The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 Jun 2013 – Burlco Buzz Without fanfare, the New Jersey Health Department reported last week that 1,000 patients are now registered to receive medical marijuana. It’s hardly a milestone. Due to a shortage of dispensaries and several delays in the state program, only about 130 patients have actually been able to buy cannabis.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 25 Jun 2013 – Assembly Passed Bill to Make It Easier for the Severely Sick to Use the Drug. It’s now up to Gov. Christie to decide whether he wants to amend the state’s medical marijuana law and regulations – the strictest in the country – to make it easier for severely sick children to use the drug.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 24 May 2013 – The New Jersey Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would prevent medical-marijuana patients from being disqualified for receiving organ transplants because they are using a drug that historically was deemed illegal. The bill would make sure hospitals and doctors don’t "exclude people who are otherwise eligible for organ transplants" just because they use medical marijuana, said Assemblyman Peter J. Barnes (D., Middlesex), a prime sponsor.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 04 May 2013 – Woodbridge site could join one in Egg Harbor as a dispensary of medical marijuana in New Jersey. Two more medical marijuana dispensaries may open soon in New Jersey, bringing the total to three, state Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd said Thursday in response to a legislator’s questions about the progress of the three-year-old program.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 22 Mar 2013 – TRENTON – Three years after New Jersey passed a law allowing patients with serious ailments to use medical marijuana, debate has erupted over whether the program is languishing. On Thursday, hours after the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of NJ held a panel discussion in the Statehouse annex to criticize the state’s handling of the program, the Department of Health issued unexpected news.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 Mar 2013 – A Nine-Month Sentence Was Handed Down to the NJ Weedman. The man who calls himself NJ Weedman was sentenced Tuesday to a harsher term for violating probation than he had received for possessing a pound of marijuana.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 Jan 2013 – A Superior Court judge in Burlington County sentenced the man known as NJ Weedman to two years of probation and more than $3,400 in fines and fees Wednesday for possessing a pound of pot in his car nearly three years ago. Marijuana activist Ed Forchion had used the inconsistency of criminal and medical-marijuana drug laws to win acquittal on the more serious charge of drug distribution when he was tried in October.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 19 Dec 2012 – A dispensary in Essex County sold the drug to 300 people after a long fight to legalize sales. When Jay Lassiter took his first-ever toke of medical marijuana Tuesday evening, he knew it would relieve the nausea he experiences from the nine prescription drugs he consumes daily to treat HIV.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 09 Dec 2012 – N.J.’S First Licensed Dispensary Served Only 20 Patients on Its First Day Open. For many advocates of medical marijuana, the opening of New Jersey’s first dispensary was a milestone worth celebrating, even though the door was cracked open long enough to let in only 20 patients that day.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 03 Dec 2012 – Lawmakers Behind the Bill Say They Were Not Told About Imposing a Sales Tax. A lawmaker who was influential in getting New Jersey’s medical marijuana law passed said he was stunned by the Christie administration’s announcement last week that the drug would be taxed.