What to Know
- New Jersey is seeking applicants to operate as many as 108 new medical marijuana businesses
- The state Health Department announced that applications for the new licenses will be available July 1 and must be submitted by Aug. 15
- It marks the first time the state will issue separate licenses for growers, processors and retailers
New Jersey is seeking applicants to operate as many as 108 new medical marijuana businesses.
The state Health Department announced Monday that the applications for the new licenses will be available July 1 and must be submitted by Aug. 15.
It marks the first time the state will issue separate licenses for growers, processors and retailers.
The state will license as many as 38 marijuana businesses in the state's northern region, up to 38 more in the central region and 32 in the southern region. Of those 108 licenses, the state wants as many as 24 growers, 30 processors and 54 retailers.
The number of alternative treatment center (ATC) applicants — as well as the needs for each region — are based on the Department’s assessment of patient need as well as the general population of the state and its regions, according to the Department of Health.
“We are at a point where patients just cannot wait any longer for easily accessible, affordable therapy. This request for applications allows for specialization of businesses to increase medical product in our state,” said New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal.
Local
New Jersey currently has six medical marijuana businesses in operation, and they all grow, process and sell marijuana in-house. Six other providers were selected last year but haven't been licensed yet.
In March 2018, the state's added five additional illnesses to the list of medical conditions that qualify patients for medical marijuana. Subsequently, in January 2019, the Department added one more condition, Opioid Use Disorder.
Since the addition of those conditions, which include two types of chronic pain, anxiety, migraine and Tourette’s syndrome, the program has added 30,000 new patients, bringing the current total patient count to 47,500, according to the state's health officials.
