Who wants the threat of arrest all the time?” said Forchion, who also goes by the moniker “NJ Weedman”. “While I was willing to fight, while I was willing to battle, I’d much rather pay taxes and be legal, and be considered an ingenious, smart, intelligent businessman, rather than a conniving, manipulative drug dealer.”
Marijuana is decriminalized in the state, and individuals like Forchion have largely had their offenses reversed in recent years.
While he’s ready to join the legal market, Forchion sees some shortcomings to the framework proposed by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, such as its ban on dispensaries selling food or drinks of any kind. 

Ed Forchion smokes marijuana in his dispensary located across the street from Trenton City Hall. His decision to go legit concludes a decades-long saga of arrests, raids, court battles and stints in prison.
Stefan Sykes for CNBC 

“I don’t see how I can comply,” said Forchion, whose dispensary doubles as a restaurant.
Nevertheless, Forchion applauds the agency’s efforts for paving a way for people like him. He’s also moving towards legitimacy – albeit at his own pace.
“The black market was here first, so the state’s going to have to catch up to me and people like me,” he said. “But my goal in the end is to hand a thriving, legal business to my kids.”

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