South Jersey doctors and educators say they are seeing an overwhelming number of new patients enrolling in the state’s medical marijuana program under newly approved conditions.
New Jersey Department of Health officials announced 1,000 people statewide have enrolled in the program under five new medical conditions since Gov. Phil Murphy added them in the state’s program expansion in late March, bringing total participation to about 20,000 patients.
The Health Department announced in March reforms to the state’s medical marijuana program, which included adding anxiety, migraines, Tourette’s syndrome, chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders and chronic visceral pain to the list of accepted conditions.
“The phones are extremely busy,” said Dr. Andrew Medvedovsky, owner of New Jersey Alternative Medicine in Linwood. “People may get frustrated when they don’t get through quickly enough, but it’s a growing thing. It’s definitely an adjustment to accommodate all these people and take care of existing patients and provide all those services.”