CMMNJ Report: Survey of NJ Medical Marijuana Doctors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 9/10/2012

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ)

Contact: Ken Wolski 609 394 2137

NJ DOCTORS STRUGGLE WITH COMPLEX MARIJUANA REGULATIONS

Trenton – A report issued today by CMMNJ found that physicians registered to participate in the state Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP) struggled with the initial launch of the registry for qualifying patients.

Read the full report: http://www.scribd.com/doc/105499771

New Jersey operates the only medical cannabis program in the country that requires physicians to join a special registry to recommend marijuana. Seriously ill residents must have a “bona fide” relationship with one of the few registered doctors to apply to the DOH for their own registry card.

CMMNJ Board Member and cancer patient Vanessa Waltz called all of the148 doctors listed on the NJ Department of Health website and reached 99.

- 46 offices reported that they were actively accepting new patients interested in the program

- 30 offices reported that they were not currently accepting new patients but may in the future

- 23 offices reported that they were registered but were not currently participating in the MMP

The conversations with practice managers and physicians revealed that residents who qualify for the MMP face new and significant barriers to safe cannabis access.

From the report: “Offices reported that there has been no communication initiated by the state in terms of: How the program works; how the patient registration process works; that the physician registry would be published online; that the patient registry was opening; alerts to any changes in guidelines on the DOH informational website.”

CMMNJ has already been on record appealing to the NJ DOH and the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners to take a comprehensive approach to educate NJ physicians about cannabis. Now communication between DOH and the handful of doctors willing to participate in the MMP registry seems to have broken down.

The report continues: “The NJ DOH and the MMP official are not communicating with physicians. Participating doctors did not receive notice when patient registry was opened, and only found out when their phones started ringing or saw it on the news. The DOH has failed in providing doctors with information including clear educational materials, guidelines, and updates. Phone calls and emails from offices are not being returned.”

The final conclusion from CMMNJ: “The logical solution to this problem for patients is to amend the MMP regulations immediately to remove all provisions related to the physician registry.”

Read the full report: http://www.scribd.com/doc/105499771

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For more information about this release, please contact Ken Wolski 609 394 2137

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ  08618