EDITOR’S NOTE: On March 10, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts its first semi-annual, daylong industry conference, featuring leaders in the medical marijuana, hemp and legal cannabis industries. Early-bird tickets are now available.

Three new dispensaries were given permission to start growing medical marijuana, the state Department of Health announced Tuesday.

The health department said it issued the cultivation permits to Verano in Readington, MPX NJ in Pleasantville and Columbia Care NJ in Vineland. The facilities must still receive permits to operate and dispense pot before opening to the public.

That brings the number of new dispensaries growing medical marijuana to five, after two others received permits in the past few months. One other operator awarded a license in late 2018, Justice Grown, has yet to receive its permit to operate in Ewing.

The six dispensaries received licenses in a competitive process in late 2018 that was expected to jump start the state’s struggling medical marijuana program, where 60,000 patients had access to only six dispensaries. That has led to long lines, commutes and shortages.

The first of the group to get licenses in late 2018, Rise Paterson, opened its doors in December and has been growing and dispensing marijuana. Canadian cannabis giant TerrAscend received its permit in January to begin growing at a cultivation site in Boonton Township, and will open a dispensary in Phillipsburg this spring.

Verano’s dispensary will open in Elizabeth, Columbia Care’s in Vineland and MPX’s in Atlantic City.

“Receiving our cultivation permit in New Jersey is momentous" George Archos, the chief executive of Verano NJ, said in a statement. “We look forward to operating here in the Garden State, applying our depth of experience across cultivation, processing & retail to supply the medical-use patients of New Jersey with a full suite of premium medical cannabis flower and products.”

RELATED: N.J. cannabis industry leaders to gather at huge conference. Here’s how to attend.

MPX, an affiliate of iAnthus, is expected to have its first harvest in late spring, but will open its Atlantic City dispensary, Be, just off the Boardwalk sooner, according to a release from the company.

“We are thrilled to be entering the New Jersey market, my home-state and our milestone tenth state market,” Beth Stavola, chief executive of MPX, said in a statement. “With this expansion, we will bring to New Jersey not only clean, safe, and high-quality cannabis products, but jobs and increased economic activity in the Pleasantville and Atlantic City areas. We greatly look forward to servicing the medical marijuana community and being part of a path forward toward full adult-legalization.”

The program is expected to grow, still, as the health department planned to license up to 24 new businesses across the state. But two lawsuits have halted that process until at least this spring.

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.

Are you interested in the cannabis industry? Subscribe here for exclusive insider information from NJ Cannabis Insider.