News

11 Alternative Treatment Centers Statewide Permitted to Grow

The New Jersey Department of Health this week issued permits to three additional companies to begin growing medical marijuana. This brings the total number of cultivation permits issued as part of the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP)'s awards in December 2018 to five.

These permits were issued after comprehensive reviews including several site inspections, background checks of corporate officers and reviews of security operations and cultivation facilities.

“These new permits bring the total number of operational medical marijuana cultivation sites in New Jersey to 11,” Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said. “Thanks to regulatory changes and the signing of Jake Honig’s Law in July 2019, the Department has now added more than 50,000 new patients since the beginning of the Murphy administration, and these new sites will better serve patients statewide.”  

Three cultivation permits were issued to Verano in Readington, MPX NJ in Pleasantville and Columbia Care NJ in Vineland. After products are tested by the state laboratory and the dispensaries are operational and inspected by the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP), a second permit will be issued to operate and dispense as Alternative Treatment Centers (ATC).

When these companies receive permits to dispense, the MMP will notify patients and caregivers by email of each opening date. Dispensaries for the new ATCs, once permitted, will be located in Elizabeth (Verano), Vineland (Columbia Care) and Atlantic City (MPX).

There are seven ATCs currently dispensing medical marijuana: Greenleaf Compassion Center of Montclair, Compassionate Care Foundation of Egg Harbor, Garden State Dispensary of Woodbridge and Union Township, Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center of Cranbury, Curaleaf NJ, Inc. in Bellmawr, Harmony Dispensary in Secaucus and Rise in Paterson.

Program participation continues to grow. There are now 67,644 patients, 2,543 caregivers and 1,100 physicians participating in the program.

Patients and caregivers can visit the MMP's website if they choose to change their preferred ATC. The change can also be made by calling the Customer Service Unit of the MMP at 609-292-0424 and does not require changing ID cards.

Patients can refer to the FAQ section of the MMP website for additional information. Active physicians enrolled in the program are listed by county and medical specialty.

New Jersey residents interested in registering for the MMP can click here.

Follow the New Jersey Department of Health on Twitter @njdeptofhealth, Facebook /njdeptofhealth, Instagram@njdeptofhealth and Snapchat @njdoh.

For more information, visit our homepage at nj.gov/health.