Home delivery, as the proposed regulations currently stand, would not be allowed.
Some groups that were considering applying said they didn't because the proposed rules were too onerous - for instance, limiting the potency of the legal pot, which none of the 13 other states that have legalized medical marijuana has done.
Most of the winners came from outside the close-knit group of the most public advocates for legalizing medical marijuana.
Devon Graf, the Health Department's director of legal and regulatory compliance, said the successful applicants are a mix of big and small operations.
"It was pleasant to see that there are some little-guy, some small-business providers in there," Graf said.
He said the winners had strong financial backing and had secured preliminary approvals for their locations from local zoning boards and town governments and prepared training manuals for employees.
The applicants were required to show they had plans for security, quality control, and other aspects of the businesses.
Some have strong ties to hospitals. One of the successful applications was Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation, which will work with Meadowlands Hospital. The group's facility in New Brunswick was approved.
"We are grateful to Gov. Christie's administration that [Health] Commissioner [Poonam] Alaigh is a visionary who has devised a medical model that will ensure much needed relief to patients suffering serious debilitating conditions in a safe, strict, and appropriate manner," said Raj Mukherji, a spokesman for the group.
The group's application says it expects to spend $4.5 million a year to operate the facility.
Peter Rosenfeld and his organization, Compassion Collective of Camden County, applied to run a center in Pennsauken but did not get a license.
