“Because medicinal marijuana is not reimbursed by insurance and can be costly for patients, and because many of the patients in New Jersey’s program are either seniors or on government assistance and thus have fixed incomes, the high prices of the product are likely depressing demand,” the report said.
“Lowering prices should be an explicit policy goal of the Division of Medicinal Marijuana. Lowering prices is best accomplished by increasing competition, access and supply in the marketplace, with more options for patients to obtain the therapy.”
Patients are also not regularly purchasing every month, as a result of the high cost — although it is matching the illegal market price in some cases — leaving New Jersey’s per-patient use at half an ounce, according to the report.
That is less than half of Colorado’s almost 1.3 ounces per patient per month.