NJ offically the 14th medical state!
New Jersey Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana - NYTimes.com
New Jersey Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana
By DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
Published: January 11, 2010
The New Jersey Assembly approved a measure on Monday that would make the state the first in the region and the 14th in the nation to legalize the use of marijuana for medical reasons.
The measure was to be voted on by the State Senate later in the afternoon, the final day of the legislative session. If passed, it would allow patients diagnosed with severe illnesses like cancer, AIDS, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis to have access to marijuana distributed through state-monitored dispensaries.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine has said he would sign it into law before leaving office next Tuesday. Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie, speaking at a press conference on Monday before the vote, reiterated his support for legalizing the medical use of marijuana as long as the final bill contained safeguards to ensure that it did not end up encouraging the recreational use of the drug.
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, a Democrat from Princeton, said the New Jersey law would be the most restrictive in the nation because it would only permit doctors to prescribe it for a list of serious chronic illnesses. The legislation would also forbid patients from growing their own marijuana and using it in public, and it would regulate the drug under the strict conditions used to track the distribution of medically prescribed opiates like Oxycontin and morphine.
??I truly believe this will become a model for other states because it balances the compassionate use of medical marijuana while limiting the number of ailments that a physician can prescribe it for,? said Mr. Gusciora, who sponsored the bill.
Mr. Christie said he wanted to make sure that New Jersey did not follow the path of other states that have legalized the medical use of marijuana.
??I think we see all what??s happened in California,? Mr. Christie said. ??It??s gotten completely out of control.?
Opponents of the New Jersey bill often use California??s experience as a cautionary tale, saying that medical marijuana is so loosely regulated there that the state has essentially decriminalized the drug. Under California law, residents can legally obtain marijuana to treat a list of maladies as common, and undefined, as anxiety or chronic pain.
The New Jersey Senate last year passed a less restrictive version of the proposal, which led opponents of medical marijuana to predict that it would pave the way for California-style ??pot centers.? David Evans, executive director of the Drug Free School Coalition, said that such centers would make marijuana more readily available on the streets and lead to an increase use of drugs by teenagers.
But after conference hearings among legislative leaders, both chambers agreed on a more stringent bill.
As the legislators prepared to vote on the measure, more than a dozen chronically ill patients rallied at the State House to urge lawmakers to pass it.
One of them, Scott Ward, who said he suffered from multiple sclerosis, said he had been prescribed marijuana to alleviate leg cramps so severe that they often ??feel like my muscles are tearing apart? and that leave him virtually unable to walk. Other prescription drugs either failed to ease the pain or left him so groggy he could do little more than sleep, Mr. Ward said. But when he followed his neurologist??s advice and treated his pain with marijuana, Mr. Ward said, the pain went away.
??I could do normal things like walk the dog,? said Mr. Ward, 26. ??It made a huge difference in my life.?
NJ offically the 14th medical state!
Well it hasnt been officially approved. The Senate still needs to debate and vote on the bill before the end of the day - then Corzine only has until Friday to sign because come Tuesday the 19th Christie is in. Chances are it will definitely head to Corzine's desk because the Senate already voted in favor of a less restrictive MMJ bill in 2009.
NJ offically the 14th medical state!
^ one hour ago the star ledger reported that the senate has passed the bill 25-13.
N.J. lawmakers approve bill legalizing medical marijuana | New Jersey Real-Time News - - NJ.com
it still has to be signed by the outgoing governor, john corzine. corzine has said even during his campaign that he would sign a medical marijuana law.
he has also pledged to sign this law specifically before he leaves office jan 19th.
the incoming republican governor chris christie said during his campaign that he apposes medical marijuana but then after the health commission amended the bill last summer to be the strictest in the nation he expressed that he would "consider" it.
hes very conservative, hes even pro life. im pretty sure he said hed "consider" it just to get votes during his campaign. its honestly a toss up whether he would sign it or not.
when corzine signs it NJ will become the 14th state in the union to allow the use of marijuana for medicinal use. the law specifically lists what medical conditions would qualify a patient to use marijuana, basically you have to be on deaths door or severely handicapped.
the law does not allow for patients to grow their own weed. the only mmj law in the nation with that prohibition.
the law mandates that 6 non-profit pot shops be set up immediately, and also allows for "for profit" marijuana shops to be established also.
the "for profit" provision is probably what christie would veto on if he vetoed, but hes not going to get that chance corzine really hates him, ha.
if anyone reading this wants to apply for a license to be one of the first non-profits let me know, i would love to work at one of the first dispensaries in nj.
NJ offically the 14th medical state!
As a New Jersey resident, I can only support it. The people with these illnesses should by no means be restricted in their pursuance of alternative medicines. I'm so happy these people can finally get treatment that works!
Unfortunately the law only covers serious illnesses, so I won't be able to apply for a license here. I think I could personally use it for more minor problems that I experience, but hey, they're only minor problems. I thank god I'm not suffering from any of these serious illnesses.
:baggy:
NJ offically the 14th medical state!
^ the medical condition that would be the most common to qualify under would be "inflammatory bowl disease". it was actually added during the amending process. i *might* qualify for it because i *may* have diverticulitis, im a fairly healthy person so it rarely affects me, so i have never even bothered to have it diagnosed. my dad however has it pretty bad, he had to get the diverticuliti surgically removed once, and its hereditary.
crohn's disease is also specifically listed. a lot of people should be covered under that. i do believe that the law states that you have to have tried other treatments that didn't work before though.
its going to be a while before nj builds up a group of docs willing to write rec's liberally, at first the program is going to be heavily monitored by the state.
but im sure in 5 years well be like colorado and in 10 years well be like cali.
hopefully in 15 years well have full legalization.
