Purchases of marijuana through New Jersey’s Medicinal Cannabis Program are now tax-free.
The Murphy administration is reminding Garden State residents that on July 1, sales tax was completely eliminated for residents enrolled in the program who purchase cannabis and cannabis products at a permitted medicinal dispensary.
Elimination of the sales tax, in three phases, was spelled out in a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in July 2019. The Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act was named after a 7-year-old boy from Howell who used medical cannabis for several months before dying of cancer in 2018.
“Removing state sales tax on medicinal cannabis is consistent with Governor Murphy and the Legislature’s intent to prioritize patients and improve affordability,” said Jeff Brown, executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. “As the sales tax has been phased out from 4% to 2% and now to 0% patients have been able to spend less on their medicine, further ensuring patients are prioritized over recreational consumers.”
New Jersey is home to about 130,000 medical marijuana patients.
This change does not impact purchases of recreational marijuana, the market for which launched on April 21 of this year.
