Now that adult-use recreational cannabis has been available to New Jersey residents 21 and up as of April 21, 2022, the overall market could start to earn big in coming years, with some projections as high as $2 billion a year by 2026.
According to MJ Biz Daily:
“The state is positioned to beat rival New York to the punch and to match, if not exceed, Massachusetts in annual adult-use sales.
“But, like most new markets, industry officials are concerned about whether supply will be adequate to meet demand – at least in the early stages.
“New Jersey’s adult-use market – approved by voters in November 2020 – is expected to launch with only a handful or so of the state’s existing medical cannabis operators.
“The start of recreational marijuana sales also comes as social equity applicants are struggling to develop their business know-how, raise funds and secure real estate.
“Existing medical marijuana operators might get as much as an 18-month head start on some new cannabis businesses, an industry expert said…
“MJBizDaily projects that New Jersey recreational marijuana sales will ramp up from $625 million to $775 million in 2022 to more than $2 billion a year by 2025 or 2026.
“Medical marijuana sales, meanwhile, are expected to peak by 2023 and then begin declining, as has been the trend in most adult-use states.”
According to CBS News:
“‘It’s a huge event. It’s a moment in time in American history where prohibition 2.0 is lifted,’ said Ben Kovler, the chairman and CEO of Green Thumb Industries, which has two facilities opening Thursday, one in Bloomfield and another in Paterson.
“The start of the recreational market comes a a week after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced that state regulators had cleared the way for recreational sales at seven “alternative treatment centers” that had already offered medical cannabis. The seven centers operate 13 facilities across the state.
“New Jersey is among 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, with legalized recreational marijuana markets. Thirty-seven states, including New Jersey, have legalized medical marijuana.
“‘We have been working with our community partners to make sure we mitigate lines, that we mitigate traffic and that our staff is trained and how to make sure they are checking IDs 21 and up and make sure we have all the products ready to go,’ Adam Goers, an executive at Columbia Care, which operates dispensaries in Deptford, New Jersey, and Vineland, New Jersey, told CBS Philly…
“New Jersey’s tax revenues are expected to climb, but it’s not clear by how much. Murphy’s fiscal year 2023 budget is pending before the Democrat-led Legislature and estimates revenues of just $19 million in a nearly $49 billion budget. In 2019, as legalization of recreational marijuana was still just pending before voters, he had estimated about $60 million in revenue.
“Legislation governing the recreational market calls for the 6.625% sales tax to apply, with 70% of the proceeds going to areas disproportionately affected by marijuana-related arrests. Black residents were likelier — up to three times as much — to face marijuana charges than white residents. Towns can also levy a tax of up to 2%…”
Looking for more information about New Jersey’s ever-changing Cannabis industry? Check out our New Jersey Tri-State CannaTech Expo from June 14 – 15, 2022 in Atlantic City to learn from top industry experts in the region.