HAMILTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 25, 2026--
Sweetspot Cannabis Dispensary marked a major milestone in its Hamilton Township opening with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin.
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"We are excited to be bringing more options for quality legal cannabis products to the people of Hamilton Twp," said Harry Patel, owner of Sweetspot Hamilton. "We're grateful to Mayor Jeff Martin for welcoming us, and we can't wait to celebrate with the people of Hamilton Township this weekend."
Grand Opening Weekend Celebration: June 26–28
Sweetspot Hamilton will host a full grand opening weekend celebration running through Sunday, June 28. Guests can look forward to:
30% off featured brands all weekend long: shop a curated selection of New Jersey’s top licensed cannabis brands at the best prices of the season.
Free cannoli on Saturday, June 27, courtesy of The Burg Pizza, Sweetspot Hamilton's next-door neighbor. Guests who make any purchase on Saturday will receive a complimentary cannoli while supplies last. A sweet way to meet the neighborhood.
Promotional giveaway items will be handed out to customers while supplies last.
A retail experience built for Hamilton
Sweetspot Hamilton is designed to feel welcoming from the moment guests walk in. The team is trained to take the pressure out of the cannabis shopping experience, tailoring recommendations to each visitor’s comfort level, and creating space for the conversations that turn first-timers into regulars.
"Whether you've never tried cannabis before or you know exactly what you're looking for, we’re here for you," Harry Patel added.
Hamilton is Sweetspot’s fourth dispensary in New Jersey, joining locations in Mount Olive, Voorhees, and River Edge. Sweetspot also operates licensed stores across Rhode Island, Maryland, Connecticut, and Vermont.
Visit Sweetspot Hamilton
Sweetspot Cannabis Dispensary Hamilton is located at 147 Sloan Ave, Trenton, NJ 08619 and is open 10 am - 8 pm every day. Valid government-issued ID required for entry. Adults 21 and older only.
Grand opening weekend: June 26–28, 2026
Pictured at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Sweetspot Hamilton are (from left to right): Fred Dumont, Director of Community and Economic Development for Hamilton; Tom Lew, Vice President of Marketing at Sweetspot; Ben Herbs, Chief Business Development Officer at Sweetspot; Harry Patel, Sweetspot Hamilton owner; and Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin. They are joined by members of the Sweetspot staff.
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings Thursday and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and left more than 200 trapped. More were feared dead.
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and were felt throughout the region. Some 1,500 people were injured, thousands were reported missing across the country and buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon.
The coastal region of La Guaira, which is north of the capital, Caracas, experienced some of the heaviest damage and casualties, officials said. It’s there that the country’s main airport was damaged and closed, adding a hurdle to aid efforts.
In cities across northern Venezuela, panicked residents poured into the streets and many walked among the debris searching for the missing. Injured children, animals and civilians covered in dust and blood were pulled out of concrete rubble. Some families sobbed in grief in front of their destroyed homes.
In La Guaira, retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.
“God, let them rescue her as quickly as possible,” said Mendaño. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”
At another damaged apartment complex, residents shouted the names of missing people: “Mirna! Marquitos!”
Offers of help poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela's then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.
The natural disaster is just the latest challenge for acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after Maduro's capture. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodriguez represents.
Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly and brother of the acting president, gave updated figures Thursday for the numbers of dead, trapped and injured.
Delcy Rodríguez said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which she described as a “disaster zone.”
“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there ... and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” she said.
La Guaira is no stranger to natural disasters – a 1999 mudslide there considered one of the country’s worst natural disasters killed thousands and took years to rebuild.
Rodríguez appealed to businesses to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations, adding that search and rescue teams certified by the United Nations were on their way to help.
While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles). Just a minute later, USGS reported a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.
Officials urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could cause further damage.
During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings. Many were stunned Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead.
In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.
“I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”
Dayana Delgado, mother of three children, said she was desperate because her 8-year-old son was missing. Delgado asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised, pointing out that neighbors were the ones digging through the rubble.
“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said.
Authorities warned people against returning to homes with structural damage. In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.
“We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said María Cristina Díaz, a 41-year-old janitor. “My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn’t sleep a wink.”
“It was awful. We cried, we screamed. Thankfully, we’re alive,” she added.
Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone service, Rodríguez said. Subway services were suspended and natural gas was shut off, she said. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centers.
Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for those still unaccounted for. Venezuelans living abroad struggled to make contact with relatives.
Shortly after U.N. officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people can get potentially life-saving information, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X. The site had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024, in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential elections.
Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes.
Countries from across the world — from Qatar to Mexico — began to send aid to Venezuela. International search-and-rescue teams are expected to start arriving “in the coming hours,” the United Nations spokesman said early Thursday afternoon.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had spoken to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States is “immediately" deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources other assistance, though he acknowledged the closure of the country's main airport was creating some logistical challenges.
Garcia Cano reported from Bogota, Colombia, and Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers Anna-Catherine Brigida in Mexico City, Danica Coto in San Juan, Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Astrid Suarez in Bogota, Colombia, Alexandra Olson in New York, and Edith Lederer at the United Nations, contributed to this report.
Buildings damaged by an earthquake stand in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
Neighbors carry a man rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building the day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
An injured woman walks in La Guaira, Venezuela, a day after an earthquake struck the area, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
Damaged buildings stand a day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Pablo Arraez)
Neighbors helps a man evacuate his damaged home after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.(AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
A vehicle is trapped in a fissure caused by an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP PhotoJavier Campos)
Residents walk among the rubble of building damaged in earthquakes the previous day in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
Patients lie outside a hospital evacuated after it was damaged in an earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
People camp on a sports court following an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026 (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Campos)
People stay outside their homes after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
People sleep outside their homes following an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026 (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
A boy comforts his mother after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
A man holding a dog cries after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Campos)
Rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.(AP Photo/Javier Campos)
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Rescue worker carry an injured man after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
