As New Jersey was part of the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, New Jersey employees have been hit particularly hard during 2020. Layoffs and furloughs of employees across industry sectors continue to be widespread affecting every county. In response, the State has rolled out financial relief packages to help mitigate the economic impact on business owners and employees arising from this unprecedented public health crisis. In fact, during the last 18 weeks, the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development (NJDL) distributed $11.6 billion in unemployment benefits to workers, including $825 million distributed during the week ending July 10, 2020. Additionally, since the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program began the week of April 4, 2020, the NJDL has "issued more than $7 billion in federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments to 1.1 million claimants," as indicated in a press release from the NJDL dated July 16, 2020 (https://www.nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/press/2020/20200723_paymentsupdate.shtml).

Despite the NJDL reporting a 33% decline in the number of new unemployment benefit applications submitted between July 10 and July 18, financially strapped New Jersey employees seek additional financial relief and expense reductions, whether big or small, to help them withstand financial shortfalls caused by the pandemic. Fortunately, 2019 amendments to the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act ("the Act") (N.J.S.A. 24:6I-1, et. seq., effective Oct. 1, 2010, amended by L. 2019, c. 153 §1, eff. July 2, 2019), helps New Jerseyans who are registered with the New Jersey Medicinal Marijuana Program ("Registered Patients") when purchasing cannabis from a New Jersey medical cannabis dispensary through sales tax savings.

Effective July 1, 2020, the New Jersey sales tax imposed on Registered Patients purchasing medical marijuana from a medical cannabis dispensary has been reduced by 2.62%, from 6.625% to 4% (N.J.S.A. 24:6I-10; retail sales of medical cannabis are subject to tax pursuant to the "Sales and Use Tax Act," P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.)). This reduction is the first phase of a three-year plan by New Jersey to eliminate New Jersey sales tax on medicinal cannabis purchases by July 1, 2022.