N.J. Assemblyman on board of N.Y. medical marijuana applicant | The Auditor
By
on June 23, 2015 at 8:15 AM, updated June 23, 2015 at 6:38 PM
TRENTON — Apparently the Garden State is fertile ground for people who aspire to grow medical marijuana in New York.
Two of the 43 applications submitted to New York Department of Health last month have ties to New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana operations.
The father-son duo of Michael and David Weisser who run Garden State Dispensary in Woodbridge applied to operate across the Hudson under the name Empire State Compassionate Care, Inc. They also dominate cannabis-friendly Colorado’s market.
TRENTON — Apparently the Garden State is fertile ground for people who aspire to grow medical marijuana in New York.
Two of the 43 applications submitted to New York Department of Health last month have ties to New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana operations.
The father-son duo of Michael and David Weisser who run Garden State Dispensary in Woodbridge applied to operate across the Hudson under the name Empire State Compassionate Care, Inc. They also dominate cannabis-friendly Colorado’s market.
“Before he died, my father was the first patient member on the Medical Advisory Board for the Compassionate Care nonprofit in Woodbridge. If only he could see some of the patients that are now realizing relief from serious debilitating conditions in New Jersey as a result of their efforts,” Mukhjeri said. “This is a new frontier in healthcare.”
Empire’s high-profile roster also includes security consultants Michael Balboni, New York’s former head of Homeland Security, and Paul Higdon, retired DEA Special Agent and former INTERPOL Director of Criminal Intelligence. “If licensed, this professionally-run team will be ready to cultivate and dispense high quality pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis by January 1 and offer much-needed relief to patients suffering from serious conditions,” Empire’s spokesman Michael Rabinowitz-Gold said.
Compassionate Sciences Alternative Treatment Center, which is awaiting a license to grow from the N.J. Department of Health to open in Bellmawr, also applied in New York. Under the company name Palliatech, the owners have tapped John O’Brien, the retired State Police lieutenant who was running New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana program until April to be their chief compliance officer.
If either wins one of the coveted five licenses to operate in New York, New Jersey’s strict law and even more restrictive program developed by a disapproving Gov. Chris Christie will have prepared them well. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s program is so rigid, patients won’t be permitted to buy anything smokable or conventionally-made edible products. They will be required to manufacture marijuana-infused gel caps, tinctures and drops.
“I am excited about being a part of enabling the safe, secure, highly regulated access to pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis by patients who continue to suffer throughout New York State,” Mukhjeri said.
