In Atlantic County, at The Botanist, the strains Robot Girl and Velvet Cookies are listed at $55.19 for 3.5 grams, roughly equivalent to an eighth of an ounce, and Bonkers and Willow Berry Kush are $60.19 for the same amount, according to their website.
In Vermont, which also began sales of cannabis last year, the lowest price at Mountain Girl Cannabis in Rutland City is $40 for an eighth of an ounce, while other strains, such as Key Lime Pie, sell for $50 for that amount, while California dispensaries have some strains selling for $30. There, too, some specialty options run as much as $66.50 for an eighth of an ounce.
But Goldstein instead compared the regulated cannabis costs to the black market, or what many advocates prefer to call "the legacy market." He described it as a robust market, and other sources say black market weed has never been cheaper or more readily available in New Jersey.
“For $200 or $250, I can get fire today on the underground market and not pay a tax,” Goldstein said.