The biggest change will affect how permits are handed out to businesses and the industry will be divided into three groups: cultivators, manufacturers and retailers.
“Businesses that focus on cultivating medical cannabis, we'll have businesses that can focus solely on taking the raw plant material and turning it into medicinal product like pills, syrup, things of that nature. And then we'll have businesses that can focus on the patient care side of things like dispensing and working with both patients and physicians,” said Jeff Brown, the state's Assisting Commissioner for Medical Marijuana.
Prior to the law change, businesses in New Jersey had to perform all three roles.
Brown says the changes will increase competition, help drive down costs and even help small businesses grow, “because they don't have to have expertise in every area of the supply chain.”