New Jersey Senate Bill 119 passed in 2010, allowed New Jersey’s Medical Marijuana program to begin. As with the New York program, you must have a severely debilitating condition to be eligible for medical marijuana in the state of New Jersey. We’ll have a look at the Medical Marijuana laws in New Jersey, how and if you qualify become a medical cannabis patient in NJ.
Which medical conditions qualify for the New Jersey Medical Marijuana Program?
According to the NJ Department of Health, these are the conditions you need to qualify:
- PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
- Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS)
- Terminal cancer
- Crohn’s disease
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Any terminal illness that leads to death within the next 12 months
- Glaucoma, if the patient is resistant or intolerant to conventional therapy
- Seizure disorders if the patient is resistant or intolerant to conventional therapy
Can the list of qualifying conditions be added to?
Yes. In fact, in June the NJ Assembly passed legislation that added PTSD as a qualifying medical condition.
How do you get a medical marijuana card?
If you want to acquire a medical marijuana card in New Jersey, you need to confirm that you are a New Jersey resident.
You will also need to maintain a bona fide relationship with a doctor in the program. This mean you will need to have had a relationship with that doctor for a minimum of one year.
The doctor must also determine that you have a qualifying medical condition on four separate visits before you can acquire a medical marijuana card.
After you confirm all of the above, you need to pay the NJ Department of Health $200 for a two-year card which can be reduced to $20 for patients qualifying for state or federal assistance programs.
Where can you find a medical marijuana doctor in New Jersey?
NJ requires any doctor who is prescribing marijuana to be registered with the NJ Medical Marijuana Program. There are doctors registered with the Program scattered across NJ, find the one closes to you or ask the community which would be the best.
Where are the dispensaries in new Jersey?
Despite becoming medically legal in 2010, there is no abundance of medical dispensaries in NJ. There are currently five open, while a sixth is still pending.
You can find information on the Department of Health’s website.
What can I get from a dispensary in New Jersey?
Unlike the New York program, NJ allows the smoking and selling of marijuana in its raw plant form. In a legal New Jersey dispensary, you’ll find flowers, extracts, and vaporizers. Las year, New Jersey issued guidelines for dispensaries to follow if they wanted to be permitted to sell edibles so the dispensaries will soon have a regulated edible selection.
Are patients and distributors of Medical Marijuana protected from prosecution in New Jersey?
The Senate Bill 119 that was passed in 2010 protects patients who use marijuana to alleviate suffering from debilitating medical conditions, as well as their physicians, primary carivers, and those who are authorized to produce marijuana for medical purposes. Patients must keep their medical marijuana products in original packaging and must be under two ounces for patients to be safe from arrest.
The future of New Jersey’s Medical Marijuana Program:
The NJ Assembly may continue to add more serious ailments to the list of qualifying conditions. Edibles are cautiously being brought into NJ dispensaries, and more dispensaries will open shortly.
