More than a dozen families have reached out to Mike Honig in recent weeks, as Jake’s Act stalled because it was tethered to the controversial bill legalizing recreational weed. That changed Wednesday, when Senate President Steve Sweeney announced the legislature was kicking the recreational issue to a referendum in 2020 and fast-tracking Jake’s Act for a statehouse vote that is expected to be hassle-free.
“We’re very happy,” Mike Honig said late Wednesday. “It’s nice to see everybody come together and move forward for the sake of patients.”
Sweeney said the two had been packaged with the recreational marijuana bill in the hope that support for them would provide leverage to get recreational marijuana passed. But with a handful of Senators solidly opposed to creating a legal marijuana industry in New Jersey, he decided to break the measures apart.
“I thought we were going to get [legalization] done in the first 100 days of Murphy’s term,” Sweeney said. “But people have strong feelings … There are bills that are a matter of conscience where it’s really hard to push people.”
On May 13, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) announced amendments to the state’s medical marijuana rules aimed at expanding access to the program, which implements New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Perhaps most significant among the adopted amendments is the creation of a separate permitting system for cultivation, manufacturing and dispensing marijuana for medical purposes. Previously, the program was vertically integrated, i.e. all three were packaged together under a single licensing process.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says he’s open to new legislation on medical marijuana expansion and criminal records expungement after legal recreational marijuana failed to get enough legislative support this spring.
Murphy made his comments Wednesday, hours after state Senate President Steve Sweeney said voters would be asked to decide next year if recreational use of marijuana should be legalized.
Additionally, the rule includes the following changes that will go into effect upon publication:
- Creating separate permits for cultivators, processors and dispensaries, thus increasing potential business opportunities. Currently, licensed dispensaries must grow their own cannabis. Recent forecasts estimated the market will need 15 additional growers and 50-90 dispensaries by 2022.
- Streamlining the process to add qualifying medical conditions to the program. The rule removes the requirement that the petitions for new qualifying conditions must first go to the Medicinal Marijuana Review Panel.
The biggest change will affect how permits are handed out to businesses and the industry will be divided into three groups: cultivators, manufacturers and retailers.
Separate permitting systems
The rules also provide new guidance to the Medicinal Marijuana Review Panel, which advises the state on cannabis policy, and create separate permitting systems for cultivation, manufacturing and dispensing operations in an effort to make more marijuana available to the public and at more locations. Until now, these three aspects of the business were bundled together under a single permitting process.
From the New Jersey Department of Health:
Implements Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 6 Regulatory Recommendations
The New Jersey Department of Health today announced amended medical marijuana rules that establish standards by which the Department implements the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The rule changes follow the Department’s recommended regulatory actions in response to Gov. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order #6, which charged the Department with reviewing all aspects of the program to expand access and eliminate bureaucratic barriers.
On May 1, 2019, the City of Newark Municipal Council adopted Ordinance 18-1970 (the "Ordinance") by a 7-0 vote amending several sections of the City’s Land Development Ordinance to permit as conditional uses medical marijuana alternative treatment centers, medical marijuana cultivation facilities, medical marijuana manufacturing facilities, and medical marijuana safety compliance facilities (collectively, the “Medical Marijuana Uses”) in specified zoning districts within the City. The majority of the public who attended the hearing were in support of the amendment. Hon.