WOODBRIDGE — Nancy Fedder, a 66-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis, gets around with the help of a scooter and a lifelong friend willing to write out her bills and do her shopping.

But she said nothing would have kept her from attending the official opening today of the Garden State Dispensary, New Jersey’s third medical marijuana dispensary.

Fedder, of Hillsborough, is in the process of getting her registration card from the state Department of Health, so she expected to come away empty-handed. But as one of the patients whose testimony helped get New Jersey’s medical marijuana bill signed into law in 2010, she said she was thrilled to be an invited guest for the ribbon-cutting and tour of the facility, which occupies an old electronics store sandwiched between shopping centers and a car dealership on Route 1.

“I woke up this morning, and I couldn't wait,” said Fedder. “Yay!” she said beaming.

Today’s grand opening was largely ceremonial. The owners, management team and staff quietly had a “soft opening” on Nov. 22, taking a handful of patients every day to test the computer and security systems, said Yale Galanter, the dispensary’s attorney and spokesman.

From the trial launch through today at 4 p.m., 430 patients had purchased medicinal pot from the Woodbridge dispensary, Galanter said. Starting Thursday, Garden State will serve 40 patients a day, he said.

Michael Weisser of Florida, Garden State Dispenary’s chief operating officer who also runs eight nonprofit medical marijuana clinics in Colorado with his son, David, vowed to serve all 1,500 of New Jersey’s registered patients, many of whom have waited more than a year to buy marijuana legally.

Weisser said he spent $7 million to buy the property and building, make renovations and get the business to this point.

The mission, he said, is “treating patients and raising funds for research.”

The hope is that the word finally gets out that New Jersey’s medical marijuana program, which has taken nearly four years to license and open three of six planned dispensaries, is open and eager to serve people, Galanter said.

“With only 1,500 people enrolled in a state with nearly 9 million people, that number is too small. Either doctors aren't educated or patients don't know it's available,” Galanter said. “Our message is, if you have glaucoma, Crohn's disease, terminal cancer, appetite problems, you need to talk to your doctor about this.”

“If your doctor kicks you to the curb, find another doctor,” he added.

Fedder said she had trouble finding a willing doctor, and eventually found one at a 24-hour, walk-in medical practice in Green Brook that was willing to review her voluminous medical file and vouch for her eligibility.

New Jersey’s medical marijuana program has suffered from numerous delays — from controversies over the state’s vetting process, to the lack of traditional bank financing, to the reluctance of doctors to participate, to the unwillingness of many local officials to host a dispensary in their town.

Weisser said he was rejected by numerous communities, including Carteret, East Brunswick, Edison, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Rahway and South Brunswick.

Then they had to sue to buy the building, which they learned too late was already embroiled in litigation between its prior owners, Weisser said. “I've been in real estate for many years, and this was beyond crazy,” he said.

Internally there were problems. Garden State Dispensary ousted advisory board member and potential landlord Kenneth Cayre of Monmouth County after a story in The Star-Ledger reported on his ties to notorious con man Solomon Dwek. According to federal bankruptcy filings, Dwek implicated Cayre, an uncle through marriage, as sharing in profits from Dwek's elaborate Ponzi schemes — a claim Cayre denied.

Galanter said “our issues were totally not related to” New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana program director, John O'Brien, or the state.

They credited Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac with helping them find a location. With a welcoming proclamation in hand, McCormac helped cut a green ribbon in front of the dispensary.

“Regardless of what anybody thinks of medical marijuana, this is a business decision,” the mayor said, noting many of the 50 people who work at the shop are township residents. “We love new businesses.”

The Weissers — son David as president; his father, Michael, as chief operating officer — are new to the state, but not new to the medical marijuana business. Galanter, a Cherry Hill native now in Miami, best known as the celebrity attorney to O.J. Simpson and Charlie Sheen, said the Weissers have worked hard to get to this day, and know how to avoid some of troubles that have slowed down competitors.

But there were signs the business still had some work to do. Portions of the store still have signs from the “6th Avenue Electronics” shop that once occupied the facility. A sign for “big screen TVs” still hangs.

A 60-year-old man from Lawrenceville took a train and a cab to get there, only to be told his doctor’s prescription for the drug had expired. The man, diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and walking with a cane, said he didn’t realize he had to get a renewal for his year-old doctor’s recommendation.

Galanter promised that when the doctor renewed the prescription, someone from the dispensary would transport him to and from Woodbridge. “I'm sorry for the imposition,” he said.

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