NJ records $116.5M in Q3 recreational cannabis sales

Demand for legalized recreational cannabis continues to grow in New Jersey as sales hit $116.5 million between July and September of this year. 

For the third quarter of 2022, the state recorded a 46% increase from the $79.7 million in revenue generated from late April – when the adult-use marketplace opened – through June, according to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC).

When receipts for medicinal cannabis are factored in, sales topped $177 million for the period, the CRC said.

During the third quarter, the 10 dispensaries licensed to sell medicinal cannabis to registered patients only pulled in $61.1 million in sales, up from the prior quarter’s total of $59.3 million, according to the CRC.

In a statement, CRC Executive Director Jeff Brown said the Garden State “is only seeing the beginning of what is possible for cannabis.”

“We have now awarded 36 annual licenses for recreational cannabis businesses to New Jersey entrepreneurs, including 15 for dispensaries. Those businesses alone will be a significant growth of the market,” he said. “With more locations and greater competition, we expect the customer base to grow and prices to come down.”

When New Jersey launched adult-use sales, 13 dispensaries were licensed with the state. Now, the market has grown to 20 retail dispensaries.

Moving into 2023, the CRC, which is in charge of regulating the industry and overseeing licensing, wants to see more “local, small business owners participate in this lucrative market,” board Chair Dianna Houenou said.

“Our priority application process as well as new initiatives like the no-cost Cannabis Training Academy being launched by New Jersey Business Action Center in early 2023 are paving that path for them to be included,” she said.

Entrepreneurs face several challenges when it comes to establishing themselves in a market that is expected to become a more than $2 billion a year industry by 2026.

Along with high start-up costs and access to capital, prospective business owners are up against more established, multistate operators who have years of experience and more resources at their disposal.

Medicinal dispensaries are also increasingly seeking state approval to expand into adult-use sales as a way to capture the emerging market.

The shift comes as the number of patients enrolled in the state’s Medicinal Cannabis Program has steadily declined. Since the launch of legalized cannabis, the number of patients seeking medicinal treatment has dropped from 128,369 in April 2022 to 114,064 in December 2022.