New Jersey becomes the latest state to reap substantial rewards from legalizing adult-use cannabis. According to MJBiz Daily, recreational marijuana businesses in the Garden State recorded nearly $79.7 million in sales at the end of the second fiscal quarter on June 30th. These impressive figures include the astonishing $1.9 million made on April 21st when adult-use weed sales launched in the state.
Medical marijuana wasn’t far behind. The industry boasted huge sales, with businesses earning $59.3 million during the same period. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) affirmed that the state got more than $4.9 million in revenue from these sales. Even so, the local government is set to reinvest a chunk of these funds into the community.
New Jersey is among the states that allocate a portion of cannabis taxes to social equity programs. According to New Jersey’s marijuana legalization laws, 70 percent of revenue is to be invested in communities affected by the war on drugs.
Executive director of the New Jersey CRC, Jeff Brown, said in a statement that the industry is performing as well as the committee had anticipated. He also explained that online integration of the weed market would help propel it further by making products more accessible to consumers. Brown also expressed that increasing the number of licenses issued to cannabis businesses will improve competition in the budding market and cause prices to drop.
Currently, 18 medical marijuana dispensaries in New Jersey are licensed to sell recreational cannabis. However, the state is set to approve more licenses soon since the CRC has issued 140 more conditional legal weed dispensary licenses. For this reason, these impressive sales from the early days of legal recreational marijuana in New Jersey are only the beginning.
A legal adult-use market in New Jersey will also promote tourism in the state. Smoke lounges can help attract marijuana enthusiasts from far and wide. These facilities offer a safe place for tokers to partake in cannabis and interact with fellow weed fanatics. They also present great opportunities for manufacturers and retailers to showcase cannabis smoking accessories.
Furthermore, smoke lounges must be associated with a medical dispensary or a legal adult-use retail store. Consequently, this translates to more business for local establishments and a boost in New Jersey’s economy.
Still, despite the momentum shown by the burgeoning recreational cannabis market, it has not been smooth sailing for the industry since its inception. The illicit marijuana market has proven to be a thorn in the side of the state’s legal recreational weed industry. Despite the many downsides of getting weed from the illegal market, numerous consumers choose to do so because of lower prices.
3.5 grams of marijuana can cost up to $70 at a licensed retailer in New Jersey, which is significantly higher than the $40 or $50 it costs to get the same amount of weed on the illicit market. This difference is considerable enough to deter consumers from getting their stash from legal dispensaries. As a result, a majority of recreational marijuana sales end up benefiting the illegal cannabis market.
Despite this, New Jersey’s legal recreational cannabis industry is projected to blossom in the days to come. Analysts project that the Garden State is set to gain more than $100 million in revenue within the next two years.
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