Administrative Challenge Continues to Delay Medical Marijuana License Awards in New Jersey, as Court Denies Request to Dissolve Stay
2019 Requests for Applications and the Glitch
2019 Requests for Applications and the Glitch
Amid the ongoing expansion of New Jersey’s medical marijuana market as well as the anticipated victory of recreational legalization at the ballot box in November, some of the state’s cannabis companies are investing heavily in cultivation build-outs and other infrastructure to meet an expected surge in demand.
Many industry insiders anticipate the New Jersey marijuana market will be one of the hottest on the East Coast once recreational sales actually begin – assuming voters approve the fall ballot measure.
Insiders concede, however, sales might not happen until 2022.
It was another patient who introduced Cindy Ortiz to medical cannabis, about a year into her treatment for breast cancer. She could barely eat and had trouble gaining weight, and her hemoglobin was low enough to necessitate frequent blood transfusions as a result.
CCF argues in its brief that the state Department of Health has an obligation to spread the dispensaries throughout the state, under both the state law that legalized medical marijuana and its own prior policies.
“It’s an access issue, not a competition issue,” Chairman of the Board David Knowlton said. “There is no dispensary in Salem, Gloucester, (Burlington) or Cape May counties, so the opportunity to spread these out is right there. Yet they put two within spitting distance. It’s inappropriate.”
New Jersey: 24 dispensary licenses face legal challenges.
A court has put review of medical marijuana business licenses on hold yet again after a rejected applicant seeking to open a business sued, saying the state Health Department wrongfully evaluated its application.
Progressive Treatment Solutions of New Jersey filed for a stay after the health department rejected its application to open a dispensary and cultivation center in Edison on Nov. 18. A two-judge appellate court panel granted an emergent motion for a stay Jan. 6.
The requests date from last summer, when New Jersey decided to grant an additional 24 medical cannabis business licenses. That was a much lower number than anticipated -- previously, state officials had pledged to award 108 new permits.
New Jersey legalized medical cannabis, albeit with a number of restrictions, in 2010. It does not currently allow recreational use; recent efforts to do so have stalled, although a referendum on the matter will be on state ballots in November's election cycle.
Some licenses were denied because of technical errors. Bauchner challenged the decision in court, arguing the applications should be issued based on merit.
In December, the court granted a stay in the 2019 application process for new medical marijuana businesses. That led to the appeals process and the delay in awarding licenses.
The state health department, however, believed it did not need to stop scoring applications that had passed an initial review. The court told the department it had misinterpreted its order.
But a two-judge appellate court panel made it clear the state must cease all action on the licenses as several applicants rejected for a technical issue appeal the decision.
That means those who applied for a medical pot license last summer will have to keep waiting.
Two judges clarified a court-ordered stay on New Jersey’s medical cannabis business application review process to apply to all administrative proceedings related to alternative treatment center permits, including the scoring of applications and the ranking and awarding permits.
The New Jersey Department of Health hadn’t halted application review, said Ansell Grimm & Aaron PC Partner Joshua Bauchner, who represents seven applicants whose submissions were rejected before being reviewed due to a technical issue.
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