If there’s one thing that’s certain when it comes to medical marijuana is that it is growing in popularity all over the world and that has been the case over the past couple of years. According to the statistics, it is expected to increase in the next several years.
And all of this comes as no surprise since a lot of people have finally realized how beneficial it can be for a variety of health conditions, including both physical and mental, such as depression, anxiety, inflammation, epilepsy, and many others.
Fortunately, even those who reside in New Jersey can obtain it with the help of medical marijuana card. If you’re not familiar with how this entire system functions, then scroll below to uncover.
Laws & Regulations Regarding Medical Marijuana
Over ten years ago, to be more precise, in 2010, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was first signed into law. Precisely then, New Jersey becomes the fourteenth state in the United States that decided to legalize cannabis for medical purposes.
Furthermore, the New Jersey medical marijuana patient registry welcomed residents eleven years ago and was amended in 2013 and 2019 with the goal to incorporate provisions for pediatric patients.
Four years ago, in June, New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy signed NJ A20, also known as Jake’s Law to restore the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Its main goal was to supervise the state’s medical marijuana program and monitor the amount of medical marijuana that patients with medical cards can buy every single month.
Patients who are 18 years old or older with doctor’s recommendations, or minor patients with legal guardians can obtain up to three ounces of medical cannabis each month from a New Jersey Alternative Treatment Center, or medical cannabis dispensary.
On the flip side, people who are terminally ill, or hospice patients do not have any restrictions when it comes to the amount of medical marijuana they can acquire. Permitted forms of medical marijuana include vape, flower, oral lozenges, and topicals.
Application Process
Before I further dive into this topic, I would like to remind you of one thing once again. If you want to know how a medical marijuana card in New Jersey can be acquired, you should know that you must be at least eighteen years old and you must be capable of providing residency with two forms (at least) of identification, including state identification card or driver’s license. So how does this whole process work?
First, you must book an appointment with a healthcare provider in the Veriheal network. Once you’re approved by the state-certified doctor, you will then get the NJMMP Registry ID, along with the Reference Number from the physician which you will later employ to register with the state of New Jersey.
In order to demonstrate your residency, you must take the steps that I’m about to enumerate below:
- Provide passport-style picture
- Valid NJ state ID
- Current utility bill/info (this refers to the last three months)
In the next thirty days, the NJ DOH is going to contact you through email where you will receive your approval information. If you’re approved, you will have to give $50 for the state registration fee, and then you can expect to receive your card in the next seven to ten business days. Once you get your card, you can buy medical cannabis from the local NJ dispensaries.
Medical Conditions That Enable You To Get a Medical Marijuana Card
Keep in mind that not everyone is qualified to receive this card. In order to get it, you must be suffering from the following health conditions:
- Acquired Deficiency Syndrome, known as AIDS
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
- Anxiety
- Cancer
- Cachexia, also known as wasting syndrome
- Chronic pain
- Dysmenorrhea
- Glaucoma
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- Inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Chron’s disease)
- Intractable skeletal spasticity
- Migraine
- Multiple sclerosis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Opioid use disorder, known as OUD
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Seizure disorder, including epilepsy
- Terminal disease
- Tourette syndrome
I would like to remind you once again, that along with having any of these aforementioned health conditions, you must be a resident of New Jersey and at least eighteen years old. Apart from that, you must also prove that you live in Garden State and that you have a valid identification card or driver’s license, as well as another document showcasing your valid address.
This medical marijuana card expires after two years, however, you can be re-certified by a licensed doctor every year.
Registering A Caregiver
If it’s necessary, you can decide to have a caregiver (of course, this refers to the ones who have a medical cannabis certification). When is that permissible? If by any chance, you suffer from a health condition that is so serious that you aren’t capable of physically going to the alternative therapy centre all by yourself, then you can always opt for a caregiver. You can choose to have up to two caregivers.
So what does it mean? It means that your caregiver can purchase medical marijuana from the alternative therapy centre without your presence. So who can be selected as a caregiver? It can be anyone who is close to you, like a family member, friend, etc.
During registering, you can add a caregiver whenever you want, however, keep in mind that this person must go through the same process as you did in order to acquire this card.
Aside from that, your caregiver is obligated to submit fingerprints just to see if he or she has any criminal record. Once that individual has begun internet registration, the fingerprinting forms will be at his or her disposal.
In addition, the selected caregivers are obligated to be at least eighteen years old and must be residents of New Jersey, and of course, to agree to aid you to utilize medical marijuana to enhance your well-being.
Based on the facts that were provided here, it’s easy to see that this entire process isn’t as complicated as some may think it is. In order to prevent forgetting something, please make sure to go through this guide one more time.