CMMNJ Zoom Meeting Agenda for July 9, 2024

 

CMMNJ Monthly Public Zoom Meeting Agenda for July 9, 2024 at 7 pm

ZOOM Meeting ID: 830 7019 0783  Passcode: 325970 Or click: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83070190783?pwd=9Dd55h2am4Vb7aSUc0T3v7b2pBlW0K.1

One tap mobile (646) 931-3860; Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/koIAewUoG

Agenda: New Jersey Issues: 

CMMNJ’s NJ Cannabis Town Hall that was held on June 22nd at Raritan Valley Community College was very successful. Thanks to all who participated in the Panel Discussions, Cannabis Career Fair, and Expungement Clinics.

The NJ CannaBusiness Association (NJCBA) hosted a webinar on cannabis home growing with State Senator Vin Gopal (D-11) and leading advocates.

S2283: Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act passed the Senate Health Committee on 6/6/24 but it was amended to tightly regulated therapeutic access, eliminating home cultivation. The bill is in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. A3852, the identical Assembly bill, passed the Assembly Health Committee on 6/17/24. There is no legislative activity scheduled for July 2024.

Bill A4461 will have the NJCRC regulate Delta-8 and other hemp-derived products. Susanna Short said that Delta hemp drinks should be sold in licensed dispensaries only. Guy Lardieri agreed: “Keeping the regulation of these products within the CRC's purview is essential.” Cannabis license holders are mandated to be pro-union. Scott Rudder declared, “We’re going to allow thousands of liquor stores to sell weed in their stores.” Substitute S3235 passed the Senate and Assembly 6/28/24. Gov. Murphy can line-item veto.

Juniper Lane Atlantic City, Colleen Begley's cannabis business, received from NJEDA a Cannabis Seed Equity grant of $150,000. “I spent my time fighting not just for legalization but (to) allow former felons like me to become licensed operators,” said Colleen, who served years in NJ’s prisons, including EMCF/Clinton, for marijuana violations. Susanna Puntel Short, a cannabis industry consultant, worked with Begley as a specialty coach in the NJEDA's Technical Assistance Program. 

IMPROVING ACCESS TO MEDICAL CANNABIS, By Ken Wolski, RN, New Jersey Nurse & Institute for Nursing Newsletter, June 2024, page 4.

Appellate Court denies relief for Steven Kadonsky. “Finally, we reject (his) fundamental fairness argument that we continue to punish him for conduct that is now recognized as legal. That argument is faulty. It is not legal today to operate a largescale unlicensed marijuana distribution network.”

Trenton’s proposed Ordinance makes it unlawful for any person to smoke cannabis in, or on, any public space, with fines from $250 to $1000 for any violation, unless a patient can show a Medicinal Cannabis ID card. