FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6/29/2010
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ)
www.cmmnj.org
CONTACT: Ken Wolski RN 609 394 2137 ohamkrw@aol.com or media@cmmnj.org
New Jersey delays medical marijuana law
Trenton - The New Jersey Senate and Assembly passed bills to move back the effective date of state’s medical marijuana law by 90 days. The long-suffering residents who will qualify for the program were relieved that legislators rejected a request from Governor Christie for a 6-12 month delay in the law.
There was also a tepid response among patients and elected officials to proposals from the Governor for a fundamental redesign of the medical cannabis program.
The amendments passed yesterday make the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act effective on October 1, 2010. This will give state government officials until January 1, 2011 to finalize rules and regulations.
Ken Wolski RN, the Executive Director of CMMNJ said today, “ A three-month delay is better than a six or 12 month delay. We're also grateful that the legislature did not attempt to amend the content of the law.”
The Department of Health and Senior Services has oversight of the medical cannabis program. DHSS Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh fully endorsed the medical and scientific value of cannabis in a recent New Jersey Network (NJN) appearance.
Peter Rosenfeld, a potential patient on the Board of Directors at the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey said “We hope that during this delay NJ-DHSS is more transparent than it has been in the last six months, allowing our group and other interested groups to give feedback about the program.”
So far, DHSS and other state officials have not met with any local advocacy groups or residents that the law was written to serve. This has left many preparing for a bigger effort to get the medical marijuana law put into practice.
Wolski said CMMNJ meetings have seen their strongest attendance in the last few months. “This is an agonizing delay. Marijuana is medicine in New Jersey and patients deserve, want, and need timely access to it.”
CONTACT: Ken Wolski RN 609 394 2137 ohamkrw@aol.com or media@cmmnj.org
The next CMMNJ public meeting takes place Tuesday July 13th at the Lawrence Township Library at 7:00PM
I still don't understand how these six initial dispensaries are going to be able to provide for the whole of NJ. An just how are they even going to go about that, you cant grow under state law, or federal law, but you're going to have to pay some fee for a license to do just that, but you can still be considered a criminal if they decide to bust you? Seems like the patient not being able to growing there own is going to inhibit this from being what it could be. The way I see it now, if they go ahead as planned its gonna be mob run in a matter of a year. Guarantee that the growing license is so expensive and that you have to scratch so many backs, jump through so many hoops it wont even be worth it to the regular guy. Think liquor license issues times 100. Then when the state starts to see how much money these places are bringing in its gonna get real dirty real quick.
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