LINCOLN PARK – A longtime family agriculture business in Morris County has partnered with a publicly-traded corporation to enter a new growth business — medical marijuana.

The VandeVrede family business began in 1973 with a small farm in Lincoln Park and expanded over the decades to the popular Gro-Rite Greenhouse and Garden Center on Hillview Road near the Lincoln Park Airport. That property includes about 25 acres of land and a greenhouse covering three-quarters of an acre.

Doctors and patients emerge in sharper focus thanks to second annual report on program

As New Jersey’s medical marijuana program moves into its third year, state health officials said they will consider expanding it beyond the 10 conditions it currently covers. A panel of doctors and other medical experts will meet in the next few months, for example, to discuss adding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other problems to the list.

A report shows that medical marijuana usage is low over the first 25 months of the program.(Photo: Courier-Post file)

New Jersey is preparing to consider adding conditions that qualify patients for using medical marijuana, Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd said Wednesday.

She said she will assemble a panel of medical experts to make recommendations.

Under state regulations, the process can start following the release Tuesday of the state's second annual report on its medical cannabis program.

TRENTON — New Jersey's medicinal marijuana program last year served 4,228 patients and their caregivers who chose from 33 different strains of cannabis to alleviate their suffering, according to the latest annual report issued by the state Health Department late Tuesday.

The New Jersey Assembly is rebuking the Christie administration's handling of the state's medical marijuana program.

Lawmakers voted Thursday to approve a resolution, ACR224, that says Gov. Chris Christie's Health Department has placed "arbitrary and unnecessary" restrictions on the program.

The vote comes a day after Christie criticized the notion of legalizing marijuana in order to gain a tax windfall, calling it "blood money."

TRENTON — Post-traumatic stress disorder would be added to the list of illnesses that would qualify a person for New Jersey's medical marijuana program, and growers would be permitted to share excess cannabis with their competitors under legislation the state Assembly passed Thursday.

The Assembly also started a process to challenge rules the Christie administration created that dispensary owners say discourage people from participating in the medical marijuana program. Sponsors said the rules were not included in the law that was signed by former Gov. Jon Corzine just before Gov. Chris Christie took office in 2010.

New manufacturing rules will affect state’s 4,098 registered patients, including Montclair residents.

Are you a registered medical marijuana patient in Montclair?

Good news… you may soon be able to get lozenges, brownies and other edible forms of cannabis directly from your local dispensary.

On March 10, more than five years after lawmakers approved medical marijuana in New Jersey, the state Department of Health issued guidelines for the production of edible medical cannabis products.

These new rules may change the way the state’s 4,098 registered patients ingest their medication.

TRENTON — Dozens of people gathered Saturday near the New Jersey Statehouse to show their support for legalizing marijuana.

Several people were openly smoking the drug during the rally, but apparently none were arrested.

The event drew a diverse crowd of roughly 200 people. Many said they wanted to show their support for legalizing or decriminalizing pot, while others said it should only be given to people with medical conditions that could be eased by the drug.

The event was led by Ed Forchion (FOR'-chun), a pro-marijuana activist known as NJ Weedman. He renewed his calls for lawmakers to legalize the drug, saying it should be treated like alcohol.

TRENTON -- With chants like "One! Two! Three! Four! Smoke, smoke, smoke some more!" a crowd of more than 100 people supporting the legalization of marijuana descended Saturday on the Statehouse in Trenton.

The "Spring Smoke Out" rally grew in intensity as it progressed through East State Street, culminating with the demonstration outside the Statehouse that included a few dozen people smoking marijuana in protest at 4:20 p.m.

"Who's ready to protest?" Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion called out to the crowd, eliciting a chorus of cheers. "We are!"

"Who's ready to smoke? Who's ready to vote?" Forchion yelled. "We are!" the group responded, cheering louder than before.