New Jersey Expands Medical Marijuana Program
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law today that significantly expands the state’s medical cannabis program, including a regulatory framework that could accommodate broader legalization in the future.
The new law creates a Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) with five full-time members to oversee the medical marijuana industry, instead of the state Department of Health. The CRC will develop and approve applications for cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers and dispensaries.
The governor called the law “a big step forward for compassion,” noting that patients who are terminally ill or in hospice care will no longer be subject to limits on how much prescribed marijuana may be dispensed to them. The amount of marijuana that may be dispensed to other patients increases to 3 ounces a month.
New Jersey currently has only six marijuana dispensaries; the new law will allow 28 additional facilities statewide. The law also phases out the state sales tax on medical marijuana.
