Does New Jersey's limited list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana need to expand? Dozens of Garden State patients have answered that question with a resounding "yes."

A group of New Jersey residents recently claimed that smoking weed helps relieve symptoms from a variety of diseases – including migraines, arthritis, autism, depression and Alzheimer's – in a series of petitions aimed at increasing the number of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in the state. Their pleas were sent to the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH), which announced in July that it was seeking petitions for additional medical conditions that could possibly receive legal aegis under the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.

See related article: Should Menstrual Cramps Qualify For NJ Medical Marijuana? Earlier this month, the DOH released redacted versions of the petitions, which are currently under consideration by a newly appointed medical panel. NJ Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett will have the final say over which – if any – of the conditions are approved for medical marijuana. However, there may be some hope that state officials are open to expanding the list of qualifying conditions. Following years of protest and pleas from local cannabis activists, Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill in September that allows PTSD sufferers to use medical marijuana in New Jersey.

See related article: Chris Christie Signs 3 Bills Into Law, Including Medical Marijuana Legislation "In our state, and in most of our country, sick people often have a limited list of expensive pharmaceutical options, many of which come with the potential for extreme side effects," said Brian Haydon, president of 3fronts, a Ridgewood-based marijuana advocacy nonprofit.

"Sick people shouldn't have to live in fearful agony, and strong people shouldn't sit silently as it happens," he added.

According to its website, the DOH has received medical marijuana petitions for the following medical conditions:

Neural Foraminal Stenosis

Peripheral neuropathy

Sporadic hemiplegic migraine

Neuropathic pain

Chronic pain

Lumbar radiculopathy

Migraine

Anxiety

Rheumatoid arthritis

Asthma

Arthritis

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD/CRPS)

Osteoarthritis

Chronic late stage Lyme's Disease

Multisystem atrophy

Autism/autism spectrum disorder

Chronic pain as a result of daily sciatic pain

Migraine

Spinal stenosis (including arthritis and chronic pain)

Complex regional pain syndrome

Tourette's Syndrome

Lumbar spine: disc herniation, DDD and sciatica

Cauda Equina Syndrome

Depression

Arnold-Chiari Malformation I, II, III

Fibromyalgia

Alzheimer's disease

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis

CRPS (RSD)

Fibromyalgia

Neuropathic pain

Auto immune disorders

Opioid use disorder

Chronic acute pancreatitis

Photo: Shutterstock MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN NEW JERSEY

In April, the DOH released a report with updated statistics about the state's medical marijuana program.