Get Your New Jersey Medical Marijuana Card

Next steps after approval

Congrats on getting your medical marijuana certification! You’re almost there, but there are a few more steps to get your New Jersey medical marijuana card. Let’s dive in!

Before You Start: You’ll need

• Attending Healthcare Practitioner’s Statement
• A valid photo ID

Complete Medical Marijuana Card Application: Log into the New Jersey Medical Marijuana Program to submit your doctor’s certificate and application within 60 days!

Receive Card: You will receive your digital medical card within 48 hours of your state application’s approval.

Start Shopping: Once you’ve received your medical marijuana card, you can legally purchase products from a licensed medical marijuana dispensary.

How to renew your New Jersey medical marijuana card

A medical marijuana card must be renewed every two years in New Jersey. You’ll want to start the renewal process before your card expires to make the renewal process as easy as possible.

What you can expect:

1. Sign in to Leafwell or register as a renewal patient here if you’re new to Leafwell.
2. Speak to a New Jersey-licensed healthcare provider online.
3. Get approved and you may or may not need to submit a new application with the state

See our New Jersey renewal page for more detailed information about renewing New Jersey medicinal marijuana cards.

*Please be advised that the New Jersey Medical Cannabis Program switched to a NEW Patient Registry platform on 9/13/2022. All existing patients must create a user account to be able to access the registry. You will need the Registry ID number and Reference number found on your Attending Healthcare Practitioner’s Statement. You will not need to create a user account for subsequent renewals.

Legal limitations for NJ cardholders

Here are a few need-to-know medical marijuana laws in New Jersey.

• Patients may not operate, navigate, or control any vehicle, aircraft, railroad train, or stationary heavy equipment vessel while under the influence of marijuana.
• Public Consumption Not Allowed: Patients cannot smoke medical marijuana:
• • On a school bus or public transportation.
  • In a private vehicle, unless the vehicle is not in operation.
  • In any correctional facility.
  • On school grounds.
  • In any public park, beach, or recreation center.
• Employee Protections for Cardholders: There are also protections for MMJ cardholders in the workplace.

In May 2020, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that medical cannabis patients could not be fired for failing a drug test.

However, being a medical cannabis patient doesn’t mean you do not have to comply with your employer’s drug testing policies.

Questions about your company’s rules about medical marijuana use should be directed to your human resources department.

• Recreational Use is Legal: Recreational marijuana is legal for adults over 21 in New Jersey. If you do not qualify for the New Jersey medical cannabis program but are over 21, you can get recreational marijuana from a licensed dispensary.
• Cultivation is Not Allowed for Recreational Users: New Jersey medical marijuana patients age 21 or older, or caregivers on behalf of the qualifying patient, may grow or possess up to 10 cannabis plants for personal medical use, with a maximum of 12 plants per household. Cultivation is not allowed for recreational users at this time.
• Product Limitations for NJ Consumers: While pills, capsules, and other consumable forms of cannabis are permitted, products that resemble food can not be sold to medical patients or adult consumers.

How to become a caregiver in New Jersey

Patients under 18 or those unable to manage medical cannabis themselves may select a designated caregiver to assist with their use of medical marijuana.

• A primary caregiver is a person at least 18 who has agreed to assist with a registered qualifying patient’s medical use of marijuana.
• The primary caregiver must have proof of New Jersey residency and have no convictions for drug offenses. A doctor cannot serve as a caregiver.
• Caregivers may provide for more than one patient at a time, and a minor can have up to two caregivers.

Can you use a New Jersey medical card in other states?

New Jersey offers medical marijuana reciprocity to cardholders from other states with medical programs.

Medical cardholders from other states can be considered to be qualifying patients under New Jersey’s medical marijuana program for up to six months while they are visiting the state.

Anyone over 21 can also use recreational cannabis in the state.

Other states that will recognize the medical card of New Jersey cannabis patients include:

• Arizona
• Arkansas *
• Delaware
• Hawaii *
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Michigan (at the dispensary’s discretion)
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• Oklahoma *
• Puerto Rico
• Rhode Island
• U.S. Virgin Islands *
• Utah * (up to two 21-day periods in a calendar year)
• Washington, D.C.

*Visitors must complete a visiting patient application with the New Jersey medicinal cannabis program.

Minor NJ medical cannabis patient information

A registered healthcare practitioner in the Medicinal Cannabis Program can authorize cannabis use by a registered minor patient.

Minor patients require a parent/legal guardian as the primary caregiver (can have up to two caregivers) and only have to be seen by one (1) doctor.

Minors do not require an ID, only a photo. The caregiver however will need to provide a valid form of ID.

If the registered healthcare practitioner is not trained in the care of pediatric patients, they must obtain written confirmation that the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefits from the medical use of cannabis to treat or alleviate symptoms associated with their medical condition.

The written confirmation is due at the time the Attending Health Care Provider Authorization is executed in order for the application to be reviewed.
The authorizing healthcare provider must also explain the risks and benefits of the medicinal use of cannabis to the minor patient and to the minor patient’s parent or legal custodian.

The pediatric healthcare provider does not need to be registered with the New Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Program in order to provide that written confirmation.

Minor Patient Registration (Leafwell/State):

• Minors need to provide medical records when registering with Leafwell.
• The patient and caregiver will consult with a Leafwell provider, who will add the caregiver information when submitting the patient’s recommendation.
• Minor patients will need to provide a photo during state registration, however, they will not receive an identification card.
• Minor patients will NOT receive an ID card, but the caregiver will. In the event a minor turns the age eighteen (18), they will receive a new ID as an adult patient along with new IDs for their caregiver(s) free of charge.