Whoopi Goldberg's cannabis company, WhoopFam, is locked in a legal battle with former Paterson mayor Joey Torres and his nonprofit House of HOPE over a failed plan to open a adult-use marijuana store in the city.
According to the Asbury Park Press, WhoopFam claims it spent over $167,000 on launch costs based on Torres' assertions that the city would approve the business. Meanwhile, Torres' group is countersuing Whoopfam for $52,000 in unpaid rent after the company stopped payments due to the stalled municipal approval for the marijuana store.
WhoopFam had planned to run a marijuana dispensary out of a building on 1st Avenue in Paterson, which it began leasing from Torres' nonprofit, House of HOPE, in September 2023, according to the article.
Torres established House of Hope a few years after serving a 13-month prison sentence, which ended in 2019. The organization was designed to help formerly incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society. One of its goals was to connect ex-offenders with employment opportunities at the WhoopFam cannabis store.
Read more at NJ.com
