Cindy Ortiz, Owner of Midnight Greens – Interview Series

Because of strict regulations, it can be easy to forget that New Jersey cannabis dispensaries can be locally owned and vital parts of their communities. Especially in less populated towns and counties—and for dispensaries not run by multi-state operators—community is often a cornerstone value. When owners share a personal connection to cannabis that goes beyond profit, the shopping experience becomes far more meaningful and informative.

For a deeper look into the ups and downs of launching a cannabis business in New Jersey, how dispensaries can actively serve their communities, and the importance of women-owned businesses in the industry, mycannabis.com spoke with Cindy Ortiz, owner of Midnight Greens.

What subjects did you study at Temple University, and what were the most worthwhile courses and topics that you studied?

Obviously, marketing is huge. Having that under my belt has really helped us develop the brand and kept me in the loop on things. I was taught to be more self-aware and more aware of what’s going on, especially in the marketing world. 

The other thing I learned was diversity. There were classes like Intellectual Heritage and things like that. Even though I grew up in Philly, I was very isolated in my neighborhood, so once I got to Temple, taking all these courses where I was learning about different backgrounds helped. It helped me with the cannabis industry too, in understanding diversity and the impact on minorities, as well as the cannabis-related arrests and those in jail for it.

That made me more aware of different backgrounds and heritages, and especially of diversity and inclusion, before DEI was a thing. It was very prominent at Temple. I take that with me everywhere.

How did your roles with Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield provide you with a better understanding of the healthcare system and the many current issues within the system?

I worked for insurance for almost 20 years. I went through all of the changes from when it was just HMOs, and it was a little bit easier. Now, it’s much more complicated.  

Project management was my biggest thing, and compliance too, because healthcare is so compliance-driven, much like the cannabis industry. When I came into the cannabis industry, the extent of the laws and regulations was nothing really new to me. One of my roles at Aetna was to evaluate legislation and apply it to the healthcare industry and Aetna particularly. 

People talk to me like I have a medical background because I used to review medical records. My husband will come to me with a medical question, and I’ll be like, “That’s a kidney stone.” He’s like, “I don’t know how you know all this stuff.” I’m like, “Because I was reading medical records for years.” I can relate to some of our customers because of this as well. They’ll describe an ailment, and I’m like, “That’s stomach-related, so let’s get you something.” It does help, all that background. 

The regulatory landscape was even more complex in the healthcare sector than in cannabis, especially with Medicare. You’re dealing with a government agency, just like the cannabis commission here. You’ve just got to follow the rules, read the regulations, and apply them to your business. It was basically rinse and repeat with cannabis. 

From your own experience as a cancer survivor, how did cannabis assist you both physically and mentally during such a treacherous time?

It was amazing. I was having a lot of stomach issues with the pain meds, so I stopped taking the pain meds. Then, COVID hit, and I couldn’t get to the dispensary. Curaleaf was the only dispensary, and the line was ridiculous, and I was in no shape to stand in that line. I used to have somebody stand in line for me, and the tincture was what helped me the most. 

That was the only thing really available. There were no edibles. And being diagnosed with cancer, smoking was not the best option for me. I’m not a big vape girl, but at the time, that’s all that was available. 

Cannabis helped me with my appetite and with pain. It changed everything. My doctors always say I look great, and I credit that to cannabis, because the benefits of it are overwhelming and people don’t realize it. It helped me keep weight on. It helped me with the pain, and it helped me reduce the amount of pain meds and opioids that I had to take.

How did your experience with cannabis during cancer treatment cause you to view cannabis in a different light than you may have before?

It gave me more of the opportunity to learn more about cannabis and healing. I did a lot of that research early on, and I realized it’s not just a myth. It’s not just stoners trying to get high. There is a medicinal value to it. This journey has taught me a lot because I didn’t want to go into this business not knowing what I was dealing with. 

How would you say that your harrowing experience battling cancer and your professional career in health insurance inspired you to open Midnight Greens?

I had the compliance background to get that part under my belt. With the cancer, it was life-saving. Being a cancer patient, which I still am, it helps with the anxiety. There are just so many benefits to bringing the two things together. My compliance background and health issues put me at the forefront of the industry, and in the right place at the right time.

What were some unplanned roadblocks and issues either from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission or elsewhere that you faced when starting up Midnight Greens and applying for the relevant licenses?

