Five marijuana dispensaries in New Jersey are facing fines for selling recreational cannabis outside of the allotted time.
Adult-use recreational marijuana sales went into effect on April 21. During the first four weeks, New Jersey saw sales of over $24 million with over 200,000 transactions.
But when the legislation went into effect, there were supposed to be hours for only medical marijuana patients. And five marijuana companies violated that portion of the law, according to the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
Cannabis companies Acreage, Ascend, Curaleaf, GTI and Verano all received fines from the CRC for making recreational sales during patient-only hours during the first week of legal sales – for a total of $360,000 combined.
Each company was fined $10,000 per violation.
Acreage must pay $60,000, Ascend $80,000, Curaleaf $50,000, GTI $80,000 and Verano must pay $90,000.
A spokesperson for the CRC said in part, “Businesses that violate the requirements will be issued a notice of violation which requires a corrective plan, and then possibly a notice of monetary penalty.”
Prioritizing medicinal patients was one of the stipulations placed on the dispensaries to ensure patients had access to product over recreational consumers. The CRC announced earlier this week that New Jersey residents enrolled in the state’s Medicinal Cannabis Program will no longer pay state sales tax on cannabis and cannabis products purchased…
