Skip to main content

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and cannabis in New Jersey

The state explicitly lists this condition under its medical cannabis program. A certifying physician can pursue state registration for a patient with this diagnosis under the program rules.

Listed qualifying condition
✓ Yes
LEGAL
Up to 3 oz per 30-day s…
POSSESSION
$0/yr
STATE FEE
7–21 d
TIMELINE
Listed qualifying condition. The state explicitly lists this condition under its medical cannabis program. A certifying physician can pursue state registration for a patient with this diagnosis under the program rules.

New Jersey statute and program

The New Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Program is the operating authority for New Jersey patient certification. The authoritative legal text is: N.J.S.A. 24:6I: Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act / CREAMMA. The program portal is at New Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Program.

What the evidence says about cannabis and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event including combat, sexual assault, serious accident, natural disaster, or violence. Core symptom clusters defined in DSM-5 include:

For the full evidence base, including the NASEM tier, randomized trial summaries, and symptom-domain breakdown, read the mmjnow Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder page.

How to qualify in New Jersey

The New Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Program requires the following registration steps for a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder patient (or any qualifying diagnosis):

  1. Get a written certification from a New Jersey healthcare practitioner. Any New Jersey-licensed physician, advanced practice nurse, or physician assistant authorized to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances may certify a patient for the Medicinal Cannabis Program — no separate program registration is required for the practitioner since the 2019 Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act expanded the prescribing pool. The practitioner determines whether medical cannabis may benefit the patient under N.J.S.A. 24:6I.
  2. Receive the patient reference number from your practitioner. The certifying practitioner uses the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) provider portal to issue the patient a reference number that the patient then uses to complete the online patient registration through the CRC patient portal. Patients upload a NJ driver license or state ID and a passport-style photograph.
  3. Complete the online patient registration (no state fee since 2022). The state patient registration fee was eliminated under 2022 CRC reforms — there is no annual state registration fee for patients or designated caregivers. Patients only pay the practitioner certification fee plus standard product costs at dispensaries.
  4. Purchase from a New Jersey Alternative Treatment Center. Once approved, patients receive a digital and physical medicinal cannabis card and may purchase up to a 3-ounce 30-day supply from any New Jersey Alternative Treatment Center (ATC). Adult-use retail also operates statewide for adults 21+, but medical patients retain lower taxation, prioritized inventory access, higher purchase limits for terminal patients, and statutory employment and child-custody protections.
State registration fee
$0
Physician visit (typical)
$200–$400
Certification to card
7–21 days
Out-of-state patients
Not eligible
Minors
Eligible with caregiver

For full New Jersey registration steps, fees, and reciprocity rules, see the New Jersey cannabis-laws page.

ICD-10 code

A certifying physician documenting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for the New Jersey medical cannabis program will typically record ICD-10 F43.10 or SNOMED-CT 47505003 in the patient's record. The state registry does not itself collect ICD-10 codes in most programs, but the physician's chart is the audit trail if the certification is later reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

Does New Jersey list Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis?

Yes. New Jersey explicitly lists Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a qualifying condition under New Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Program. A patient with a documented Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis can pursue state-program certification with a physician registered in the state. The qualifying-condition list is published by the state at https://www.nj.gov/cannabis/ and may change as regulators add, remove, or refine entries. Inclusion on the list does not guarantee certification — a physician still has to evaluate the patient and decide that medical cannabis is appropriate for that specific case under New Jersey rules.

How do I get a New Jersey medical marijuana card for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Step one is finding a physician licensed in New Jersey who is registered with New Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Program and willing to evaluate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder cases. Step two is collecting your records (diagnosis documentation, treatment history, and the ICD-10 code your physician will use) and bringing them to the certification visit. Step three is the physician's certification through the state registry, followed by the patient registration application, state fee, and waiting period before the card is issued. New Jersey does not honor out-of-state cards, so the certification process has to originate inside the state. The state minimum patient age is 18; minors generally require a parent or legal guardian to act as caregiver. The authoritative source for the current process is the New Jersey Medicinal Cannabis Program site at https://www.nj.gov/cannabis/; the state updates fees, forms, and physician registration rules periodically.

What does the evidence say about cannabis for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, evidence is described as limited (a small number of supportive studies, often underpowered or focused on narrow symptom domains). The mmjnow condition page for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder lays out the current evidence base, including the citations underlying that evidence tier — typically the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine consensus reports, federal agency guidance, and peer-reviewed reviews. Evidence quality is independent of state law: a state can list a condition for which evidence is limited, and a state can decline to list a condition for which evidence is strong. Patients deciding whether to pursue medical cannabis for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder should review the underlying evidence (linked on the condition page) and discuss expected benefit, dosing, and risk with a clinician familiar with both Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and cannabinoid pharmacology. Cannabis is not a substitute for evidence-based first-line treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; the evidence position above describes whether trial data supports its use, not whether it should replace standard care.

Sources

  1. N.J.S.A. 24:6I: Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act / CREAMMAaccessed May 15, 2026
  2. New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commissionaccessed May 15, 2026
  3. NORML: New Jersey Lawsaccessed May 15, 2026
  4. NASEM: The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids (2017)accessed May 14, 2026

    “Limited evidence that nabilone is effective for improving symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

  5. VA / DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSDaccessed May 14, 2026