Medical marijuana patients in New Jersey no longer have to pay state sales tax when they buy cannabis from a licensed dispensary, officials recently announced.

The new tax rate became effective on July 1, according to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC).

“As the sales tax has been phased out from 4 percent to 2 percent – and now to zero percent – patients have been able to spend less on their medicine, further ensuring patients are prioritized over recreational consumers,” NJCRC Executive Director Jeff Brown said.

According to the NJCRC, which also regulates the state’s recreational cannabis industry, the three-phase elimination of the sales tax for medical cannabis patients was spelled out in the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act signed into law in 2019.

The state applies its 6.625 percent sales tax to recreational cannabis purchases. Towns and cities are able to charge an additional 2 percent tax on any sales.

New Jersey residents have been complaining for years about the price of medical cannabis amid chronic supply shortages.