NJ forecasts need for up to 90 more medical marijuana dispensaries by 2022

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New Jersey needs to add 50 to 90 medical cannabis dispensaries in the next three years and more cultivation facilities to keep pace with current market demand, according to a state report issued this week that holds out the possibility of additional MMJ business opportunities.

The report, released by the New Jersey Department of Health, said the state’s six vertically operated businesses nearly doubled their revenues from $29 million in 2017 to $53 million in 2018.

The number of patients has surged 150% since January 2018, to more than 42,000.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration already has taken steps to expand the medical cannabis market by adding qualifying medical conditions and issuing six additional licenses for vertically-integrated businesses.

Murphy recently said he wants to continue to expand the market as a backup plan after state lawmakers’ recent failure to pass legislation legalizing recreational marijuana.

If adult-use were to pass later this year, it’s unclear how that development would impact the medical cannabis dispensary forecast.

In mature rec marijuana states, MMJ sales eventually decline. But it would take several years for the New Jersey adult-use market to reach maturity.

For more details about the situation in New Jersey, click here.