There are so many laws. It’s just hard. Compliance with products is difficult. That was surprising to me. I wasn’t prepared for how tightly we have to audit and make sure none of our products are missing. 

Obviously, you want to do that anyway in retail, but there have been a lot of hiccups with some products being taken off the market and then being put back on. That’s been kind of surprising to me, because in your tunnel vision of opening a dispensary, when you get into the day-to-day, it starts to be jarring. The compliance aspect of the products, and even destruction — if you have a product that’s expired, having to destroy it is just one more thing. You have to go through a process to destroy it. 

Every little thing is compliance-driven. We have so many cameras in the store that the cannabis regulatory commission (CRC) can access. Everybody’s always on their P’s and Q’s because the CRC can chime in at any time and say, “Hey, so and so doesn’t have a badge.” Every day, we’re very cautious about what’s going on in the store. Sometimes our customers get upset with us because we won’t let them in without a valid ID, and then we get a bad review.

That takes me to a whole other thing with Google reviews and people blaming us for the packaging or something that goes wrong with the product, and we have to explain to them that we don’t make the product. Or, they say, “This is so expensive.” We don’t really set the prices. The manufacturers are setting the prices. 

That goes back to education, too, because sometimes, customers don’t know what they’re buying. You have to explain to them, “This is an infused pre-roll. This is not a regular pre-roll. That’s why you’re paying more for it.” And you have to teach them what infused means. Those are the educational pieces that my staff is challenged to explain to customers before we get a bad review. Sometimes, we don’t catch them in time.

How is appreciation for your local community in Washington Township at the root of everything that Midnight Greens does and stands for?

We live in the town. We know everyone. We know the people at the municipal building. We are very active. My kids went to high school here, and even though we can’t promote with it in the community, we do a lot of community events. We try to support the PTOs and the bingos. The things that we can support, we do support.

We also do coffee with a veteran on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. In the mornings, we’ll do coffee with a veteran. We also have a teacher discount and a first responder discount. The first responder discounts do really well. It helps with our community. We have a really good relationship with our town.

Even though it’s a very conservative town, if they ask us for anything, we’re here. We look at ourselves as a good community partner in a very safe environment.

Why do you feel that it’s special to run a woman-owned business in the cannabis industry?

It’s the stigma. Women are very uncomfortable. They’re still uncomfortable. I see men and couples come in, and they drive up, and the woman stays in the car, and the guy comes in. It’s like, why? Come in! We’re trying to educate the women, ease the stigma, and let them know it’s not a daunting place. It’s a very welcoming, open place.

At one point, I took a picture of our budtenders helping customers, and it was all female customers, and I could not be more proud of that moment. I was like to my budtenders, “Wow, do you realize that every person that’s being checked out right now is a woman?” That’s come a long way from my days as a Curaleaf customer, when that was the only dispensary we could go to.

I think it’s a woman’s touch, too. The men love it because we have a room that’s all pink. The guys like that woman’s touch, that you feel like you’re cared for. Our dispensary has a very nurturing feel. I think that’s the key there.

What have been the most meaningful and heartfelt aspects of running Midnight Greens?

It’s seeing the older patients and the women who are going through cancer. I’ve had women hold my hand, hug me, and tell me they’re so grateful for the learning and the experience they’ve had at the store. It’s very heartfelt, and they’re so genuine, and it’s just so nice to see that cannabis is helping people and I’m not just making it up in my head. It’s very gratifying and emotional. 

These customers want to meet me. It’s very heartfelt. There are patients who come in, and you can see that they’re suffering or struggling — they can’t walk — and then they’re so grateful, and that’s awesome.

What are some notable and exciting plans for the future of both Midnight Greens and the greater New Jersey cannabis industry? How does Midnight Greens plan on adapting to any upcoming regulatory changes?

Right now, beverages are really coming to market, and we have to figure that out. Do we put them on the floor? Are we allowed to put them on the floor? Do we have to keep them in the back? That’s something we’re trying to figure out right now. Beverages will be taken off the shelves at liquor stores in November if they keep that date. We really have to prepare for that influx of new products and, sometimes, a different type of customer as well. 

I think the state is still trying to figure it out, too. We’re kind of leaning on them right now for direction because we don’t want to do the wrong thing. And beverages are very popular! I can see the increased popularity, and that, to us, means gearing up compliance-wise and figuring out the logistics of all that.

Thank you for joining us, Cindy! For more information on Midnight Greens, please visit its website.