Legalization of Marijuana in New Jersey Could Bring $300 Million in Taxes

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A new report says legalization of marijuana in New Jersey could bring the state $300 million in annual taxes, according to a May 23, 2016, article at NJ.com.

The report, released by New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform and New Jersey Policy Perspective, drew from federal data estimating 365,900 state residents 21 years of age and older use 2.53 million ounces of pot annually.

Illegal marijuana sales net an estimated $869 million annually from an average price of $343 per ounce, the report said. Legalized marijuana would be an estimated $1.2 billion industry, meaning a 25 percent sales tax would generate around $300 million each year.

NJ.com noted Gov. Chris Christie has been opposed to legalization. In 2014, he said, “I am not going to be the governor who is going to tell our children and our young adults that marijuana use is okay. Because it’s not. I don’t care about the tax money that may come from it.”

But Ari Rosmarin, public policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said, “With just one vote, the Legislature can raise hundreds of millions of dollars annually, help end a civil rights injustice, and make sure that no more New Jerseyans see their lives ruined for something every president in the last 24 years has done.”

The staff byline designates content that has been written by a staff writer of MJINews.

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