Montel Williams at the 2011 NORML Conference in Denver – pic by kimsidwell.com
8/5/2011 – There was tough competition in New Jersey to run the first six Alternative Treatment Centers for medical marijuana. Freedomisgreen has now obtained all of the applications through Open Public Records Act requests. The process was the most expensive in the nation. High-rollers were willing to bet $20,000 on each submission.
The winners were announced in March 2011 and their applications were released soon after. But there was little information on the groups who did not make the cut, until now.
Television host Montel Williams applied for a center in North Jersey based out of Somerset. Williams has since invested on the West Coast and owns a dispensary in Sacramento, CA.
The New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals offered a plan that would incorporate fingerprint ID lockboxes and engage some of the state’s top-dollar medical institutions. They would have used their existing network of doctors and an impressive list of grant funding contacts.
The big names weren’t the only ones looking to spend some significant coin to get into the non-profit marijuana business.
The Farmacy Inc. was a group of South Jersey pharmacists who work mainly at local CVS branches. But their big contact was Ryan Barna, who appears instrumental to their application. Barna is an active board member at the American Pharmacist Association and the NJ Pharmacists Association, two of the more powerful drug distribution lobbying groups…well, ever.
The Institute for Health Research was a group of vitamin enthusiasts and holistic medicine practitioners. They planned to operate from the Abunda Life Center in Asbury Park, a rather well-known entity in the local area.
Some of the NJ applicants looked outside the state for experience. A group of investment bankers, gaming professionals and finance specialists teamed up with a cannabis entrepreneur in Colorado. The NJ Relief Initiative Inc had Oleg Rutman on the board and boasts that he started the largest patient collective in CO. Garden State Medical Marijuana Associates retained expert consultants including Steve D’Angelo the owner of Harborside Health Services and the new reality star of Discovery Network’s “Weed Wars.”
Here are the organization names, name of the executive director and the proposed location(s). Some of these groups won an ATC contract with separate submissions.
Abatin Wellness Center- Montel Williams – Northern NJ, Somerset
Grow Well – Bonnie Johnson – Southern NJ, Egg Harbor
Institute of Health Research – Ralph Fucetola – Central NJ, Asbury Park
New Jersey Healthy Choice – Daniel Kane – Northern NJ, Bayonne
New Jersey Relief Initiative – Joseph Coffey – Northern NJ, Moonachie
Alternative Medical Concepts – Christopher Camal – Central NJ, Kenilworth – Northern NJ, Edison, Carlstadt and Clifton – Southern NJ Westville and Pennsauken
Compassion Collective of Camden County – J. Peter Rosenfeld – Southern NJ, Pennsauken
Compassionate Care Foundation – William Thomas – Southern NJ and Central NJ
Farmacy Inc – Mark Makhinson – Southern NJ, Lumberton
Garden State Alternative Solutions – Hugo Bartell – Northern NJ, Newark
Gold Leaf – Jabrai Golden – Northern NJ, East Brunswick
New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals – J. Richard Goldstein MD – Central, NJ and Southern NJ
New Jersey Medicines – Ray Smith – Central NJ, Shrewsbury
Compassionate Care Centers of America – David Weisser – Northern NJ, Secaucus
Compassionate Marijuana Alliance – Ibere Peter Calvo – Northern NJ, Newark
Patient Wellness Center – Alfred Lombardi – Northern NJ, Paterson
Garden State Medical Marijuana Associates – Ron Simoncini – Northern NJ, Secaucus
Compassionate Sciences Inc – Richard Taney – Central NJ and Northern NJ
Most of the prospective Garden State cannabis dispensaries had multi-million dollar funding supplied by their Boards of Trustees. But even the groups that had start-up expenses below $350,000 were projecting over $1 million in cannabis sales by the end of their second year.
Freedomisgreen will make the full applications available via Scribd.com over the weekend. The documents were redacted by the NJ Department of Health and Human Services before release.
The six applications that were accepted are online already: http://www.scribd.com/NJcannabisDocs
Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions? [email protected]