New Jersey’s first medical marijuana dispensary received its final permit this week, as we reported yesterday, and the shop is now able to open whenever it is ready to begin operations.

Jersey’s first medical marijuana dispensary is three years in the making, with state and local officials “wrangling” over the implementation of a legal cannibis sale shop. And as per federal laws, the dispensary isn’t entirely in the clear, as legal state dispensaries are continually under fire and subject to federal raids due to the conflict in laws at certain levels.

However, Joe Stevens, chief executive officer of the soon-to-open dispensary in Montclair, is not letting the specter of federal interference get in the way of his plans to bring the benefits of medical marijuana to the residents of New Jersey — a state in which, let’s face it, getting high is not all that unappealing of an option. Stevens says:

“This has been a work in progress for several years and it’s heartwarming to know we will soon be able to serve the patients of New Jersey who have waited so patiently.”

State Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd said Jersey’s first medical marijuana dispensary has registered 190 patients thus far and that 130 patients are still registering in order to obtain medical marijuana for a range of conditions.

Of the 320 patients who have either registered for or are in the process of registering for legal medical marijuana in New Jersey, O’Dowd says that a little more than half have paid the reasonable $200 fee for two years of use of the dispensary. Forty-eight percent meet low-income guidelines and need to pay only $20 for their access.

O’Dowd says:

“This permit marks a significant step forward in the implementation of New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program and allows Greenleaf Compassion Center to begin dispensing medicinal marijuana to qualified patients.”

Six other non-profits plan to follow New Jersey’s first medical marijuana dispensary in the coming months and years.

Jersey’s First Legal Marijuana Shop Can Now Open ‘Whenever It’s Ready,’ There Is Now A Reason To Enter NJ is a post from: The Inquisitr