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TRENTON — In a state the place medical marijuana is commonly costlier than flying to a different state and shopping for it there, sufferers registered with some monetary help applications might see their weed prices coated.
The price of New Jersey medical marijuana, among the many highest of any state within the nation, could be coated for sufferers enrolled in 4 completely different monetary help applications meant to assist youngsters, seniors, crime victims and people with disabilities, below an identical payments already permitted by the Senate and Meeting well being committees.
The payments, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, and Assemblyman Herb Conaway, D-Burlington, might be voted on as quickly as this week.
Beneath the laws, sufferers in these applications might solely must pay a small copay for medical marijuana or have their prices coated:
- Catastrophic Sickness in Kids Aid Fund
- Pharmaceutical Help to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD)
- Senior Gold Prescription Low cost
- Victims of Crime Compensation Workplace
“The price of hashish can run into the a whole bunch of {dollars} monthly for people,” Conaway mentioned. “This invoice serves those that are financially distressed and … ensures the advantages of medical hashish can be found to all who may have it.”
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Sufferers enrolled in PAAD, which helps seniors and residents with disabilities who cannot afford prescribed drugs, would pay a $7 copay.
Enrollees within the Senior Gold program would pay a copay of $15 plus 50% of the remaining value of the medical marijuana. If the Senior Gold member has already spent $2,000 out-of-pocket, or $3,000 for married {couples}, the copay is simply $15, below Vitale and Conaway’s invoice.
“Sufferers in New Jersey who acquire reduction from ache or discomfort by means of the usage of medical hashish reduce throughout a large swath of our inhabitants, and but the price of the drug will be exorbitantly costly for many individuals who depend on it most,” Vitale mentioned in an announcement.
The invoice would permit the Catastrophic Sickness in Kids Aid Fund and VCCO to cowl the price of medical marijuana for certified sufferers.
The VCCO covers or reimburses the price of medical payments, psychological well being counseling, lack of earnings and different bills for people who find themselves the sufferer of a violent crime.
The Catastrophic Sickness in Kids Aid Fund covers medical bills resulting from a baby’s sickness or situation if it is not coated by insurance coverage and bills exceed 10% of a household’s annual earnings.
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The invoice goals to fill within the gaps for individuals who cannot afford medical marijuana, which runs as excessive as $500 per ounce in New Jersey, however are in any other case in a position to have medical bills coated or reimbursed.
Marijuana continues to be thought of a Schedule I drug, with no medicinal worth, by the federal authorities, which implies it will probably’t be coated by any federal program or any program even remotely linked to federal funding — similar to well being or medical insurance coverage.
“We’re ready for insurance coverage protection for this specific therapeutic however, not having that, we’re shifting ahead,” Conaway mentioned. “They’re state-run applications with state-run {dollars} solely, so there isn’t any implication of any federal program or motion.”
The four programs included in his and Vitale’s bill are exclusively organized and funded by the state. President Joe Biden’s administration has appeared to follow the policies of the last two presidential administrations and take a hands-off approach with states that have legalized weed.
The cost of medical marijuana, which can run as high as $500 per ounce, has been a bone of contention for the state’s rapidly expanding patient population, which now numbers nearly 111,000, according to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
There are only 19 medical marijuana dispensaries across the state however they’re operated by solely 11 particular person corporations or nonprofits. The ratio of 5,800 sufferers per dispensary is among the many highest of the 34 states with lively medical marijuana applications, resulting in a supply-and-demand points that sufferers say have left them empty-handed or paying hand over fist since the first sales occurred nearly a decade ago.
That difficulty has solely been exacerbated since 2018, when new medical marijuana laws eased qualification requirements and expanded the variety of eligible situations. The affected person inhabitants has elevated eight-fold in lower than 4 years.
The Hashish Regulatory Fee is predicted to difficulty new medical marijuana dispensary licenses within the coming months after a series of court cases were resolved earlier this yr.
Mike Davis has spent the final decade masking New Jersey native information, marijuana legalization, transportation and principally no matter else is happening at any given second. Contact him at mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.
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