Some New Jersey cannabis users buy weed on the black market because of lack of nearby dispensaries, poll finds

Despite the relatively high price of recreational cannabis in New Jersey, most dispensary customers are satisfied with being able to purchase marijuana legally. But for those who turn to the black market for marijuana, price is not the only thing keeping them out of state-run dispensaries.

Since the launch of the Garden State’s recreational marijuana market last year, about one-third of New Jersey adults have used marijuana or other cannabis products, according to a new poll from Stockton University. About 69% of respondents said they purchased cannabis from a licensed dispensary in the state, and 86% of those who did so said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the experience.

That satisfaction, Stockton found, came down to buying tested products buyers knew were safe, and enjoying the quality of them.

About half of the marijuana users who responded to the poll said they used cannabis recreationally, while 13% said they consumed it for medical reasons, the poll found. Only 7% said they approved of legal marijuana prices in New Jersey, where many eighth-ounces (3.5 grams) of cannabis retail for about $60 before tax on the recreational market — which puts New Jersey’s adult-use marijuana “among the most expensive” in the nation, Stockton said in a statement.

The poll, which included responses from 660 adults in New Jersey, found that about 30% of cannabis users bought weed from “non-licensed dealers.” Of that group, about 18% of people said that high prices at legal dispensaries pushed them to purchase cannabis on the street. But a majority, Stockton found, said that non-licensed dealers got their business because no legal dispensary operated near them.

Currently, New Jersey is home to 24 dispensaries that sell recreational cannabis, as well as another 13 shops that sell only medical marijuana. And overall, the state could have between 650,000 and 670,000 of-age cannabis users, Todd Johnson, executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association, told The Inquirer earlier this month.

That’s one recreational dispensary for roughly every 27,000 cannabis consumers, if Johnson’s estimate is accurate. So, the problem may be convenience — a factor that Johnson said would become less of an issue as the state continues to add more dispensaries.

“Increased retail outlets means that there is greater ease of access for consumers and patients,” Johnson said. So, as more shops open up, buyers may only have to travel 10 or 15 minutes to get to a dispensary, rather than 20 or 30.”

Bringing down New Jersey’s marijuana prices, however, is a bit of a longer road. The problem, The Inquirer reported earlier this month, is one of supply and demand — and New Jersey is currently seriously lacking on the supply side.

The state, the CRC has said, has 17 operating cultivators growing marijuana, 11 of which who grow recreational weed. The state, the CRC found, is far behind the recreational-use state average of 889 licenses, meaning New Jersey needs to add “nearly 850 more” to catch up.

As of last month, about 25 cultivators with annual licenses were preparing to become operational. But as Johnson told The Inquirer, it could take a year or two before enough growers come online to reduce prices.

But New Jersey’s high prices aren’t unusual. Typically, newer marijuana markets start out with expensive weed, and come down in price as the market matures by balancing the supply-demand equation.