Only New Jersey-licensed healthcare practitioners with active practices in the state are allowed to recommend medical cannabis for patients. Such providers may be physicians, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners.
Yes. You must see a medical marijuana doctor to obtain an authorizing provider statement before you may use medical marijuana in New Jersey. The statement is not in a prescription in itself but is required to complete your registration with the New Jersey medical cannabis program to be recognized as a legal medical cannabis user in the state.
Unlike adult patients, minors (patients under 18) must obtain their authoring provider statements from a healthcare practitioner trained in the care of pediatric patients. Alternatively, a minor may schedule an appointment with a medical provider who can obtain written confirmation that the patient will receive palliative or therapeutic benefits from medical cannabis use from a pediatrician following the pediatrician’s review of the minor patient's medical record or current condition. Note that the pediatric healthcare provider is not required to be registered with the New Jersey medical cannabis program in order to provide the written attestation.
Only a healthcare provider who meets the following criteria may recommend medical cannabis in New Jersey:
Note that healthcare providers are also required to have bona fide physician-patient relationships with the patients. They must also provide ongoing assessments and treatments of the patients' medical conditions. Out-of-state medical marijuana practitioners are not allowed to recommend medical cannabis in New Jersey.
Yes. The New Jersey medical cannabis regulatory commission maintains a list of registered medical marijuana doctors under its medical cannabis program on its website. The list contains the name, specialty, county, and address of each healthcare practitioner. The list is not exhaustive, as the state's medical marijuana program allows healthcare providers to remove themselves from the public directory.
You can use the Find a Doctor tool on the NJMCP website to locate a medical marijuana doctor near you. The tool allows you to search for medical marijuana doctors by specialty, name, city, or physical address. Alternatively, you can click on a county on the map provided on the page to locate a healthcare practitioner in your area.
Yes. New Jersey medical marijuana doctors may schedule appointments with qualifying patients via telemedicine. The state’s telehealth rules allow medical assessments for issuing medical cannabis recommendations to be conducted via telemedicine. Telemedicine allows patients to consult with healthcare providers from the comfort of their own homes, eliminating the need for travel and the associated time and expenses.
The maximum amount of medical cannabis that a medical marijuana doctor can recommend to a patient over a 30-day period is 84 grams. The patient’s authorizing healthcare practitioner will also determine the dosage of the medical cannabis supply. Note that terminally ill patients under the New Jersey medical cannabis program are exempted from the 84-gram limit.