Alternative treatment centers are subject to longer waits than usual as medical cannabis patients line up to stock up on medicine, ATCs and patients are reporting.
Jeff Brown, assistant commissioner to the state medicinal marijuana program, said it’s not due to a lack of product, but to the same worries that have people stocking up at supermarkets and pharmacies.
Jessie Gill, a registered nurse who focuses her practice on advising medical cannabis patients and is a patient herself, told NJBIZ that patients at Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center were experiencing wait times of up to seven hours Friday. The ATC, which does not open until 10:30 a.m., began turning away patients at the end of a long line of cars around 10 a.m., Gill said.
“Cars are parked on the side of the road and Breakwater dispensary employees are outside and they’re turning people away, telling the cars that they’ve reached their limit for the day,” Gill said. “There usually is wait times already in the best of circumstances, but on top of it, some [ATCs have] cut hours drastically so now you have more people going on these tight hours and people are panicking and trying to get their meds.”
