TRENTON — Early 2022 was a great time for medical marijuana patients.
Before the first adult-use cannabis sales began, a medical marijuana card was the only way to legally purchase marijuana in New Jersey. And even when those first few dispensaries opened for recreational customers, they were required to offer extended hours, private parking and skip-the-line privileges to patients – all 129,369 of them, as of May 2022.
But as the number of dispensaries skyrocketed, those benefits don’t mean as much to many patients. Their only benefits – tax-free purchases and a 3 oz. allotment – are essentially wiped out by the state’s low cannabis taxes and legal loophole allowing anyone to purchase 1 oz. of cannabis per day.