N.J.'s dismal weed forecast shows promise of windfall is sputtering
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy appears to have rolled back expectations for how much marijuana will help ease the state’s financial pain.
Murphy’s $38.6 billion budget, which relies on a millionaire tax to bring in an extra $447 million, assumes that legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana would produce just $60 million of revenue during the first six months if sales begin on Jan. 1, half way through the fiscal year. That’s a far cry from the $300 million a year the Democrat estimated could be generated when he was running for election in 2017.