New Jersey medical marijuana patients could see their options doubled — while inching closer to legal weed sales — with regulators set to issue new licenses later this week.

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission on Friday is expected to award licenses for new medical marijuana cultivation centers, as well as licenses for vertically-integrated medical marijuana operations — where the license holder grows, manufactures and sells the drug, according to the commission’s agenda for its meeting.

The licenses are part of a 2019 request for applications by the state Department of Health, which oversaw the New Jersey Medical Marijuana Program until the CRC was established. The process was halted for over a year due to a lawsuit by applicants whose applications were rejected due to a file format issue.

The CRC did not announce exactly how many licenses are being awarded, but the 2019 RFA called for the state to issue 24 new licenses:

• North Jersey: Five dispensaries, two cultivation facilities, one vertically-integrated license;
• Central Jersey: Five dispensaries, two cultivation facilities, one vertically-integrated license;
• South Jersey: Five dispensaries, one cultivation facility, one vertically-integrated license;
• The 24th license will be awarded in a location based on where it’s most needed. [Read More @ The Asbury Park Press]