A bill to permit the continued use of telemedicine and telehealth to authorize patients for medical cannabis hasn’t passed muster with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy – but not because he’s against the idea.
In August last year, an Administrative Order was issued permitting physicians providing medical cannabis certifications to utilize telemedicine consultations to do so, provided they were consistent with the standard of care required and certain other conditions were satisfied.
The order is to remain in place until end of the declared Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency, or the end of the telemedicine allowance designated by the US Secretary of Health and Human Services. However, there have been efforts to extend the arrangement past this time through Senate Bill 619, which has enjoyed strong support.
While supporting the bill’s sponsors in their effort to facilitate access to medical cannabis for those who need it and agreeing telehealth authorization should continue past the time when COVID-19 related orders are lifted, Governor Murphy remains concerned with what he says are undue limitations overly restrictive on the use of telehealth in this context.
