New Jersey‘s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed by outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine on January 18, 2010, but patients could not register until August 9, 2012, and the first legal sale did not happen until December 6, 2012, at Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair. The nearly three-year gap made New Jersey a case study in how a medical marijuana law can exist on paper long before patients can use it.
What Happened
Corzine signed S. 119 on his last day in office. The law covered a fixed list of conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorders, ALS, severe muscle spasms, muscular dystrophy, inflammatory bowel and Crohn’s disease, and terminal illness, and let the health department add more. It did not allow home growing. Patients had to buy from state-permitted nonprofit “alternative treatment centers,” with an initial cap of six (Cannabis in New Jersey). In 2011 the New York Times described it as the strictest of the 16 medical marijuana laws then on the books.
When we reported in August 2012 that New Jersey was finally accepting patient applications, the state’s online registry had just opened, on August 9, 2012. Registration cost $200 for two years, or $20 for patients on Medicaid, SSI, disability and other benefit programs (NJ Department of Health, 2014 annual report). Greenleaf’s CEO, Joe Stevens, a former funeral director, told Philadelphia Magazine he expected to open shortly after Labor Day. The state also capped THC at 10% and required lab testing (Philadelphia Magazine).
Why the Rollout Took So Long
Corzine’s successor, Gov. Chris Christie, took office the day after the bill signing and was openly skeptical of medical marijuana. Rules took more than a year to write. Christie then paused the program while seeking assurance that state workers would not face federal prosecution, a period when U.S. attorneys in several states were warning about large dispensaries. In July 2011 he announced the program could go forward. Background checks of each treatment center’s owners and funding, local zoning fights and the scramble to find towns willing to host a grow site added months more. Greenleaf received its cultivation permit on April 16, 2012, and its final permit on October 15, 2012.
Early 2012 stories, including one we ran in March, predicted sales by year’s end. That turned out to be right, barely.
What Happened Next
Greenleaf began dispensing on December 6, 2012, by appointment only and with a half-ounce limit per patient at first. The other centers came slowly: Compassionate Care Foundation in Egg Harbor began dispensing October 28, 2013, and Garden State Dispensary in Woodbridge on November 22, 2013. By the end of 2014, 3,727 patients had registered in a state of nearly 9 million people, and Greenleaf had dispensed on only 78 days that year (NJ Department of Health). Low enrollment was blamed on cost, few participating doctors and the narrow list of conditions. Christie called medical programs “a front for legalization” in 2014, though he signed bills easing access for sick children (2013) and adding PTSD (2016).
The turnaround came under Gov. Phil Murphy. Executive action in 2018 broadened the qualifying conditions, and in July 2019 he signed the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, which raised purchase limits, opened the door to many more licenses and moved oversight to a new Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Voters then approved adult-use legalization with 67% in November 2020.
Where It Stands in 2026
The program the 2010 act created survives as the Medicinal Cannabis Program run by the NJ-CRC, alongside adult-use sales. Home growing is still illegal for patients and adults alike. For current possession limits, taxes and how medical access works today, see our New Jersey marijuana laws guide and our guide to getting a medical marijuana card. For how other states handled the same slow-rollout problem, see our histories of Massachusetts Question 3 and Maryland’s 2011 law.
New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act FAQ
When did New Jersey legalize medical marijuana?
Gov. Jon Corzine signed the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act on January 18, 2010. Patient registration opened August 9, 2012.
What was New Jersey’s first medical marijuana dispensary?
Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair, which began dispensing on December 6, 2012.
Could patients grow their own under the 2010 law?
No. The act required patients to buy from state-permitted alternative treatment centers, and home growing remains illegal in New Jersey in 2026.
What replaced the Compassionate Use Act?
It was expanded rather than replaced. The Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act of 2019 amended it, and the program now runs under the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.