PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Phil Murphy said recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey will begin in one week.
He tweeted that people over age 21 may buy cannabis without a medical card starting next Thursday.
“This is a historic step in our work to create a new cannabis industry,” he said.
James Leventis, the executive vice president of Verano and a board member of the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association, said that buying recreational marijuana should be a familiar retail experience. Verano operates three Zen Leaf facilities in New Jersey.
“We’ll have plenty of experienced cannabis consultants on the sales floor,” Leventis said. “Many of them will be carrying iPads with menus. There are kiosks. You can place a preorder before you get there.”
The start of recreational marijuana sales on April 21 comes a year and a half after voters approved it, and three days after the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission gave the okay for 13 dispensaries operated by seven medical marijuana companies to sell recreational pot.
Related Jawncast: The possibility of similar legislation in Pennsylvania.
There are about 130,000 medical marijuana patients in the state, with an estimated roughly 800,000 potential recreational consumers, and fewer than 800,000 estimated ”tourism” consumers, according to the commission.
The commission said it will post a list on its website, with locations selling recreational marijuana after those alternative treatment centers pass the final requirements.
Centers would have to ensure that buyers of recreational cannabis won’t disrupt patients seeking medical marijuana. Some facilities have said they would reserve parking spaces for patients as well as keep hours specifically for patients only.
In South Jersey, that could mean recreational sales at dispensaries in Bellmawr, Williamstown, Vineland, Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic City, Bordentown and Edgewater Park.
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Leventis said his two stores would be ready for Thursday.
“The only thing that is left to do is just to be issued a piece of paper from the New Jersey Commission, which should be coming Thursday morning," he said.
All this means that legal recreational marijuana sales will begin in New Jersey not on “4/20,” but on “4/21.”
Legislation governing the recreational marijuana market calls for a more than 6% state sales tax to apply. Towns can also levy a tax of up to 2%.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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