TRENTON -- After 6 1/2 years of bureaucratic delays, political opposition and struggles stemming operating a program outside federal law, there are nearly 7,000 critically ill New Jerseyans who are using medical marijuana to alleviate their suffering.

There are five dispensaries growing and selling a total of 68 strains of cannabis, according to the program's latest annual report by the state Department of Health.

One yet-to-open dispensary, Foundation Harmony in Secaucus is still undergoing a state review of its business and operation plans, five years after the state selected the nonprofit through a competitive-bidding process.

The law's implementation got off to a slow start. Gov. Chris Christie has said the law the legislature approved was vulnerable to abuse, and his administration adopted a set of rules that were more strict than the law's sponsored said they intended. The legislature threatened to repeal them but they reached a compromise.

The governor also delayed implementing the law for three months in 2011 while he waited for federal law enforcement officials to tell him whether state workers or private growers would be vulnerable to arrest.

The program experienced its greatest enrollment boost in 2015, when 2,557 of the 6,129 participants registered, according to the annual report. There were 6,636 registered patients and 438 caregivers authorized to buy cannabis on a patient's behalf as of May 18, according to the health department.

Patients and patient advocacy groups continue to push for changes to the law so more people could be helped. They've asked the health department for years to consider adding medical conditions that qualify patients for the program.

Acting Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett recently announced she has appointed a panel of medical experts that will review requests for additional medical conditions from the public. Bennett will have the final word.

The first meeting of the medical advisory panel is scheduled for May 25 at 10 am at the War Memorial, Trenton, the health department announced Friday.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.=