NJ Approves First Marijuana Dispensary

New Jersey’s first licensed medical marijuana dispensary has been approved for operation and is expected to open its doors by year's end, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

 

The Greenleaf Compassion Center received its state permit on Monday and plans to open in Montclair once renovations to a shop that had sold drug paraphernalia is completed. A city inspection will also have to take place before the doors can open and the state health department will have to test the marijuana before it can be sold.

 

New Jersey Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd said photo identifications will be sent out to 190 people who registered with the state after their doctors certified marijuana would help their medical conditions. She said another 130 people are still working on their registrations, which will enable them to fill prescriptions for the drug.

 

Medical marijuana is still banned by federal law, but New Jersey is one of 17 states that allow it. Federal authorities generally don't enforce the ban if state laws are obeyed and the drug is dispensed only to the ill.