Gov. Phil Murphy, who led the ultimately successful fight for recreational cannabis in New Jersey, added his name to a new industry effort to encourage marijuana users to buy weed from legal businesses rather than on the street.
He is the first elected official to join a national campaign launched Thursday by the U.S. Cannabis Council, marijuana trade associations, and several cannabis businesses — some of them minority-owned. It is called “Buy Legal” and is designed to encourage marijuana users to buy weed from state-licensed, regulated and taxed businesses rather than illegally from dealers.
“Like many other products, cannabis is not immune to the persistent illegal market, which poses a serious risk to consumers,” Murphy said. “This campaign will help protect the ability of local, regulated cannabis enterprises to continue to do business in a way that is safe and accountable, and protect the safety of consumers while reinvesting in communities.”
One concern is that the illegal street market, frequently called the “legacy market,” still is doing a brisk enough business to hurt legal enterprises and make it difficult for more of them to open. Hence the call for consumers to patronize regulated businesses, especially those owned by minorities trying to gain a foothold in the legal market. While there are many Black- and brown-owned legal dispensaries operating across the country, there are none in the Garden State — and it could take months until recently licensed operators can open their doors.