Danielle Wildstein, Founder and Owner of Blue Oak Dispensary – Interview Series

One fascinating aspect of the cannabis industry is that many of its most esteemed professionals and business owners came from very different industries. One example of a notable canna-business owner in the New Jersey cannabis industry whose professional portfolio extends from fashion to pharmaceutical research and development – a unique advantage given a possible federal rescheduling of cannabis – is Danielle Wildstein, Founder and Owner of Blue Oak Dispensary.

So, which subjects did you study while attending Lehigh University, and which did you study while earning your Master’s degree at Fordham? Did you ever envision working in cannabis while enrolled in grad school?

I majored in psychology and minored in marketing at Lehigh University. Going into my junior year, I wanted to focus on Organizational Psychology. I just didn’t know exactly what that would look like as a career.

At Fordham University, my program was a Master’s in HR Education, which is very much aligned with Organizational Psychology. It’s essentially business psychology in a corporate setting. It was a perfect alignment for me. I did not consider working in cannabis then, because it wasn’t legal in New Jersey at the time.

Prior to founding Blue Oak Dispensary, what industries and roles did you work in? From those early roles, what were the most important lessons in business management and organization that you learned during this time? 

I worked across multiple industries — pharmaceuticals, film, and fashion. I chose pharmaceuticals as my first industry to work in after college intentionally because it aligned with what I’ve always been passionate about: health, wellness, and the well-being of others. I grew up helping to care for my ill mother, so that connection was very personal.

While in the pharmaceutical industry, I worked in research & development (R&D) and on clinical trials. I also launched new products and defined their sales process. I oversaw internal operations across all Business Units, and I got to interact with everyone involved, whether it was researchers, clinicians, back of house employees, doctors, sales reps, or government agencies like the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). I saw the entire cycle: drugs being developed, researched, trialed, and launched into the marketplace. That was very exciting.

From there, the industry itself mattered less to me than the role and the work I was doing. Once  I left the pharmaceutical industry, I moved into support roles for entrepreneurs in film, fashion, and fintech. I worked as an assistant, the backbone for these titans of industry, and that gave me the chance to really understand how they worked, how they built and grew businesses, and how they succeeded. I got to listen, learn, and support them in all aspects of their life, both personally and professionally. Those were key skills and experiences that later benefited me tremendously as an entrepreneur myself.

I also worked at Accenture as a management consultant. Across all these roles, the common themes were grit, perseverance, leveraging resources, understanding priorities, and taking and measuring action. It was about learning from what was done well and what wasn’t, and not reinventing the wheel.

 Where did your personal interest in cannabis come from? And when did that personal interest turn into a professional interest as well? 

It started at a young age with my mom being sick and me trying to understand all the options that could help her well-being — not just healing her body, but her mind and soul as well. Unfortunately, when I was young, the only real medicinal options for her were pharmaceuticals.

As I got older, I learned about cannabis as a medicine. Unfortunately, my mom passed away before medical cannabis was legal in New Jersey, so it was never an option for her. 

I started consuming cannabis in my early 40s to help with anxiety, orthopedic pain, and sleep issues. Cannabis became a staple in my life and continues to be what supports my own health and wellness.

What would you say were the defining moments that led to the creation of Blue Oak Dispensary? 

For me, it was that lifelong passion for health and wellness, starting with caring for my mother, and then my own personal experiences with anxiety, pain, and sleep issues. Cannabis was transformative for me, and I wanted to create a space where others could feel safe learning about it, exploring it, and supporting their own health and wellness with it, and of course, enjoy some fun with it.

How would you describe the process of receiving your cannabis license from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission? Was it as arduous as it would be in other state markets, or was it far more expedited? 

Everything was more difficult and took much longer than I expected. It was also more costly from time and financial standpoints. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), which is the governing body for all cannabis licenses in New Jersey, just wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming number of applications that came in for recreational retail licenses. That slowed everything down and trickled into regulatory approvals. It delayed not just licensing, but also the permitting, buildout, buying product, and opening.

For me, the easiest part was getting municipal approval, which is often the hardest for others. Before applying for a state license, I had to get approval from a town, and I was set on Bloomfield from the beginning. I started conversations with the town even before the official state application process opened. That preparation made getting the resolution a lighter lift.

The hardest part was waiting for the CRC. The application review for a retail license was supposed to take 90 days, but it stretched into a year for me. Every month, I wondered if the next CRC meeting would finally be the one where they told me whether or not I had been approved. And every month, I paid rent on a space that remained empty. In the meantime, I kept working at my full-time job because everything depended on whether I would get the license.

