New Jersey's medical marijuana program would get a sweeping overhaul to make it far easier for patients to qualify and obtain cannabis under a bill that cleared three state legislative committees on Monday.

Action on the measure came on the same day lawmakers also approved a bill that would legalize recreational pot for adults 21 and older.

The measure was named "Jake's Law" after Jake Honig of Howell, a 7-year-old boy who died from brain cancer in January. Jake was helped by cannabis oil but his parents were forced to use it sparingly because of the state's strict limits on how much could be purchased. Those limits would be eased in the new measure.

Since March, when Gov. Phil Murphy expanded the list of qualifying medical conditions and reduced the cost of patient registration, enrollment has doubled, from 18,500 patients to 37,500, according to the state health department.

But complaints have dogged the program that the six approved dispensaries are too few and too far away to provide an adequate supply of cannabis.

Under the bill, a newly created Cannabis Regulatory Commission-- which will control both the medicinal program and the anticipated recreational industry -- would solicit applicants for six new grow and retail operations within 90 days.

Patients enrolled in New Jersey's medicinal marijuana program would be permitted every month to buy 2.5 ounces from January 2019 to July 2019 -- up from the current 2 ounces -- and after July, a maximum of 3 ounces a month. People who are in hospice care or diagnosed with a terminally disease would have no purchasing limits.

Raising the quantity of cannabis sold was a request from the parents of Jake Honig. Mike and Janet Honig of Howell bought dried cannabis and made their own oil for their son Jake, but the 2-ounce limit set by state law and regulation last only two weeks, Mike Honig told the committee.

Thanks to the oil, "he did well in school and played basketball," when doctors predicted he would suffer from seizures, dizziness and other debilitating symptoms, Mike Honig said. "But we had to use it sparingly."

The oil didn't make his son high, Honig said. "He got his highest from morphine,'' he said, adding, "Oxy did nothing for his pain."

After the Mike Honig's testimony, Senate Health Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, also the bill sponsor, told the family the legislation would be named after their son.

The Senate Health Committee passed the bill (S10) by a 7-1 vote. The same bill was approved later in the day by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee by an 11-1 vote, and the Assembly Appropriations Committee by a 10-0 vote with one abstention.

According to (S10), the bill also would:

Expand access to edible forms of cannabis for patients of all ages;

Give advance practice nurses and nurse practitioners authority to recommend patients to the program;

Permit out-of-state medicinal marijuana patients from the 32 states where it is also legal to buy and consume cannabis in New Jersey;

Shield employees from losing their jobs because they are registered patients;

Protect patients from losing visitation or custody of their children because they are registered in the program;

Phase out the 6.625 percent sales tax over five years.

State Sen. Robert Singer, R-Ocean, chastised Vitale for allowing medical cannabis to remain taxable. "It's disgraceful -- we tax no other medicine."

The bill also gives health care facilities the authority to be designated "institutional caregivers" and permitted to administer cannabis to its registered patients. But Lisa McCauley Parles, the parent of a 28-year-old son with autism and an array of chronic medical conditions, urged the committee to broaden the meaning of institutional caregiver.

People with developmental disabilities may benefit from cannabis, but if they are living in a group home or other institutional setting, a family member would be required to personally administer the medicine, she said.

"This limitation places an onerous burden on family members and improperly excludes the developmentally disabled from the benefits of having an employee administer medical marijuana," Parles said.

Vitale said he would explore the idea and consider amending the bill.

Michael Brennan, a Moorestown resident and a board member for the advocacy group, the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey, said he wished the legislation could address the exorbitant cost of legally sanctioned cannabis.

Brennan said he is "amazed" by how helpful cannabis has been for him, but as a person reliant on permanent disability payments, the $850 two ounces costs him a month is "a barrier." So does the lack of variety of strains, he added.

"It keeps patients away," said Brennan, who was accompanied by his service dog, Stella. "This is where home cultivation would have helped with that."

Vitale acknowledged the costs are high, and home cultivation is not included in the bill, disappointing many advocates. "Over time, we hope competition reduces costs," he said.

The legislation needs to pass the full 40-member Senate and the 80-member Assembly before it goes to Murphy's desk.

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