Medical marijuana use is increasing quickly in New Jersey and recreational use may become legal soon, but many doctors remain skeptical about recommending it to their patients.
On Wednesday, hundreds of health professionals heard from the state health commissioner, Shereef Elnahal, as he sought to "demystify" the use of medical marijuana and explain recent policy changes made by the Murphy administration to increase access to it.
New Jersey did not legalize recreational marijuana as part of the state’s newly enacted budget, but Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and a key lawmaker say it will get done soon.
Advocates of legalization say they’re trying to overcome decades of stigma as well as a federal prohibition in an effort to make New Jersey the latest state to legalize cannabis. But they say they remain optimistic that bills will pass the Democrat-led Legislature this year. Opponents point to the legalization effort’s slow going as a sign the effort could stall out.
Earlier this year, Curaleaf dispensary in Western New Jersey became the biggest on the east coast. Said growth means that the pot shop is now capable of serving 1,000 patients a day. The expansion of New Jersey’s medical marijuana laws played a big role in Curaleaf’s successful move into being a super dispensary. Now, Curaleaf is in the process of building the largest cultivation greenhouse on the east coast.
From a business perspective, here’s what the proposed changes mean, according to Fanburg:
APPLICATION PROCESS: New license applications will “require submission of evidence of community engagement and minority, women, and veteran participation in an ATC’s operations through ownership, management, and local hiring plans, and endorsements of community organizations,” states the regulations.
Ten thousand patients have joined the Department of Health’s Medicinal Marijuana program since the Murphy Administration began in January—for a total of 25,000 patients and 1,000 caregivers participating.
As June burned to a close, lawmakers in Trenton were still scrambling to pass a budget by the end of the month and avoid a government shutdown. Surprisingly absent from negotiations was one of the main platforms on which Gov. Phil Murphy ran for office: marijuana legalization.
Despite support from top lawmakers, marijuana reform couldn't get done before the June 30 budget deadline. It's now been delayed until at least later this summer.
Veterans Affairs doctors can't recommend marijuana as a treatment to veterans, even in states where medical marijuana is legal.
That could soon change under a measure approved this week by the U.S. Senate that would allow Veterans Affairs doctors to recommend marijuana to patients in New Jersey and across the country, as reported by Marijuana Moment.
New Jersey's busiest medical marijuana dispensary appears to be ready to get even busier.
Curaleaf, formerly known as Compassionate Sciences, opened a new retail location across the street from its existing location in Bellmawr last month and has entered the planning stage for a 100,000-square-foot, indoor growing facility on a remediated landfill here near an intersection of interstates 295 and 76, company and borough officials said. The new facility would be about the size of two football fields.
New Jersey’s Restrictive Medical Marijuana Program
Medical marijuana came to New Jersey in 2009 while notoriously anti-weed Governor Chris Christie assumed office. While governor, Christie called medical marijuana “a front for legalization” on radio show New Jersey 101.5.
“I am not going to allow de-facto legalization of marijuana in this state or regular legalization of marijuana in this state by statute. It’s not going to happen on my watch,” he added.
The Department of Health today proposed readopting the medical marijuana rules (N.J.A.C. 8:64), with amendments. The rules establish standards by which the Department implements the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. This proposal follows the Department’s recommended regulatory actions in response to Governor Murphy’s Executive Order #6, which charged the Department with reviewing all aspects of the program to expand access and eliminate bureaucratic barriers.