Gun Ownership and Medical Marijuana Cards In New Jersey

Gary P. Allen | October 9, 2023

Reading Time: 2 minutes

It was the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act that laid the foundation of the New Jersey Medical Cannabis Program (NJMCP).

The program opened new doors for registered patients to get access to cannabis products from licensed and state-governed medical cannabis dispensaries.

Where the root of New Jersey’s medical marijuana program is to facilitate patients who do qualify for a marijuana based treatment, does the state allows its registered medical marijuana patients to own a gun?

Well, this might be a surprise for most of you but no. There’s no legal protection and safety provided by the state to its registered medical marijuana patients if they decide to own a gun one day.

The state follows federal legislations in matters related to gun possession and ownership.

Considering that marijuana is still a Schedule I substance as per the US federal law, marijuana users (including registered medical marijuana users) automatically gets disqualified from owning a firearm through any legal federal or state provided channel.

Taking My Gun To a Dispensary in New Jersey: Is It a Good Idea?

In New Jersey, as long as you have a permit to carry a handgun, there are no laws that will be restricting you to carry a firearm to a dispensary or any other place as a matter of fact.

The firearms carrying permit can be obtained if you’re eligible to apply for a firearms license, have the training to carry a firearm, and have a valid reason to carry a firearm.

The permit can be granted by a New Jersey Court or the local police department (the township’s police office). Remember that apart from security guards or law enforcement personnel, the permit to carry is restricted to carry a handgun only.

Consuming CBD Products and Owning a Gun in New Jersey

As the state of New Jersey is under the influence of federal laws in many issue, consuming CBD is legal for adults in New Jersey as long as the CBD products are industrial-hemp driven and have less than 0.3% THC content.

This means that as long as you have a valid permit to carry a firearm, you can consume CBD products and own a firearm simultaneously.

Our expert opinion

We do commend the steps taken by the state of New Jersey when it comes to ensuring access to medical marijuana products for registered medical marijuana patients.

But, the state does need to take some prominent measures in order to allow medical marijuana users to own a firearm, same as any other resident of New Jersey.

Hopes are high that some legislations may make this possible in the near future.