Medicinal customers hurried to stock up, with dispensaries selling 5,400 ounces alone last Wednesday, the day before the recreational market launched — more than twice the daily average for the previous month, sales figures show.
To speed the start of New Jersey’s recreational market, the cannabis commission earlier this month voted to allow 13 alternative treatment centers — dispensaries of medical marijuana — to sell recreational weed, too. Montclair's Ascend dispensary on Bloomfield Avenue is still awaiting a possible local approval to expand to recreational sales. The township hasn't yet released an application businesses can use to apply for marijuana licenses, but the business is hoping the Township Council will pass a resolution to give its OK, bypassing the need for a separate application.
Jeff Brown, the commission’s executive director, said officials expected recreational sales to be “substantial.”
“The data shows that the market is effectively serving both adult-use consumers and patients,” Brown said in a statement. “We continue to monitor inventory and access for patients and are prepared to take enforcement action against any ATC that does not meet the requirements for patient access and supply.”