Officials: 10,000 people bought recreational marijuana on first day of sales in New Jersey
TRENTON, N.J. -- Sales of recreational marijuana were open for the fifth day Monday.
CBS2's Meg Baker checked in with New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory Commission to see how things are going so far.
Officials said 10,000 people bought legal cannabis on the first day of sales in the Garden State. Jeff Brown, the executive director of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, said there were only minor issues reported where medical patients were directed to the wrong line.
"Supply is holding up, so we're not seeing any sort of shortages on either the medical side or the recreational side, and some dispensaries were limiting consumers to, you know, maybe a quarter ounce of flower in a single transaction, which is less than state limit is," Brown said.
READ MORE: Recreational marijuana dispensaries in New Jersey open their doors for the first time
The state limit is one ounce of flower per visit. Brown said prices are high because of simple supply and demand math, with just a dozen sales locations, and an estimated 900,000 cannabis consumers. He said prices are expected to go down as more retailers open up shop in the near future.
Three different taxes can be levied on recreational cannabis -- state sales tax, social equity tax, and a 2 percent municipality tax.
"Seventy percent of that is dedicated to what are termed 'impact zones' and impact zones are municipalities where we've seen traditionally higher rates of arrests for drug-related crimes as well as higher rates of unemployment. The commission is putting together recommendations for legislation on how money should be spent based on feedback from the public," Brown said.
There is currently no limit set for the amount of THC in products, but Brown said other safety regulations exist.
"From requiring accurate labeling so that people know how much THC is in particular a product to having consumer warnings. The commission adopted a universal symbol which notes ... it's a warning symbol that notes that these are products that are not for kids and only for those 21-plus. There are warning about operating heavy machinery or driving that have to appear on every label," Brown said.
The New Jersey Poison Control Center is warning people to safety store and lock up products, especially edibles.
"And being aware of just how enticing they are to a young kid who's really never going to stay away from them. You could put a warning label all over it, but if it looks like a gummy bear, it's gonna get eaten by a young child," said Diane Calello, the Poison Control Center's executive and medical director.
Calello said most toxicity cases in children and adults from taking too many edibles have been mild, but can lead to paranoia, panic attacks, and an increased heart rate.
