Medical marijuana availability growing in New Jersey

New Jersey has seven medical marijuana dispensaries.

Two opened in the last year, and more are likely to open this year, said Sarah Trent, CEO of Valley Wellness, a medical marijuana dispensary that recently applied for a medical cannabis dispensary permit from the state Department of Health.

Last week, the DOH issued permits to three additional companies to begin growing medical marijuana, bringing the total number of cultivation permits issued in New Jersey to five.

According to the DOH, the dispensaries in the Garden State are: Greenleaf Compassion Center of Montclair, Compassionate Care Foundation of Egg Harbor, Garden State Dispensary of Woodbridge and Union Township, Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center of Cranbury, Curaleaf NJ in Bellmawr, Harmony Dispensary in Secaucus and Rise in Paterson.

Program participation continues to grow. There are now 67,644 patients, 2,543 caregivers and 1,100 physicians participating in the program, according to the DOH.

“This is a significant increase, up from about 17,000 since Gov. (Phil) Murphy took office,” Trent said.

Murphy in July signed a bill that overhauled New Jersey’s medical marijuana program, eliminating restrictions that advocates said threw wrenches in patients’ bids to find relief. [Read more at My Central Jersey]