What would you say are some advantages that the New Jersey market has over other neighboring state markets? Simultaneously, what are some ongoing and/or widespread issues that the NJ market faces?  

The CRC was able to build on 10 years of medical cannabis data and processes, which gave us perspective. Looking at states like Colorado and California, and learning from them, helped New Jersey avoid some missteps. Having that history to reference was invaluable.

But there were also challenges. When the CRC first called for retail license applications, they realized there was a supply shortage as demand was starting to outweigh supply in the medical market. We needed more supply before recreational retail licenses were issued. That delayed the retailer application process several months because the CRC had to issue calls for more cultivators and manufacturers. If there had been better planning to open up cultivation and manufacturing earlier, the delays for retailers could have been avoided.

What are your regular duties as owner of Blue Oak, and what have been some personal and professional highlights of owning and operating the dispensary? 

Right now, I’m involved in the day-to-day operations from an oversight perspective. I have managers who run the operations, but I stay connected with them daily. I spend most of my time on strategy, planning, community partnerships, and educational programs.

Every week, I’m out in the community having conversations with businesses, organizations, and people who could benefit from cannabis. Inside the store, I like to be front-of-house: present with my staff and customers, listening and learning. That’s where I thrive most.

Highlights for me have been seeing how our educational efforts resonate with people and watching my team grow and execute on our mission. It’s also about always planning ahead, whether it’s expanding our menu, creating pricing strategies, defining marketing programs, bringing in additional brand partnerships, or opening another location. My focus is on moving the industry forward in New Jersey with integrity, reducing stigma, and helping more people understand how cannabis can benefit them.

What are some unique ways that Blue Oak Dispensary focuses on and appeals to female consumers, especially those who are busy mothers? 

First, by me sharing my own journey with cannabis as a woman and a mom. My experience hasn’t always been positive, and I wanted to change that for others. Just being visible and relatable matters.

We’ve created a safe, sensory-positive dispensary, especially for people who might not feel comfortable walking into a dispensary for the first time. Many of those people are women and moms. Our staff is highly knowledgeable about all categories of cannabis and consumption methods, because women often have specific needs related to anxiety, sleep, or pain, and also unique lifestyles and routines.

We’re intentional about reducing stigma and showing that cannabis can be therapeutic and medicinal but also fun, like sharing a cocktail or wine with friends. We provide education on our website, through blogs, and in the store, so women feel empowered to make informed choices. For me, it’s about removing barriers of stigma and judgment so women and moms can use cannabis in the way that best fits their needs.

What are the values of Blue Oak Dispensary as a business, and how does the store stand out among other competitors in the New Jersey industry? 

We focus on education, not just selling products. That’s our biggest value.

We’re intentionally small, a boutique that feels comforting instead of overwhelming. Our design, branding, and atmosphere are elevated and approachable. Our staff training ensures the learning curve is short, and customers can make informed decisions about products that suit their needs.

We stand out because I’m a fully invested, fully present owner. I put action behind our words, and that builds trust. For me, it’s not about pushing products — it’s about truly caring about what cannabis can do for someone. I want long-term relationships built on education, trust, and loyalty.

What are some exciting future plans for both Blue Oak Dispensary and the greater New Jersey cannabis industry? Also, if cannabis is rescheduled from Schedule I to Schedule III, how do you envision that major federal change impacting the NJ cannabis industry?

I’m always looking at how we can be more efficient as a business and serve our customers better. Right now, I’m leaning into technology to improve efficiencies and provide customers with more reliable, credible information.

I’m also very excited about our Leafwell partnership. Leafwell is a telehealth platform that connects people with cannabis experts. Even though the medical market has shrunk in New Jersey, I want all customers, whether or not they have a medical card, to have access to healthcare experts who understand cannabis. That could mean a one-off consultation or longer-term management of health with cannabis. Leafwell ensures people feel supported in using cannabis medicinally and therapeutically.

Looking ahead federally, I’m hopeful about rescheduling. If cannabis is rescheduled, I’d love to be part of human clinical trials and validating what we already know about cannabis’s benefits. That kind of data will reduce stigma and bring more of the medical community on board. It would also ease the heavy tax burden on dispensaries like Blue Oak, freeing up money to reinvest in our businesses and communities.

Thank you for joining us, Danielle! For more information on Blue Oak Dispensary, please visit its website.