New Jersey has made over $24 million from recreational marijuana sales since the state’s first legal dispensaries opened on April 21
The green is flowing in New Jersey.
The Garden State raked in over $24 million dollars in recreational marijuana sales in the industry’s first month, according to the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
Since a dozen dispensaries in New Jersey first opened for operation on April 21, recreational marijuana sales averaged nearly $5 million per week for a total of $24,201,875.38 from 212,433 transactions, NJ.com first reported.
Jeff Brown, executive director for the CRC, said there is still room for substantial growth in the market as the commission approved an additional five dispensaries across the state.
“While this $24 million number sounds big, it does underlie the fact that there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity still in this market for new businesses to come in and serve this market and be successful,” Brown said at the CRC’s monthly meeting on Tuesday.
“We anticipate this will ramp up, particularly as new dispensaries are approved and new cultivators are approved,” he added.
Recreational marijuana sales are subject to a 6.625% sales tax by the state as well as additional local and excise taxes, according to NJ.com.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who led the state’s charge to legalize cannabis and signed it into law in Feb. 2021, projected in his proposed $48.9 million budget currently being reviewed by lawmakers that the state would collect $19.1 million in legal pot taxes in the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The $24 million in sales in the industry’s first month is projected to meet that exact sales tax estimate over a full year, the outlet reported.
New York state legalized recreational weed last year, but the state Office of Cannabis Management has yet to roll out its regulations and licensing system, which could arrive as soon as the end of 2022.
Just last month, the state cannabis board issued the first licenses to 52 local farmers to grow marijuana for adult recreational use.
The state has projected $1.25 billion in new revenue from legal marijuana sales over the next six years.
