Secaucus Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens: Exclusive Tour

SECAUCUS, NJ — Patch took an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour Monday morning of the state medical marijuana dispensary in Secaucus, which just received its long-awaited permit from the state today.

With their permit finally in hand, Harmony Foundation flung open their doors Monday morning, June 18. They've only been open a few hours and already seen a steady stream of customers throughout the day.

Harmony is located at 600 Meadowlands Parkway, suite 15, inside an office complex. They have been trying to open for the past five years, but there were many delays in the approval process from the state. The Harmony Foundation is now the sixth, and final, medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey. Other facilities are located in Montclair, Egg Harbor, Woodbridge, Cranbury and Bellmawr. However, as Gov. Phil Murphy significantly expanded access to medical marijuana in New Jersey, more dispensaries will soon be requesting permits from the state to open.

What's it like inside?

The dispensary has an entryway and customers who walk in are first asked to show their medical marijuana card. There is a main room that resembles either a tea shop or an Apple store, with different varieties of marijuana displayed in glass jars. Customers can request their amount and pay at the counter.

Medical marijuana is not cheap: Prices at Harmony start at $60 for an eighth of an ounce and most purchases cost $100 or $200.

You must show a medical marijuana card to buy pot. The cards are given by the state of New Jersey. The Murphy administration has significantly loosened the requirements for who is approved for a card.

There is also a private consultation room where customers can consult with staff about different marijuana varieties that will suit their needs. Lounge music plays the entire time, and the dispensary feels like a low-key nightclub.

Harmony grows their own marijuana in large rooms in the back, but Patch was not allowed to tour the growing area. Video of where they grow the pot is below.

Medical marijuana advocates cheer the long-delayed opening, but said the pot is too expensive.

"We're really happy this opened today; it's definitely progress," said customer Edward "Lefty" Grimes, 50, an East Hanover resident. He was inside Harmony today and happily spoke to Patch. "But it is expensive. We'd like to see the state allow us to grow marijuana in our own homes, so we don't have to pay this much. If you ask anyone in here, the medicine is overpriced, and we can't afford it. We need home grow."

Grimes views marijuana as a welcome, better alternative to pharmaceuticals, particularly opioids and prescription painkillers, which he said he was addicted to for years.

"I have stenosis and pain in my back and spine. I fell and have an artificial disc in my back. I was on opiates for 10 years, including Oxycontin, 90 milligrams every three hours, which is an incredibly high dosage," he said. "It's very addictive and I wasn't sleeping. I was like a zombie for 10 years. As soon as I switched to cannabis, I was able to sleep eight hours a night."

"Cannabis got me off opiates. It was really helpful. I use it all day long," he said. "I advocate for other patients now."

Grimes thinks Gov. Chris Christie over-regulated medical marijuana and made it too difficult to get. He said he applauds what Gov. Murphy is doing.

Secaucus had no say in Harmony's opening

"Secaucus had no say in the medical marijuana dispensary opening here; it was determined by the state and we were chosen as one of the towns," Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli said earlier this year.

Not only has Gov. Murphy greatly expanded New Jersey's medical marijuana program, but he also promised during his campaign last fall to legalize recreational marijuana, as well.

Gonnelli disagreed, saying he did not want to see recreational marijuana stores opening in Secaucus. He told Patch earlier this year that if legalization does indeed forward in Trenton, the town may even pass an ordinance that would ban recreational marijuana shops from opening in Secaucus. Towns like Old Bridge and Chatham have passed similar measures.

"I don't think we would want that here in Secaucus," Gonnelli said, referring to recreational marijuana. "Let people go to Hoboken or Jersey City if they want to buy it."

Right now, legal recreational marijuana in New Jersey is stalled anyway, as Murphy does not have enough support in the state Legislature to change the law.

The Secaucus opening comes as New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program is growing at a rate of 100 patients a day, the state says. More than 23,200 New Jersey residents now have medical marijuana cards. A total of 5,000 new patients joined since Gov. Murphy expanded access to medical marijuana earlier this year, including adding five new qualifying medical conditions: anxiety, migraines, Tourette syndrome, chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders, and chronic visceral pain.

“The Murphy administration is committed to making New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana program more consumer-friendly and responsive to all patients,” said the state Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal. "The availability of this new (Secaucus location) will provide residents in the northern part of the state better access to products they need to treat their conditions.”

Harmony recently changed their hours: They are now open Sun-Thurs 9AM-8PM, Fri 9AM-5PM and are closed on Saturdays. Here is their website: https://www.harmonydispensary....

Why the delay in opening Harmony?

The other five facilities in the state have been open for months. Harmony wanted to open years ago, but the state said the operators failed their rigorous background checks, including checks into the owner's finances.

Christie's administration approved them to open in March 2011, but financial and criminal background checks were delayed when a Star-Ledger investigation uncovered bankruptcies among two of Harmony's operating members, the newspaper reported.

The Star Ledger also found ties to a cannabis training school in Colorado, where a medical adviser faced fraud allegations in New York.

The five other medical marijuana dispensaries in New Jersey are:

Greenleaf Compassion Center of Montclair

Compassionate Care Foundation of Egg Harbor

Garden State Dispensary of Woodbridge

Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center of Cranbury

Curaleaf NJ, Inc. in Bellmawr

All photos and reporting done by Carly Baldwin/Patch