CMMNJ Monthly Zoom Meeting Agenda for February 9, 2021 at 7 pm
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89421238454?pwd=NGRRdmMveVFzbjJwU1RXWExZazhPUT09
Meeting ID: 894 2123 8454; Passcode: 983881
Agenda:
N.J.’s legal adult use cannabis is still held up; Gov. Murphy wanted to clarify penalties for underage use in the bills, S21/A21, the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, & Marketplace Modernization Act and, S2535/A1897, the Decriminalization bill. Both bills passed by the Legislature but are still on the governor’s desk. The governor must sign, veto, or conditionally veto the bills by 2/8/21. If he takes no action, the bills become law. (Two “cleanup bills” to address concerns failed to pass in the Legislature.) Legal in first 100 days?
The Constitutional Amendment, approved by voters on 11/3/20 to legalize cannabis for adults in New Jersey, took effect on 1/1/21. The ballot question’s Interpretive Statement: “The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (will) oversee the new adult cannabis market…The scope of the commission’s new authority (will) be detailed in laws enacted by the Legislature.”
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin named ex-Marine Sam Delgado to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, joining Dianna Houenou, Jeff Brown, and Krista Nash, a South Jersey social worker. One CRC opening remains.
NJ AG said prosecutors must stop low-level cases statewide, but possession arrests (estimated at 55 a day) continue in NJ.
Home cultivation for patients:
Senator Gerald Cardinale (R) introduced S3407, a bill that legalizes possession of six or fewer marijuana plants, subject to enactment of legislation legalizing marijuana or cannabis for personal use.
Medical marijuana patients just want to grow their own weed. Why lawmakers won’t allow it.
Opinion: Years in prison for growing weed? Still?
Sign the petition: Let Patients Grow NJ; Visit the website: Let Patients Grow NJ #JeffsLaw.
Court Cases:
An appellate court panel heard arguments on 2/2/21 in a case that has stalled the expansion of the NJ medical marijuana program. The court must decide if the state can reopen its review of 24 licenses that a lawsuit put on hold in late 2019.
Are we just one lawsuit away from judges insisting on access to cannabis for qualified patients in NJ prisons? Judges ruled that NJ HIV/AIDS inmates are entitled to community standards of care, after they sued to obtain expensive anti-retroviral therapy.
The American Medical Association asked a court to overturn the Medical Marijuana vote in Mississippi. The AMA, @AmerMedicalAssn, harms patients by denying them medical marijuana, in violation of the Hippocratic oath: "First do no harm."
NJWeedman’s lawsuit: U.S. District Judge for NJ will hear oral arguments on 2/17/21.
National:
Tell President-Elect Biden: It’s Time to Shut Down the Drug Czar’s Office
Philadelphia: Marijuana Treatment Admissions Drop By 80% (since decrim).
Illinois sold more than $1 billion worth of legal marijuana products in 2020.
Upcoming Events:
Sativa Cross: Ignorance Is No Excuse Potcast Schedule
The Black Cannabis Equity Initiative (BCEI) and the CANNABIS INDUSTRY will hold a "SOCIAL EQUITY CANNABIS LEGALIZATION IN NJ ZOOM EVENT" on 2/19/21, from 3 – 5 pm.
Recent Events:
International Medical Cannabis Patients Coalition Meeting, 2/2/21 via Zoom.
Leo Bridgewater won a $50K grant from Eaze’s Momentum Accelerator Program!
Live with Neve talks about marijuana in NJ with Jo Ann Zito
Black Cannabis Equity Initiative (BCEI) & the CANNABIS INDUSTRY: "SOCIAL EQUITY CANNABIS LEGALIZATION IN NJ ZOOM EVENT" 1/27/21
NJ Cannabis Insider: 21 to watch in the N.J. cannabis space in 2021 #6. Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey, the community organization that championed the law long before it gained traction in Trenton, will continue to bang the drum for home-grow. Their fight is gaining converts and attention.
Treasury report:
Checking: $5478; PayPal: $3224. Make a tax-deductible donation via PayPal to info@cmmnj.org, or send a check to:
CMMNJ, 219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618.
Hemp wristbands also available.
More info: Ken Wolski, RN, MPA (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com
Facebook: Friends of CMMNJ: https://www.facebook.com/groups/62462971150/
Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey: http://www.cmmnj.org
Twitter: @CMM_NJ
CMMNJ blog: https://cmmnj.blogspot.com/
CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.
