Gov. Phil Murphy, who led the ultimately successful fight for recreational cannabis in New Jersey, added his name to a new industry effort to encourage marijuana users to buy weed from legal businesses rather than on the street.

He is the first elected official to join a national campaign launched Thursday by the U.S. Cannabis Council, marijuana trade associations, and several cannabis businesses some of them minority-owned. It is called Buy Legal and is designed to encourage marijuana users to buy weed from state-licensed, regulated and taxed businesses rather than illegally from dealers.

Like many other products, cannabis is not immune to the persistent illegal market, which poses a serious risk to consumers, Murphy said. This campaign will help protect the ability of local, regulated cannabis enterprises to continue to do business in a way that is safe and accountable, and protect the safety of consumers while reinvesting in communities.

One concern is that the illegal street market, frequently called the legacy market, still is doing a brisk enough business to hurt legal enterprises and make it difficult for more of them to open. Hence the call for consumers to patronize regulated businesses, especially those owned by minorities trying to gain a foothold in the legal market. While there are many Black- and brown-owned legal dispensaries operating across the country, there are none in the Garden State and it could take months until recently licensed operators can open their doors. Keep up with the latest on legal weed in New Jersey. Add your email here.

Cannabis consumers need to understand where they can buy high-quality, safe, and tested cannabis products, and minority cannabis-businesses owners deserve the resources that a national campaign like this can provide in order to encourage customers to shop at their businesses, said Khadijah Tribble, chief executive of the U.S. Cannabis Council, who is also a senior vice president of Massachusetts-based Curaleaf, the largest cannabis operator in New Jersey, and one of the biggest in the nation.

Linda Mercado Greene, owner and chief executive of Anacostia Organics in Washington, said legal businesses could be hurt if a user is harmed by unregulated weed.

A customer cant possibly know whats in an unregulated supply, and if someone is harmed by an unregulated product, that sows distrust in our industry and ultimately hurts licensed, regulated cannabis businesses, she said.

That said, even regulated product can come with some safety risks. In New Jersey, the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission keeps a running tab of citations given to legal operators. Earlier this year, Curaleaf and another multi-state operator, Green Thumb Industries, were cited by the state for safety violations including, moldy weed sold to patients as well as for faulty packaging and labeling, among others.

The Buy Legal campaign comes in advance of the midterm elections when voters in five states will decide whether to join the other 19 states and the District of Columbia in legalizing recreational weed.

Minority business owners said such a campaign can give them a much-needed boost.

To truly create equitable opportunities for generational wealth in our community, things like this must be done, said New Jersey-native Al Harrington, a 16-year veteran of the National Basketball Association, including the New York Knicks, and chief executive of Viola Brands. Now more than ever its imperative to educate consumers on the importance of buying regulated, safe products.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.