Patients, farmers and advocates urge CRC to protect medical program and increase market transparency
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Summary
During public comment at the CRC special meeting, multiple speakers warned that medical patient enrollment is falling, urged protections for medical access and product diversity, and called for stronger transparency and enforcement against gray‑market products and large alleged illegal grows.
Public speakers used the commission’s special meeting to press the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission on three related themes: reviving the medical cannabis program, improving market transparency and data (including public Certificates of Analysis), and investigating alleged large illegal grows and cross‑border or untested products.
Michelle (Nichelle) Santos, speaking as a concerned consumer, said the state’s medical program is losing patients to the adult‑use market and that ‘‘for these individuals, cannabis is not a consumer product. It’s a medicine.’’ She urged the commission to modernize the medical program by incentivizing medical‑grade product diversity, requiring certified medical staff at dispensaries and implementing telehealth and other supports.
Dr. Ross McCarthy, founder and CEO of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, urged steps to make it easier for patients to self‑identify, citing a self‑certification program adopted in the District of Columbia as an example: "You can self certify as a medical patient." He also urged the commission to account for third‑party brands sold in stores when assessing whether operators are serving medical patients.
Andrea Bridal, who identified herself as a patient, raised concerns about gray‑market products and testing. "There is no way for me to differentiate between a compliant product and a product that was illegally grown and not properly tested by a New Jersey licensed testing facility," she said, and recommended a public COA database, stronger whistleblower pathways and better data management. Bridal referenced a pending bill (cited in her remarks as "A1291") as a potential means to strengthen oversight.
Chief Vincent Mann, who identified himself as a hemp farmer and a resident of Andover, described videos and reports of a large illegal marijuana grow in his town and asked the commission to make the situation public and adjudicate any violations. "We had what amounts to an illegal marijuana grow of 40 acres," he said, and asked whether local tax and regulatory remedies had been pursued.
Damien Rogers, who said he is a "victim of a cannabis war," asked whether alleged illegal grows and interstate trafficking handled by a licensed lab would be prosecuted in the same manner as unlicensed operators.
The commission did not respond with formal enforcement actions during the special meeting; public comments were recorded and speakers said they would submit written testimony. Several commenters asked staff to follow up with further information and for the CRC to improve data and enforcement tools.
Next steps: Speakers said they will submit written testimony through the commission’s website; advocates asked the CRC to consider transparency measures and policy changes to preserve a medical program distinct from adult‑use commerce.