With an expanded list of eligible conditions, and the registration fee cut in half, New Jersey has seen a massive uptick in participation in its medicinal marijuana program.
The increased demand is resulting in some delays or changes at the state's dispensaries.
Since March 27, when an overhaul of the program went into effect, an additional 4,000 or so patients have signed on to the program that allows the distribution of marijuana for approved debilitating medical conditions.
Patients in various parts of New Jersey are running into a big-time problem: dispensaries are running out of flower. The shortage is largely the result of recent changes to the state’s medical marijuana program.
Earlier this year, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy spearheaded an effort to expand the state’s medical marijuana program in order to make cannabis more accessible to patients. Then in March, state lawmakers approved the measure.
Last month, Gov. Phil Murphy called for several key changes to New Jersey's medical marijuana program, including adding more places patients could buy weed and getting rid of a requirement that prevented some doctors for participating.
Murphy's call has largely been answered by a bill that was passed last week by an Assembly committee, meaning it now awaits a full vote in that chamber. The bill pulls ideas from several plans that have previously been proposed and has been sponsored by eight members of the Assembly.
“We are changing the restrictive culture of our medical marijuana program,” he said. “Some of these changes will take time, but we are committed to getting it done for all New Jersey residents who can be helped by access to medical marijuana.”
Effective immediately, patients suffering from anxiety, migraines, Tourette’s syndrome, chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders, and chronic visceral pain will be eligible for the pot program.
Like other medical marijuana states, New Jersey has set strict limits on medical marijuana. These rules govern who qualifies to use cannabis-based treatments, who’s authorized to prescribe them, and what kinds of medicine manufacturers can produce and sell.
The new legislation brought to the Assembly Health Committee, however, would do away with most of those restrictions. For patients, that means wider, more expansive access to legal medical cannabis.