EAST ORANGE — The city has its first adult use marijuana dispensary.

HZY Goods, on 19 Prospect St., recently celebrated a soft opening with a grand opening planned for Nov. 13.

Rob and Staci Puleo of Verona had been working on opening the dispensary for the past five years.

The couple have a passion for cannabis. Rob got a card allowing him to use it for medical reasons in 2018. He used it to treat anxiety and depression. His mindset is to avoid any kind of pharmaceuticals and pain killers.

“I tried all the natural products,” he said. “Herbal supplements and stuff like that. None of them worked. I’m very sensitive to medication.”

With everything being lab tested, and dose tested, Rob was able to micro dose himself to get very low THC and use that as his remedy without true side effects.

Rob and Staci decided they’d love to have their own dispensary.

“Rob has always been an entrepreneur,” Staci said. “This is nothing new for him. When he saw how cannabis was helping people, this changed peoples’ lives.”

Rob said, “We saw the medical benefits of it. It was a no-brainer.”

The couple began looking around back in December 2022.

“We spent two weeks straight driving around, writing down everything that was for sale,” Staci said. “Every city will give you a map where you can sell cannabis; not close to a church or a school.”

They were originally rejected in March 2023 but were approved a year later.

“We hand picked all of our products,” said Staci. “We tried to think of things we liked, what our staff liked.”

They picked up items that helped with ailments such as insomnia, anxiety, and low appetite.

The couple also opened up a sandwich shop this year in their hometown. With Rob working three jobs and Staci being a stay-at-home mom, they felt they got “thrown in the mix” and are learning their new business as they go along.

“Having a sandwich shop first helped us have a healthy staff, customer service…also building a community as well,” said Staci.

HZY Goods Dispensary offers a wide range of cannabis products including flower, pre-rolls, edibles, vapes, concentrates, tinctures, topicals, accessories, and CBD products.

They are open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

To learn more about HZY Goods Dispensary, visit: https://www.hzygoods.com