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Paterson Business Could Be NJ's Newest Medical Marijuana Dispensary

A Paterson business was among six in New Jersey that were selected to apply for permits to join the state's medical marijuana program. If all are approved, the program would double in size.

If approved, the six businesses would double the size of New Jersey's medical marijuana program.

If approved, the six businesses would double the size of New Jersey's medical marijuana program.

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Cecilia Levine
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Two applicants were chosen for the north, central and southern parts of the state, ensuring patients have better access to pain-relieving medicine.

Applicants include:

  • NETA NJ, LLC, Phillipsburg
  • GTI New Jersey, LLC, Paterson
  • Verano NJ LLC, Elizabeth (Dispensary), Rahway (Cultivation Site)
  • Justice Grown, Ewing
  • MPX New Jersey, Atlantic City (Dispensary), Galloway (Cultivation)
  • Columbia Care New Jersey, Vineland

The move comes months after Gov. Phil Murphy's call for an expansion of the medical marijuana program, which already includes six dispensaries. 

The 146 applications were reviewed by a six-person committee consisting of four NJ Department of Health (DOH) representatives and one each from the departments of agriculture and treasury. Their expertise included medical marijuana, ATC regulation, lab testing, plant science, diversity and procurement. 

This selection process was an objective and data-driven in which the committee scored the applications before the DOH chose the top scorers in each region. 

Some applicants applied for more than one region but the department only allowed one applicant per region.

Before being approved to grow medical marijuana, the applicants must pass background checks, provide evidence of a dispensary location and municipal approval, and comply with all regulations under the Division of Medical Marijuana, including safety and security requirements.

The DOH will make all 146 applications available for public review next year. The winning applications will be posted first.

"We are committed to an equitable expansion of supply to meet growing patient demand," said Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal, "and these new locations will reach patients that currently have to travel longer distances to obtain the therapy.”

As part of the application process, applicants were required to identify the region of the state where they would operate an Alternative Treatment Center (ATC). There were 50 applicants for the northern region, 45 in the central region and 51 in the southern region.

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