“We are pleased to announce that, as of today, opioid use disorder is a condition for which physicians can recommend medical marijuana to patients,” Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the state health commissioner, said in a press release. “We are also taking steps to ensure that these patients will be on MAT for their addiction, in addition to marijuana.”
Previously, individuals addicted to opioids could only qualify for medical cannabis if they became dependent while attempting to treat chronic pain caused by a musculoskeletal disorder.
Gov. Phil Murphy says his administration is adding opioid addiction to the list of eligible illnesses in New Jersey's medical marijuana program.
Murphy announced the change Wednesday at Cooper University Hospital along with other steps aimed at fighting the state's opioid epidemic.
Murphy also said the state would be removing a requirement that makes it harder for opioid addicts on Medicaid to get treatments involving medication.
No medical marijuana dispensaries will be coming to Gloucester Township. Gloucester Township Council authorized a resolution to repay five entities that had bid on bringing a dispensary to the township Monday night.
The vote took place after it was revealed that the township was no longer among those being considered for a dispensary. The New Jersey Department of Health recently announced the six new locations in which medical marijuana dispensaries will be set up, bringing the total number of dispensaries statewide to 12.
New Jersey’s medical marijuana program swelled during Gov. Phil Murphy’s first year in office, doubling its number of patients to more than 39,000.
The number of doctors also grew, from just more than 500 physicians to nearly 900.
But Murphy wants even more doctors to join, so state officials have been hitting the road to convince medical professionals of the benefits of medical marijuana — and dispel what they say are the myths.
When the first medical marijuana prescriptions are sold in Warren County, it will be out of an old bank on Main Street Phillipsburg.
For its commercial front, the NETA NJ has closed a sale on the former Phillipsburg Trust Co. building at 55 S. Main St. The closing was confirmed Wednesday by both the town council president and a director for the Ewing-based company.
NETA NJ’s proposal for a Phillipsburg dispensary was one of six given the green light last month by the state health department.
New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal told hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, social workers and others at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus about how medical marijuana is a safe and effective treatment that should be considered as a tool in care.
“I hope I can convince more physicians to at least participate or consider enrolling in this program,” he said at the city hospital Wednesday.
New Jersey state approval last month for six new medicinal marijuana integrated dispensaries means more access to the drug for patients in need, but not without some controversy for the communities involved.
The last-minute discovery of a major issue regarding the notices sent to residents near a proposed medical marijuana dispensary and grow house in Brick led to another postponement of the application for Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care (JSTHC) to build its facility.
Zoning approval is required because the bank property sits in a residential zone. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the municipal building.
Jersey Shore THC is in a unique situation. The company had hoped to win one of the six new state Department of Health permits to operate a medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey but didn't have the required zoning board approval.
Instead, the state didn't award a contract to any dispensary operator eyeing the Jersey Shore, giving the two Central Jersey permits instead to proposed locations in Elizabeth and Ewing.
Some Brick residents contacted Shorebeat on Monday, confused as to whether the planned hearing on a proposed medical marijuana dispensary and grow house was still on schedule to be taken up by the township’s Board of Adjustment on Wednesday.
The short answer: yes, the hearing will be held as planned at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Civic Plaza, 270 Chambers Bridge Road.