New Jersey Medical Marijuana: Panel OKs 5 New Conditions

Are you suffering from “anxiety” or migraines in New Jersey? Then you’re on the brink of qualifying for medical marijuana, thanks to a Wednesday decision from the state’s Medicinal Marijuana Review Panel.

During a meeting in Trenton, the panel gave final approval to five new qualifying medical conditions for the state’s infamously strict medical marijuana program: anxiety, migraine, Tourette’s Syndrome, “chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders” and “chronic pain of visceral origin (related to internal organs).”

The panel voted unanimously to reject asthma and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Now there’s just one final hurdle remaining before anxiety and migraine patients can start seeking relief via cannabis: Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett.

Bennett, a Chris Christie appointee who has opposed legalized weed in the past, has up to 180 days to render a final decision about the five new qualifying conditions, a New Jersey Department of Health spokesperson told Patch on Thursday.

• See related article: US Marijuana Legalization Bill Would End 'War On Weed'

The panel previously met in May and gave a tentative go-ahead for the new qualifying conditions. After a 60-day waiting period to solicit public comments, the panel convened for a second time and gave final approval to the five new conditions on Wednesday, voting 5-1 in favor.

• See related article: FDA Calls Marijuana Ingredient ‘Beneficial,’ Wants To Know More

WHO QUALIFIES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN NJ?

Learn more about the New Jersey medical marijuana program and see a list of frequently asked questions for potential patients here.

Currently, patients with the following medical conditions may be eligible to receive medical marijuana in New Jersey:

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Terminal cancer
• Muscular dystrophy
• Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease
• Terminal illness (if the physician has determined a prognosis of less than 12 months of life)
• Seizure disorder, including epilepsy
• Intractable skeletal muscular spasticity
• Glaucoma
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Positive status for human immunodeficiency virus
• Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
• Cancer

New Jersey medical marijuana and cannabis advocates have been pushing to expand the list of qualifying conditions in a state that has been widely criticized for a lack of dispensary locations and shortages of both marijuana and doctors willing to prescribe it.

• See related article: New Jersey Activists Fight To Expand Medical Marijuana Program
• See related article: New Jersey Marijuana Patients Offer Human Side To Weed Debate

However, there may be some hope that some notoriously anti-pot state officials are open to expanding the list of qualifying conditions. For example, following years of protest and pleas from local cannabis activists, Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill in September that allows PTSD sufferers to use medical marijuana in New Jersey.

NJ MEDICAL POT: STILL GROWING

Earlier this year, pro-marijuana nonprofit Americans for Safe Access (ASA) released its annual report, which grades states with medical marijuana laws on factors such as “patient's rights,” “legal constraints” and “overall accessibility to medical cannabis.”

For 2017, New Jersey improved slightly to a “C” rating from last year’s study.

“While access to dispensaries remains limited, the state now has more dispensing locations, and continues to pass bills to improve the program,” ASA reported. “The state does well in the area of product safety, but has such a limited production base and supply that most patients do not receive the benefit of these regulations.”

In addition, New Jersey needs to add more production and distribution facilities for patients, while adding civil discrimination protections for patients in the areas of housing, employment, parental rights and organ transplants, the ASA report stated.

• See related article: New Jersey Medical Marijuana Program Gets ‘C’ Grade In Annual Study

In February, the NJ 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.

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

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