Impact of marijuana rescheduling on legal cannabis sales in New Jersey

ROSELLE, N.J. (PIX11) -- If the federal government moves forward with its plans to lower the scheduling of marijuana as a lower-risk drug, Janet from Garwood will be a proponent of it. 

Janet regularly visits Joyleaf, a dispensary in Roselle, to buy products that she says help manage her chronic pain. "Every day," said Janet. "I got screws in my back, got a plate in my ankle."

Advocates say taking the drug from Schedule I down to Schedule III would bring welcome change.

"It's impossible to do research on cannabis," said Jason Ackerman, co-owner of Joyleaf. "Cannabis is an amazing medicine, and because it is a schedule I at the moment, you can't freely and easily do research on it to bring other forms of medicines.

Owners of Joyleaf say not only would the rescheduling of marijuana help from a research standpoint, it would also give a boost to New Jersey's dispensaries.

"By taking it to a lower schedule, it eliminates a very large tax called 280E, which doesn't allow retail stores to deduct expenses below their gross profit margin," said Ackerman. "That puts enormous financial stress on stores, so that rescheduling has a huge impact on the ability to operate successfully."

According to a March report from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, State cannabis sales topped $2 billion in the last 6 years, including more than $1 billion since the beginning of recreational sales in 2022.

The Commission's Executive Director, Jeff Brown, told PIX11 news in a statement, "If or when the announcement comes from the Drug Enforcement Administration, we look forward to facilitating conversations with cannabis business operators and consumers in New Jersey.”

"I think the Commission has a desire for this to be a successful program," said Ackerman. 

On Wednesday, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy tweeted his excitement over to see the Biden Administration's move to ease restrictions on marijuana.

The rescheduling still has several hoops to jump through in Washington before becoming reality.