New Jersey

Under the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act and CRC regulations, the following New Jersey-licensed practitioners may register with and participate in the New Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Program:

• Doctors of medicine (MD)
• Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO)
• Physician assistants (PA)
• Nurse practitioners, referred to in the statute as advanced practice nurses (APN)

To be eligible, all practitioners must:

• Hold an active license in good standing issued in New Jersey
• Possess an active, unlimited Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS) registration with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
• Have an active, physical practice within the state

Out-of-state practitioners are not eligible to register with the NJMCP, regardless of licensure status in their home state.

All healthcare practitioners must register with the NJMCP through the CRC before authorizing patients. Registration is completed through the New Healthcare Provider Registration portal.

Once registered, practitioners access the Healthcare Provider Portal to register patients, update patient authorizations, transfer patients to their practice, and manage staff access. Office staff may be added to a practitioner's registry account through the "Add User" function after log-in.

A Healthcare Provider Portal User Guide is available from the CRC.

Bona fide relationship requirement:

To register a patient, the practitioner must have ongoing responsibility for the assessment, care, and treatment of the patient's qualifying medical condition, and one of the following must be satisfied:

• The healthcare provider-patient relationship has existed for at least one year, or
• The healthcare provider has seen and/or assessed the patient for the medical condition on at least four visits, or
• The healthcare provider assumes responsibility for providing management and care of the patient's medical condition after conducting a comprehensive medical history and physical examination, including a personal review of the patient's medical record maintained by other treating providers, reflecting the patient's reaction and response to conventional medical therapies.

INITIAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

No cannabis-specific initial education or training requirement has been identified for New Jersey practitioners seeking to register with the NJMCP. 

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Anxiety
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Dysmenorrhea
• Glaucoma
• Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease
• Intractable skeletal muscular spasticity
• Migraine
• Multiple sclerosis
• Muscular dystrophy
• Opioid Use Disorder
• Positive status for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Seizure disorder, including epilepsy
• Sickle cell anemia
• Terminal illness with a prognosis of less than 12 months to live
• Tourette Syndrome

Any additional conditions beyond the enumerated list may be approved by the Commission under N.J.S.A. 24:6I-3.

Step 1: Confirm your NJMCP registration is current and that you have an active, unlimited CDS registration with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

Step 2: Confirm a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship exists, satisfying one of the three pathways described above.

Step 3: Evaluate the patient and determine that they have a qualifying medical condition. Telemedicine evaluations are permitted for this purpose. The CRC Healthcare Providers FAQ confirms that healthcare providers may use telemedicine to conduct an evaluation, make a diagnosis, and manage the treatment of a patient's qualifying condition.

Step 4: Explain the potential risks and benefits of medical cannabis to the patient and document this discussion in the patient's medical record. For minor patients, this explanation must also be provided to the minor's parent or legal custodian, and must be documented in the record.

Step 5: For minor patients only, if you are not trained in the care of pediatric patients, obtain written confirmation from a pediatric-trained healthcare practitioner affirming that the minor patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the medical use of cannabis. This written confirmation must be in hand at the time you execute the authorization. The confirming pediatric practitioner does not need to be registered with the NJMCP.

Step 6: Issue the Authorizing Healthcare Practitioner Statement through the CRC provider portal. The statement will generate a reference ID and registry ID for the patient to use to complete their own registration. It will also specify the patient's 30-day cannabis allotment, up to the program maximum. You may adjust the patient's authorized allotment at any time by logging into the portal.

Step 7: Maintain documentation of your evaluation, qualifying condition determination, and authorization in the patient's medical record consistent with your licensing board's documentation standards and N.J.A.C. 17:30A.

Note on billing: Medicinal cannabis treatment is not covered by any health insurance plan or Medicaid in New Jersey. However, a cannabis authorization visit may be billed to a patient's insurance as a covered office visit related to the qualifying medical condition, consistent with standard billing practices.

A patient's registry ID card and program registration are valid for two years, as established under the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act (C.24:6I-4). Patients must renew their registration with the CRC within that two-year period to maintain an active status.

The practitioner authorization is separate from the patient's registry renewal. As confirmed by the CRC Healthcare Providers FAQ, the authorizing practitioner determines how often the patient requires a new authorization based on clinical judgment. You may update a patient's authorization, including their allotment, at any time by logging in to the provider portal.

Medical professionals have a legal right to recommend cannabis as a treatment in any state, as protected by the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (Title III section 301) which became law on December 2, 2022, and the First Amendment (established by a 2004 United States Supreme Court decision to uphold earlier federal court rulings that doctors, and their patients have a fundamental Constitutional right to freely discuss treatment options).

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