BRICK - If they can get the go-ahead from the state and township, two women have their sights set on a shuttered OceanFirst Bank as the site of the Shore's first medical marijuana dispensary.

The owners of Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care have proposed building a medical marijuana dispensary and cultivation facility at the Adamston Road property.

Under the plans, the bank building would be converted into the "patient services center," the actual medical marijuana dispensary where patients could purchase the drug.

The group has also proposed building a new 48,000-square-foot cultivation center, where cannabis could grow.

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To move forward, they need approval from both the state Department of Health, which is issuing six new medical marijuana licenses, and the Brick zoning board.

"We felt this was a perfect location because the bank, as our patient services center, has a vault. It has handicapped areas. It has a well-lit parking lot," said Jersey Shore Therapeutic Health Care co-owner Anne Davis, a Brick attorney. "It's secure, it's discrete and we hope it will remain discrete."

"Most people will just see it as a big building with no cars, and nobody's sure of what goes on in there. It should be like that," Davis said.

Neither Davis nor co-owner Karen Medlin are new to the New Jersey medical marijuana program.

Davis is a registered patient, using the drug to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Medlin is a caregiver for her daughter, who is diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that affects a child's ability to speak, walk, eat and breathe.

"We tried all of the medicines, but it was medical marijuana that made her the nice, happy human being she is now," Medlin said.

Even if legal weed becomes law in New Jersey later this month, Jersey Shore THC intends to continue operating solely as a medical marijuana dispensary. Instead, Davis will lobby for medical marijuana to be covered by health insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid.

"Even if recreational goes forward, we're still going to be successful," she said.

MORE: This NJ family moved to Colorado for a child's medical marijuana. And they're not coming back.

According to the Health Department, there are 32,000 registered New Jersey medical marijuana patients. The total represents a 113 percent increase since January, when Gov. Phil Murphy ordered a review of the program that prompted new qualifying conditions.

In July, he announced that the state would issue six new licenses to operate medical marijuana dispensaries, doubling the number of locations in New Jersey. The winning applicants are scheduled to be announced on Nov. 1.

MORE: Over 100 applications submitted for new NJ medical marijuana dispensaries

Two locations will be chosen in each of the northern, central and southern parts of the state. According to the state, central New Jersey includes Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset and Union counties.

Currently, there are no medical marijuana dispensaries in Monmouth or Ocean counties. The closest locations — in Woodbridge, Cranbury or Egg Harbor — are an hour away.

"I'm very happy a facility is looking to come to the area," said Brick resident Michael Weiss, who uses medical marijuana to treat multiple sclerosis. "Just yesterday, I had to drive an hour and a half to my dispensary and then an hour and a half back. So it's three hours I have to take off work, to be away from my family.

"And living with MS, just sitting in a car for three hours isn't fun. To have something close to home would be incredibly beneficial," he said.

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In addition to a state license, Jersey Shore THC also needs approval from the Brick zoning board.

While a bank had sat on the site for over 40 years, it was grandfathered into a zone that's otherwise reserved only for residential development.

The Adamston Road site sits next door to VFW Post 8867, but is otherwise surrounded by residential homes. If approved by the state and township, it would be a first for New Jersey medical marijuana as the existing six dispensaries are all located in industrial or business thoroughfares.

That was the main subject of debate at a Tuesday night information session held by Jersey Shore THC. The discussion was a microcosm of the marijuana debate being played out at the local level throughout the state: The room of over 60 people largely agreed with legalization or medical marijuana expansion, but disagreed on where patients should be able to buy it.

"I don't have an issue with an actual marijuana dispensary in Bricktown. I do have an issue with it being across the street from my home," said Raleigh Road resident Diana Diaz. "How long is it going to take the police department to come if something gets out of hand? What are we going to do across the street?"

Michael Doumas, who lives literally across the street from the intended dispensary, expressed fear that the site would become a target for robberies. It's the subject of competing research in states with legal weed or robust medical marijuana programs, but results are largely mixed.

"We're all neighbors. I don't want this to be framed that the people against this are against medical marijuana," Doumas said. "I agree with everything that's been said, but ... I just can't fathom how this is winding up in a neighborhood full of kids."

Mike Davis; @byMikeDavis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com