New Jersey
77,392
Registered Patient Population |
0.87%
of Total Population Represented by Patients |
9
Total Medical Retail Locations Currently in Operation |
8,599 : 1
Patients : Retail |
Medical cannabis is legal in New Jersey, however patients cannot cultivate at home. Patients and caregivers may possess up to 2 ounces of flower or concentrates. Patients report high prices and few dispensaries present barriers to access. Visitors from out of state with a valid medical cannabis card have all the benefits of New Jersey Patients for a period of six months.
 Patient Rights and Civil Protection |
77/100 |
|
| Arrest Protection |
40/40 |
| Affirmative Defense |
13/15 |
| Parental Rights Protections |
0/10 |
| DUI Protections |
0/5 |
| Employment Protections |
5/5 |
| Explicit Privacy Standards |
7/7 |
| Housing Protections |
4/5 |
| Does Not Create New Criminal Penalties for Patients |
5/5 |
| Organ Transplants |
0/5 |
| Reciprocity |
3/3 |
|
|
Access to Medicine |
65/100 |
|
| Allows Distribution Programs |
30/40 |
| – Allows Access to Dried Flowers |
15/15 |
| – Allows Delivery |
5/5 |
| – No Sales Tax or Reasonable Sales Tax |
4/5 |
| – Allows for a Reasonable Number of Dispensaries |
2/5 |
| – Does Not Require Vertical Integration |
2/2 |
| – Ownership/Employment Restrictions |
2/2 |
| – Provisions for Labor Standards |
0/2 |
| – Environmental Impact Regulations |
0/2 |
| – Choice of Dispensary Without Restrictions |
0/2 |
| Noncommercial Cultivation |
0/20 |
| – Personal Cultivation |
0/15 |
| – Collective Gardening |
0/5 |
| Explicit Right to Edibles/Concentrates/Other Forms |
10/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans or Limits on THC |
7/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans on CBD |
10/10 |
| Local Bans/Zoning |
8/10 |
|
|
Ease of Navigation |
98/100 |
|
| Comprehensive Qualifying Conditions |
48/50 |
| Adding New Conditions |
10/10 |
| – Law/Regulations Allow for New Conditions |
5/5 |
| – System Works for Adding New Conditions |
5/5 |
| Reasonable Access for Minors |
10/10 |
| Reasonable Caregiver Background Checks |
4/4 |
| Number of Caregivers |
2/2 |
| Patient/Practitioner-Focused Task Force or Advisory Board |
2/2 |
| Reasonable Fees (Patients and Caregivers) |
10/10 |
| Allows Multiple-Year Registrations |
2/2 |
| Reasonable Physician Requirements |
5/5 |
| Does Not Classify Cannabis as a Medicine of Last Resort |
5/5 |
|
|
Functionality |
88/100 |
|
| Patients Able to Access Medicine at Dispensaries or by Cultivation |
45/50 |
| No Significant Administrative or Supply Problems |
14/15 |
| Patients Can Receive Legal Protections Within Reasonable Time Frame of Doctor's Recommendation |
8/10 |
| Reasonable Possession Limits |
4/5 |
| Reasonable Purchase Limits |
5/5 |
| Allows Patients to Medicate Where They Choose |
4/5 |
| Covered by Insurance/State Health Aid |
1/3 |
| Financial Hardship (Fee Waivers/Discount Medicine) |
7/7 |
|
|
Consumer Safety and Provider Requirements |
76.43/100 |
|
| Dispensing |
19.67/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility Sanitary Conditions |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Inventory Control |
1.25/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Product Labeling |
2.67/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency/Compound Identification |
1/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
2/5 |
| – Active Compound Identification |
1/1.67 |
| – Contaminants |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency |
1/1.67 |
| Grow/Cultivation |
20.09/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
2.84/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0/0.71 |
| – Storage Protocols (Short-Term and Long-Term Storage) |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0/0.71 |
| – Water Management |
0/0.71 |
| Pesticide Guidance |
4/5 |
| – Pesticide Guidance |
2/2.5 |
| – Pesticide Labeling |
2/2.5 |
| Required Testing |
3.25/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Contaminants |
1/1.25 |
| – Potency |
1/1.25 |
| – Sample Retention |
0/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Manufacturing |
19.67/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
1/1 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
1/1 |
| Product Labeling |
2.67/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency and Compound Information |
1/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
2/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1/1 |
| – Contaminants |
0/1 |
| – Potency |
1/1 |
| – Shelf Life Testing |
0/1 |
| – Sample Retention |
0/1 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Laboratory Operations |
17.00/25 |
| Staff Training |
3/5 |
| Method Validation in Accordance with AHP Guidelines |
0/5 |
| Result Reporting |
5/5 |
| Independent or Third Party |
4/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures and Protocols |
5/5 |
| – Equipment and Instrument Calibration |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Sample Tracking |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Storage Protocols |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0.83/0.83 |
|
|
Covid Response |
16/20
|
|
| Delivery Available? |
4/6
|
| Curbside Pickup Available? |
2/2
|
| Medical Cannabis Essential? |
7/7
|
| Telemedicine Available? |
3/5
|
|
| Excerpted from ASA's 2020 State of the States Report. |
In This Section
New Jersey lawmakers approved Senate Bill 119 on January 11, 2010 by a vote of 48-14 in the state House and 25-13 in the state Senate; it was signed into law by then-Governor Jon Corzine on January 18, 2010.
New Jersey residents registered with the Department of Health and Senior Service’s Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) are protected from "arrest, prosecution, property forfeiture, and criminal and other penalties." Those protections extend to qualifying patients, their physicians, primary caregivers, and individuals licensed to cultivate and distribute medical cannabis. DHSS is to license six “alternative treatment centers” in the state, two each in the northern, central, and southern regions of the state.
Medical professionals recommending medical cannabis must hold an active New Jersey Medical license in good standing issued by the NJ Board of Medical Examiners, possess an active controlled dangerous substances registration issued by the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs that is not subject to limitation and practice within the State of New Jersey.
The State of Medical Marijuana in New Jersey
