EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — The Offshore Commercial Park on Delilah Road will likely be the site of the state’s second medical marijuana treatment center if the state approves the plans, Mayor James “Sonny” McCullough confirmed Tuesday.

New Jersey legalized the use of medical marijuana in 2010 through the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The state then authorized six locations throughout New Jersey to dispense the medicine. The only other center close to opening in is Montclair, Essex County

The 85,000-square-foot enclosed building here is owned by Leo B. Schoffer. He was approached about the building by the nonprofit group Compassionate Care Foundation Inc. as a possible site for one of the two locations permitted by the state to be located in South Jersey, McCullough said.

The township zoning code permits all of the activities that would be conducted at the site, including manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, research, warehouse storage, retail and wholesale sales, educational classes and more, he said.

While McCullough said opposition is always expected from such proposals, the township has no say in whether the business is approved and noted the site is in a industrial section of the township. McCullough said he would love to see the township become a hub for the pharmaceutical industry.

“This location is set back off the road. There is no public transportation there and it is not close to a housing development,” he said. “Patients will only be able to come by appointment between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. No one will be lingering around the building.”

He said if the nonprofit organization had tried to place it in another location such as near the Shore Mall or along the Black Horse Pike, he would be opposed.

“There’s nothing we can do to prevent it” at the proposed location, he said.

Under the law, physicians have to be licensed by the state to prescribe medical marijuana to patients with a specific set of illnesses. Those patients also need to be certified under the state’s patient registry.

The registry has not yet been opened, according to the state Department of Health and Senior Services website, but more than 100 doctors are already certified.

McCullough said the building would have a high level of security that may be able to be tied into the police department’s communication system as well. Each ounce of marijuana will be marked with a barcode so it can be tracked accurately, he said.

“If pharmacies had this level of security, people wouldn’t be breaking in to steal oxycotin and other medicines far more powerful than this,” he said.

The marijuana, or cannabis, would be grown indoors through seeds provided by the University of Mississippi. The products would be available in the form of lozenges, flakes, or lotions. Patients would only be allowed to get two ounces per week, McCullough said. Research would also be conducted at the site.

In order to get a prescription, patients would be certified by their physicians as having a “debilitating medical condition, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer, muscular dystrophy or inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease. Terminal illness also qualifies if the physician determines the patient has less than 12 months to live.”

Other illness like epilepsy, intractable skeletal muscular spasticity or glaucoma may qualify if the patient has been unsuccessful with conventional medical therapy. Some cases of AIDS, HIV or cancer may also apply, according to the site.

“I don’t see why people would oppose it if the medical profession has found there to be an absolute need for it for many patients,” he said.

New Jersey was the 14th state to enact a medical marijuana law.

Compassionate Care’s plans include the creation of 16 local jobs with the possibility of a total of 50, he said, noting each employee will have to undergo a full background check.