Officials have urged people to have a two-week supply of medication, but for patients who rely on medical marijuana, that’s not so easy. Purchase limits, shortages brought on by a growing number of patients in the small program and high costs all coalesce to make stocking up on weed a challenge.
And the state’s medical marijuana program, which has ballooned to include more than 70,000 patients, still has just six cultivation sites and nine dispensaries.
“The big worry: The system as a whole is very fragile,” said Peter Rosenfeld, a board member of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey. “There’s really only six centers growing. If they get an infection there and they have to shut down, there you’ve lost one-sixth of the supply. I can easily see more than one going down, and simply patients can’t get it by any means.”
The state reported that 69 people tested positive for COVID-19 in New Jersey as of Saturday afternoon, though the number could be as high as 75 based on additional information from Bergen County.