NJ Ends State Sales Tax For Medical Marijuana Patients

NEW JERSEY — Medical marijuana patients in New Jersey no longer have to pay state sales tax when they buy cannabis from a licensed dispensary, officials recently announced.

The new tax rate became effective on July 1, according to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC).

“As the sales tax has been phased out from 4 percent to 2 percent – and now to zero percent – patients have been able to spend less on their medicine, further ensuring patients are prioritized over recreational consumers,” NJCRC Executive Director Jeff Brown said.

According to the NJCRC, which also regulates the state’s recreational cannabis industry, the three-phase elimination of the sales tax for medical cannabis patients was spelled out in the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act signed into law in 2019.

The state applies its 6.625 percent sales tax to recreational cannabis purchases. Towns and cities are able to charge an additional 2 percent tax on any sales. Read More: 5 Things You Need To Know About Marijuana Legalization In NJ

New Jersey residents have been complaining for years about the price of medical cannabis amid chronic supply shortages. Read More: New Jersey Marijuana Patients Need Lower Prices, More Weed

Brown recently said that over the first three months of 2022, an eighth of an ounce of cannabis cost medical marijuana patients about $40, a price that is down from late 2021.

It currently costs from $50 to $65 to buy an eighth of an ounce of recreational cannabis, Brown noted, which would come out to a minimum of $400 per ounce.

Nationwide, including states with illegal markets only, the estimated price of an ounce of "high quality" marijuana is $326, according to the Oxford Treatment Center.

• See related article: Flaw In NJ Marijuana Law Is Jacking Up Prices, Expert Says
• See related article: NJ Marijuana Sales Began 'On Par' With Other States, Official Says
• See related article: $2M Of Weed: NJ Sees More Than 12K Customers On First Day Of Sales

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