TRENTON -- People with debilitating illnesses who believe they could be helped by marijuana have a unique opportunity to ask the state Health Department to consider adding a condition to the list that would qualify them for medical cannabis program.

Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett on Tuesday announced people may go to the department's website and download a form specifying a medical condition that ought to be covered by the program

A newly appointed medical review panel will consider the suggestions and make recommendations to Bennett, who has the final say whether any illnesses are added. The review panel will hold a public hearing that will allow people who submitted a petition an opportunity explain their requests, according to Bennett's announcement.

"The New Jersey Medicinal Marijuana Review Panel will evaluate each petition based on scientific and medical research available," according Bennett's announcement. "This process builds on the medical model, which is the backbone of the state's program."

It is the first time the Christie administration has asked for the public's input on which conditions ought to be included beyond those contained in the 2010 law. Patients and their advocates have repeatedly asked for more conditions - particularly post traumatic stress disorder - to allow the program to thrive and reach more people for whom traditional, FDA-approved drugs and therapies have failed.

State legislators also have unsuccessfully passed legislation to include PTSD.

Members of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of New Jersey, a group founded by and for patients and their advocates will submit petitions asking the health department to include autism, PTSD, chronic pain and neuropathic pain, said Ken Wolski, the group's executive director.

"We're glad that the DOH has finally given us a date to submit these petitions, but we are disappointed that it has taken so long to get started," Wolski said.

The law required the health department to issue two annual reports before the state would expand the list of conditions. The health department delayed issuing those reports, however, submitting the second only only last March.

The department will accept the forms via certified mail only from Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, Bennett's announcement said. The requests must include: a description of how physicians view this as a "valid" condition and marijuana is a successful treatment; the availability of conventional medical treatment other than those that cause patient suffering; and letters of support from doctors and other licensed medical professionals.

The conditions that qualify people for the program are amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, (Lou Gehrig's disease); multiple sclerosis; terminal cancer; muscular dystrophy; inflammatory bowel disease including Crohn's disease; any terminal illness.

Patients for whom conventional treatment has failed may qualify if they have a seizure disorder including epilepsy; intractable skeletal muscular spasticity; and glaucoma. People with HIV/AIDS and cancer may qualify if treatment has caused severe or chronic pain, severe nausea or vomiting, or cachexia or wasting syndrome.

There are 8,162 patients registered with the program, and 472 "caregivers" - people who have passed background checks and are cleared to retrieve cannabis from a dispensary on a patient's behalf.

The first of five dispensaries began serving patients in December 2012. The dispensaries are located in Montclair, Egg Harbor, Woodbridge, Cranbury and Bellmawr. One has yet to open, in Secaucus.

See the health department's website for more information at nj.gov/health/medicalmarijuana/

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