Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Current law does not authorize the CRC to permit or regulate home cultivation of medicinal cannabis. We encourage you to speak with your legislators (lawmakers) about home grow.

No.  Only your participating health care provider can make any change to your authorization.

No. Medicinal cannabis treatment is not covered by any health plan in New Jersey. 

Talk with your health care practitioner about whether your recommendation can be considered during a covered office visit related to the qualifying medical condition you are being treated for with medicinal cannabis. 

Yes. Medicinal cannabis patients may smoke their medicine anywhere smoking is allowed. However, New Jersey’s Smoke Free Air Act prohibits smoking of any kind in most public spaces. Click here for more information.

Cannabis and employment is a complex issue. You can refer to N.J.S.A. C.24:6I-6.1 in the Jake Honig Act, and the 2020 New Jersey Supreme Court case, Wild v Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc.   

Questions about your employer’s policies on drug testing and how they apply to you should be directed to your human resources department and/or a lawyer specializing in employment law. 

Additionally, for questions on worker’s compensation and medical cannabis, you can refer to the 2021 New Jersey Supreme Court Case, Hager v. M & K Construction. 

This information is not intended to be legal advice.  It is best to seek the advice of counsel for all personal legal matters.

This is outside the NJ-CRC's purview.  Contact your local police department to determine what firearms regulations or requirements must be satisfied.

Medicinal and recreational cannabis smokers may smoke anywhere smoking is allowed.  However, there are limitations.  New Jersey's Smoke Free Air Act prohibits smoking of any kind in most public spaces.  Additionally, private property owners have the right to prohibit cannabis smoking on their property.  We advise you review and understand the terms of your lease/rental agreement.

We take patient privacy seriously and do not share enrollment information without patients’ expressed consent in writing. For patient information to be shared with a third party, patients must complete a Release of Records Form in the patient portal.

The approved medical conditions include: 

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Anxiety
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Dysmenorrhea
• Glaucoma 
• Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease
• Intractable skeletal muscular spasticity
• Migraine
• Multiple sclerosis
• Muscular dystrophy
• Opioid Use Disorder
• Positive status for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Seizure disorder, including epilepsy
• Terminal illness with prognosis of less than 12 months to live
• Tourette Syndrome

Visit out Medicinal Cannabis Program page for more information on eligibility.

Yes. Opioid use disorder qualifies as a standalone debilitating medical condition for the program.  Opioid use disorder patients may be eligible for medical cannabis to treat the opioid disorder itself, or if they suffer from chronic, painful withdrawal symptoms.

Ask if your current health care practitioner if they are participating in the program. If your provider is not registered with the Medicinal Cannabis Program, talk to them about registering.  Participating health care practitioners are not required to include their name on the public practitioner registry.  A public list of already participating practitioners is available here.

MCP patients may check their status in the portal to see if their application is being processed or under review, if we are awaiting your payment, or if your card has been printed and in the mail. A dialogue box will appear on the home screen as soon as you log into your account.

Most registrations cannot be expedited.  Exception to the regular registration process is reserved only for patients diagnosed with terminal cancer or who are otherwise terminally ill with a prognosis of less than 12 months to live as indicated in their recommendation by their health care provider.

Participation in the Medicinal Cannabis Program requires online registration.  Our patient services representatives are happy to walk you through the process if you need assistance setting up or accessing your account.  You may also ask your participating health care provider for help.

Your device may not be compatible with our website.  We recommend you try registering using a different device to make a payment.

Yes. Visiting patients can get a nonrenewable, six-month MCP card that will allow them to make purchases without state sales tax on cannabis and cannabis products, use patient-only lines, and purchase during patient-only hours at dispensaries. Out-of-state patients will need to consult with a registered New Jersey health care practitioner who will enroll them in our registry allowing them to register for a card with a current copy of their registration in the home state’s program. 

No. You may initiate renewal up to 60 days prior to your current card expiring.  Patients who currently have a physical ID card can request a free digital card during renewal. Physical cards carry a $10 charge.

According to N.J.A.C. 10 : 30A-2.2, A person applying for issuance or renewal of registration as a qualifying patient shall provide one recent passport-size color photo, taken against a white background.  No hat, glasses, or anything else that could obscure your features is allowed in the photo and it must have been taken no more than 30 days before you submit for renewal.

