Marijuana Moment: New Jersey Now Allows Medical Marijuana Recommendations Via Telehealth Amid Coronavirus

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The attorney general of New Jersey announced on Tuesday that the state will immediately begin allowing patients to obtain medical marijuana recommendations remotely via telehealth services amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This comes months before voters in the state are set to decide on a referendum to legalize cannabis for adult use.

“Today, we are making it easier for patients to choose telehealth services for any reason, including to avoid an in-person visit due to the continuing risk of COVID-19,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal (D) said in a press release.

In-person healthcare services are being offered again in NJ, but telehealth remains a vital option. We’re making it easier for patients – including those with chronic pain & those qualifying for medical marijuana – to choose telehealth during #COVID19: https://t.co/VroRidnqIc

— AG Gurbir Grewal (@NewJerseyOAG) August 11, 2020

“New Jersey health care practices are again offering in-person services, but telehealth remains an important option for patients and providers,” he said. “Doctors who use telemedicine to prescribe CDS or authorize medical marijuana will be held to the same professional standards as for in-person visits and must comply with all of the important safeguards we have adopted to prevent diversion and misuse.”

The new administrative order on telehealth also applies to the prescription of controlled substances for chronic pain and it is set to last until the end of New Jersey’s coronavirus state of emergency or the end of a federal telemedicine allowance, whichever comes first.

New Jersey’s Department of Health also took a step to mitigate the spread of the virus in June by allowing medical cannabis dispensaries to deliver products to patients.

Delaware, Louisiana, Washington, D.C. and Jamaica have each made similar moves to free up medical marijuana deliveries amid the pandemic.

Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is supportive of more broadly legalizing marijuana and said last month that the policy change could simultaneously help the state recover economically from the COVID-19 outbreak while also promoting racial justice.

Voters in the state appear ready to make the change too, with nearly seven-in-10 residents voicing support for the referendum in a recent poll.

Separately, the Assembly approved a bill in June to decriminalize possession of up to two ounces of marijuana, though the Senate hasn’t acted on the proposal.

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Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

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