TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey has added 1,500 people to its medical cannabis program in the last month.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced the addition on Tuesday, May 1, 2018. The figure includes 1,000 new patients who have one of five new eligible medical conditions that the first-term governor added in March.
The program now serves 20,000 patients overall.
Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal says the changes show there was “pent-up demand.”
Murphy expanded the program in March 2018. The newly covered conditions are anxiety, migraines, Tourette’s syndrome, chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders, and chronic visceral pain.
Murphy also says a treatment center in Bellmawr has been approved to expand and five requests are pending from three other centers to open satellite locations.
Murphy also supports legalizing recreational marijuana but legislation has not yet advanced.The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has regarded Murphy, who was elected to succeed Republican Chris Christie in November 2017, as one of the most pro-cannabis governors in the US. He was one of only two governors — the other being Oregon Democrat Kate Brown — to receive “A” grades in NORML’s 2108 US Governors Scorecard. NORML graded governors based upon their public statements of support or opposition about cannabis and the policies they enacted or vetoed.