Remaining in the Medicinal Cannabis Program can provide several benefits to patients. Medicinal cannabis is prioritized over cannabis for recreational use, so there is always a supply for patients.  Working with a health care practitioner who oversees their treatment and recommends usage ensures that cannabis is being used effectively to address medical conditions. Patients may purchase up to 85 grams (3 oz) at a time every 30 days, while recreational consumers are only allowed to purchase 28.35 grams (1 oz) in a single transaction. Additionally, there is no sales tax for medicinal cannabis making it cheaper than recreational. Dispensaries that sell medicinal cannabis are also required to provide priority service to patients. See a full list of patients' rights in the Medicinal Cannabis Program here.

The maximum amount of medical cannabis that a qualifying patient or the patient’s designated caregiver is allowed by law to purchase is 85 grams (3 oz) for a 30-day period; however, your authorizing health care practitioner will determine your dosage.  Terminally ill patients are exempted from the maximum limits.  Visit our Medicinal Cannabis Program page for more information.

If your recommendation states that you can purchase up to 2 ounces per month, you have a maximum of 56 grams monthly allowance of cannabis products to purchase. There is a conversion table in the patient portal to help you calculate cannabis quantity conversions.

Yes. A patient or caregiver must present their MCP ID to the dispensary to purchase cannabis products available on the medical menu.  All patients have access to a digital MCP ID located in their portal once logged into it.  You may save a picture of the MCP ID to your device, print the PDF, or you may choose to pay a $10 registration fee to obtain a physical MCP ID. 

Yes, so long as you stay within the limit of your recommendation’s limit per month, you can purchase any combination of flower, concentrates, oil and/or ingestibles.

That would be 84 grams, or 3 ounces.

Yes, ingestibles are measured in milligrams rather than in grams.

Yes. A registered patient can designate up to two designated caregivers to assist with getting their medical cannabis.  Caregivers must be registered here in order to pick up medical cannabis from an ATC on behalf of a patient. 

Someone driving you to the ATC, but not assisting you inside does not need to register as a caregiver with the NJ-CRC.Visit our Caregivers page for information on eligibility and registration.

Anyone who experiences nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain whenever they consume cannabis (in any form) should contact their healthcare provider.  You may report the incident to the Medicinal Cannabis Program’s Customer Service unit using the incident form located in the patient portal or on our website for further investigation.

The NJ-CRC does not regulate pricing of cannabis products.  Cannabis businesses determine the pricing of products and is a business decision to offer any discounts to their consumers.

The state sales tax on medicinal cannabis is 0%. Municipal taxes vary up to 2%.

Yes. First you must create a user account and log into your portal to initiate registration.  Once you have initiated registration, you may visit a medical dispensary with your government issued ID. The medical dispensary will be able to look up your information in the Medicinal Cannabis Program registry.  Patients that are renewing are not eligible.

No. New Jersey law (C.24:6I-5.2) prohibits health care practitioners from having any interest or receiving any kind of compensation from a medicinal cannabis business.

All medical and recreational dispensaries have the option to offer delivery services.  Additionally, there are cannabis delivery services.  You can find licensed dispensaries and delivery services available by using our dispensary finder.

We take patient privacy seriously and do not share enrollment information without patients’ expressed consent in writing. For patient information to be shared with a third party, patients must complete a Release of Records Form in the patient portal.

Every patron must be at least 21 years of age with photo identification to enter a consumption area.

No. Consumption areas cannot sell food or beverages of any kind. Patrons may bring or order in food and drinks, but no alcohol.

No. Patrons are not permitted to bring in or consume any alcoholic beverages while in a consumption area.

No. Patrons may not bring in or consume tobacco products of any kind while inside a consumption area.

The rules regarding cannabis depend on whether patrons are bringing in medical or personal-use products. Patients must be allowed to take their medicinal cannabis into consumption areas. However, dispensaries can prohibit recreational users from bringing in their own cannabis. Dispensary operators must also make a good faith effort to ensure that only regulated cannabis items are allowed in the consumption areas.

Yes. Everyone’s tolerance level for cannabis is different. Dispensary operators and staff are required to make every effort not to overserve cannabis consumers – just as bartenders are required to do for bar patrons.

Similar to open container laws for alcohol, patrons are not allowed to leave a consumption area with open packages of cannabis. If the packaging is not resealable, the consumption area must provide take-home containers that comply with all packing requirements, or the product must be thrown away.