N.J. Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal, MD, continued his series of grand rounds at hospitals and medical schools to promote the state’s expanded Medicinal Marijuana program.

Dr. Elnahal delivered talks at Hackensack University Medical Center and St. Joseph’s University Medical Center. He touted research findings of medical marijuana’s impact on patients and public health, and urged more physicians to participate.

“There is skepticism and reluctance among some members of the medical community to embrace it as a safe, therapeutic tool to treat pain,” Dr. Elnahal said. “My hope is that by sharing research, as well as everything the Murphy Administration has done to make the program more accessible and consumer-friendly, more physicians will consider registering.” 

More than 100 new doctors have joined the program since its expansion under Gov. Murphy, but the total number of 700 participating physicians remains a small percentage of the 28,000 licensed physicians in the state, said the Commissioner.

Research shows medical marijuana can be an important counterbalance to the opioid crisis, said the Commissioner. Medical marijuana can help reduce reliance on opioid prescriptions, said DOH, citing two studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association which showed a 6 percent decrease in opioid prescriptions in states with strong medicinal marijuana laws. Another study showed that access to medical marijuana reduced opioid-related deaths by 24 percent compared to states without medicinal marijuana laws.

The first of Dr. Elnahal’s series of grand rounds was held May 29 at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Future talks are planned at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Jersey City Medical Center, Virtua Health and the New Jersey Medical School in Newark.