New Jersey Revises the Rules for Prescribing Schedule II Controlled Substances by Telemedicine

New Jersey has again adjusted one of the most consequential rules in telehealth: when a clinician may prescribe a Schedule II controlled substance without seeing the patient in person. A law enacted in July 2026 amends the state statute that governs telemedicine prescribing, keeping an in-person visit as the general requirement while carving out a new pathway for adult stimulant prescriptions and full exceptions for several patient groups. This piece explains what the law requires, who is exempt, and how the state got here, based on the statute, the bill, and published legal analyses of the enacted law.

What New Jersey changed

In July 2026, Governor Sherrill signed Assembly Bill 4852 into law as P.L. 2026, c. 40, amending N.J.S.A. 45:1-62, the statute that sets the conditions for delivering health care through telemedicine and telehealth. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the state's professional and occupational licensing boards, issued a prescriber alert summarizing the current requirements for prescribing a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance (CDS) by telemedicine or telehealth. The general rule did not disappear. Instead, the amended statute preserves an in-person default and lists the specific situations in which that default does not apply.

The default: an in-person exam first, then every three months

As a baseline, prescribing a Schedule II CDS in New Jersey requires an initial in-person examination of the patient and a subsequent in-person examination every three months for the duration of the time the patient is prescribed the Schedule II CDS, unless a statutory exception applies. Schedule II is the most tightly controlled category of drugs that a clinician can still prescribe, a group that includes many stimulants used to treat ADHD as well as certain opioids. The in-person default reflects how carefully these prescriptions are regulated.

A new telehealth pathway for adult stimulant prescriptions

The law creates a distinct route for prescribing a Schedule II stimulant to an adult patient. The initial prescription may be issued using telemedicine or telehealth only if an in-person examination is conducted within 30 days. After that, a subsequent in-person visit or a telehealth or telemedicine contact is required every three months, and an in-person visit is required at least once annually for as long as the patient is prescribed the Schedule II stimulant. Under the statute, these requirements apply even if the patient could lawfully be prescribed another controlled substance by telemedicine or telehealth under a different exception.

Stimulants for minors

For a patient under the age of 18, a Schedule II stimulant may be prescribed with the consent of the minor's parent or guardian to waive the in-person examination requirements. This exception, which predates the July 2026 changes, remains in place under the amended statute.

Patients exempt from the in-person requirement

The amended statute lists several categories of patients for whom the in-person examination requirements for a Schedule II CDS do not apply:

• A patient who is currently in active treatment for cancer, receiving hospice care from a licensed hospice, or receiving palliative care, or who is a resident of a long-term care facility.
• A patient who is undergoing evaluation, consultation, or treatment related to the Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act (N.J.S.A. 26:16-1 et seq.).
• Any medications that are being prescribed to a patient for use in the treatment of a substance use disorder.

The technology and standard-of-care requirements

Prescribing a Schedule II CDS by telemedicine or telehealth under an exception is not a phone-call-and-prescription shortcut. The prescriber must use interactive, real-time, two-way audio and visual technology, and the use of that technology must be consistent with state and federal law. The statute also requires that the health care provider meet the same standard of care or practice standards that apply in an in-person setting. In other words, the format may be remote, but the clinical bar is the same.

How New Jersey got here

The July 2026 law follows a year of movement in New Jersey. Emergency waivers adopted during the COVID-19 public health emergency had allowed authorized prescribers to prescribe Schedule II CDS by telemedicine without a prior in-person visit. Those waivers expired in February 2026 after the state's COVID-19 emergency declaration was terminated, and existing telemedicine patients were given a transition window, into the spring of 2026, before the in-person requirements applied to them. The amendment enacted in July 2026 then rewrote the exceptions, adding the adult stimulant pathway and the full carve-outs for cancer, hospice, palliative, and long-term care patients, patients under the Medical Aid in Dying Act, and substance use disorder treatment.

Why it matters

Schedule II telehealth rules directly shape access to common treatments, including stimulant therapy for ADHD and medications for substance use disorder. New Jersey's approach is notable because it does not simply pick between full remote access and a hard in-person mandate. It keeps an in-person examination as the anchor for most Schedule II prescribing while building targeted flexibility for adults on stimulants and for patients whose circumstances, such as active cancer treatment, hospice, or substance use disorder care, make repeated in-person visits impractical or inappropriate. For clinicians who serve New Jersey patients by telehealth, the practical task is to match each patient to the correct pathway and to document the required visits and consents.

What to do next

This is general information about a New Jersey law, not legal or medical advice. Patients with questions about how these rules affect an existing prescription should talk with their treating clinician, and clinicians who prescribe controlled substances in New Jersey should review the amended statute, the Division of Consumer Affairs alert, and guidance from the relevant licensing board, along with a qualified compliance adviser. Federal controlled-substance prescribing rules apply on top of state law, so a telehealth prescription must satisfy both.