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Let’s face it guys - no one likes to pay taxes. But at the same time, most people enjoy the benefits that come from a society that pays taxes. Whether you are driving down a smoothly paved road, working at a government facility, enjoying a day at the park, or getting a government subsidy for healthcare or housing, you are enjoying the sweet relief of tax money at work.

However, this does not mean that paying taxes is not a burden to say the least. It’s no fun watching one third of your paycheck fly out the window why some billionaire in Los Angeles is getting their 70th tax break of the decade. The marijuana industry in the United States is one that has become heavily taxed, and this is for good reason. For one, the tax incentives offered by medical marijuana and recreational programs make it very appealing to states, which allows more people across the nation to have access to marijuana if they want it. In my opinion, this is a super good thing.

There are quite a few differences between using a medical marijuana card and simply buying your cannabis from a recreational dispensary. With a medical marijuana card, you have certain benefits and guarantees that recreational users simply do not get. One such benefit is that you get regular visits and consultations with a doctor or health professional. Also, you have the ability to track your symptoms and create a health plan that best suits your current conditions. However, in the state of New Jersey, there is a new benefit to using a medical marijuana card, and that is in the form of not having to pay taxes. Today, we are going to be talking about new legislation taking effect in New Jersey that really benefits people using medical marijuana cards, at the slight detriment of recreational marijuana users.  

The first step towards more accessible marijuana in any state in our country is to legalize medical marijuana. As a baseline, this gives medical users the opportunity to treat certain health conditions with cannabis and allows the state to flesh out their medical program as they go along. The next step, if it is taken, is to develop a recreational marijuana program that allows all adults over the age of 21 to legally use cannabis. There are almost 20 states in our country that have legalized weed for adult use, and in my opinion those are the best states to live in. As more and more states begin to make this change, we are seeing numerous benefits come about for citizens and government bodies alike.

One such benefit of legalizing recreational marijuana is that it takes some of the financial strain off of medical marijuana patients, who arguably need cannabis more than the recreational users. That is just what New Jersey has done. The state did not want to heavily tax medical marijuana patients, so it now taxes recreational users more heavily while not taxing medical marijuana at all. This may be frustrating for people that do not have a medical marijuana card or a condition that qualifies them to get into the program, but I think that it is probably for the best. After all, it is best to make cannabis more affordable for the people that absolutely need it. 

It is also important to keep in mind that the government of New Jersey is not taxing users directly. Instead, the taxes are more heavily levied onto manufacturers, growers, distributors, and dispensaries. Of course, these taxes work their way into the final cost of weed for the end users. I hope that this article was insightful for you!