On December 6, 2012, medical marijuana finally began to be available to patients in New Jersey who have enrolled in the state’s Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP) and who have a state-issued ID card.  Marijuana is being sold on an appointment-only basis from Greenleaf Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) in Montclair, NJ.  Greenleaf is the only ATC in the state that is currently open.
 
In order to begin the registration process, patients must have a Reference Number that was provided to them by a physician who has registered with the Department of Health and with whom the patient has a bona fide doctor-patient relationship. 

The “New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" became law in January 2010.  It went into effect on October 1, 2010. 

For a copy of the law, see: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/PL09/307_.PDF 

The law removes the state-wide penalties for the possession and use of up to two ounces of marijuana a month when a New Jersey licensed physician recommends it for a patient with one of the qualifying medical conditions.  Qualifying medical conditions include cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, etc. 

The physician must have an on-going responsibility for the patient’s condition.  Patients may be issued ID cards in the program run by the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH).  Patients may designate a caregiver to assist them with obtaining and using the marijuana.

The caregiver must also register with DOH and must undergo a criminal background check. The marijuana will be obtained from Alternative Treatment Centers were to be set up in the north, central and southern parts of the state.  The ATCs will be tightly regulated by the NJ DOH and the Department of Law and Public Safety.  New Jersey and Delaware are unique among the 18 medical marijuana states in that they prohibit home cultivation of medical marijuana.

 Wasting precious time for medicinal marijuana program