N.J. Medical Marijuana: Dispensaries Show Explosive Growth In 2016

There’s good news for medical marijuana patients in New Jersey: the state’s dispensaries more than doubled their cannabis output last year.

This week, the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH) released its annual report on the state’s medical marijuana program, which includes data on the grand totals of cannabis distributed at each of its five licensed dispensaries.

New Jersey’s licensed Alternative Treatment Centers – located in Montclair, Egg Harbor, Woodbridge, Cranbury and Bellmawr – dispensed more than 2,798 pounds of medical marijuana in 2016, according to the report.

Last year’s total represents a massive increase from 2015, when the five dispensaries combined to dispense just 1,229 pounds of cannabis, according to state statistics.

• See related article: 2015 N.J. Medical Marijuana Report Released

According to the DOH report:

• Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair served 172.5 pounds of product to 1,288 patients in 2016
• Compassionate Care Foundation in Egg Harbor served 450.9 pounds of product to 1,527 patients
• Garden State Dispensary in Woodbridge served 691.3 pounds of product to 2,687 patients
• Breakwater ATC in Cranbury served 494.2 pounds of product to 2,068 patients
• Compassionate Science ATC in Bellmawr served 884.9 pounds of product to 2,762 patients

The massive jump in weed production was fueled by the ATCs in Cranbury and Bellmawr, which received their initial permits midway through 2015 and only dispensed a combined 150 pounds of marijuana that year, according to state statistics.

Although the state’s dispensaries have ramped up their cannabis production, the number of registered medical marijuana patients in the Garden State is also on the rise.

Since the state’s patient registry opened in 2012, more than 12,500 qualifying patients have registered with the program, including 5,060 who signed up in 2016, the DOH report states.

According to the report, 1,470 patients have died since the program’s inception.

See the full 2016 report here.

QUALIFYING CONDITIONS, PHYSICIANS AND BUDGET

Other statistics from the 2016 report include:

• Since the inception of the program, 529 physicians have registered; of those physicians, 426 are active, 91 requested to be inactivated, and 12 were disapproved
• The state’s medical marijuana program has a $1.7 million budget for fiscal year 2017
• The most frequent qualifying conditions for medical marijuana since the program’s inception in 2012 are Intractable Skeletal Spasticity (38.61%), “Severe or Chronic Pain” (23.9%), and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (10.25%)
• There are 70 available strains of marijuana available at the state’s five dispensaries, including 11 high-CBD varieties
• About 45 percent of registered patients and caregivers receive a “reduced application fee” available to people who get New Jersey Medicaid, SNAP benefits, disability benefits or SSI/SSD benefits

Photo: Flickr Commons

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