Yesterday, we examined the state of the New York cannabis industry. Today, we examine the state of the industry in the neighboring state of New Jersey. Over the last year, quite a few achievements have been made, both in the medical and adult-use markets.
Medical
In 2024, the NJ-CRC registered 24,646 new patients, with anxiety being the most common qualifying condition, accounting for 39% of all patients. During this period, the program issued 33,786 physical cards and 1,467 digital cards, which became available in June 2024. Digital cards are free, while physical cards now cost $10.
This year, the state achieved at least one operational cannabis business licensed in every county. There are currently 206 municipalities in New Jersey that have allowed at least one class of cannabis businesses, which is about 36% of the state's 564 municipalities.
As of October, 47% of annual license awardees are majority minority-owned businesses, and 44% are majority woman-owned or majority disabled veteran-owned. Additionally, 16% of awards went to social equity businesses. The state approved 620 licenses for Hispanic or Latino business owners. While just 10% of state businesses are Black-owned, 17% of licenses went to Black-owned entities. Similarly, 13% of licenses were awarded to Asian-owned businesses despite them also comprising only 10% of state businesses.
Some figures now, as of November 25, 2024:
- 2,805 applications have been submitted
- 115 applications are under review in the Office of Licensing
- 361 applications are pending resubmission following cure
- 1,524 conditional recreational licenses approved
- 395 conditional-to-annual conversion licenses approved
- 220 annual licenses approved
- 80 expanded ATCs approved
- 338 total operating adult-use licenses and medicinal permits issued
- 180 applications are under review in the Office of Compliance & Investigations
Recalls
In July, a recall was issued for cannabis flower and pre-rolls from one operator. Additionally, the Compliance Unit of the Office of Compliance and Investigations conducted 217 investigations based on complaints received or reviews of business practices during on-site visits. Out of these, 14 Notices of Violation (NOV) were issued. Most complaints were resolved through communication with cannabis businesses, helping them return to compliance without needing further penalties. The issues included failure to keep data consistent between tracking systems (Metrc and Point-of-Sale), problems with packaging and labeling, allowing on-site cannabis consumption, not storing products properly, and not effectively supporting the medicinal cannabis patient population.
The market
As of November 2025, there are 338 cannabis business licenses and permits currently in operation: 251 for adult-use (including expanded Alternative Treatment Centers) and 87 for medicinal purposes. In the first three quarters of 2024, the medicinal cannabis market generated $66,927,020, while the recreational market generated $722,921,233 during the same period. The overall industry generated $43,290,543 in tax revenue and collected $2,248,270 in Social Equity Excise Fees.
Flower is the top-selling product, accounting for just over 41% of the market. Vape cartridges rank second, making up 29%, while edibles represent 14%. The remaining 17% of the market consists of various products, including raw pre-rolls, concentrates, shakes and trim, capsules, pills, as well as lotions, creams, and tinctures.