New Jersey received 146 applications for six new medical marijuana licenses, an expansion that will double the number of MMJ businesses in a rapidly growing market.
Applicants had to identify the region of the state where they would like to operate an MMJ business, which New Jersey calls alternative treatment centers.
There were 50 applicants in the northern region, 45 in the central and 51 in the southern.
New Jersey Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal said in a tweet Wednesday that the state would be looking for:
- Diversity.
- An ability to ramp up production responsibly.
- A good professional track record.
The state previously said it expects to select the winning applicants by Nov. 1.
In March, New Jersey added five qualifying medical conditions, including two kinds of chronic pain, anxiety, migraine and Tourette syndrome.
The program now serves 30,000 patients, according to the state Department of Health, nearly double from 16,000 at the end of 2017.
The Marijuana Business Factbook 2018 projects that New Jersey MMJ sales this year will total $30 million-$35 million, up from $20 million-$25 million in 2017.
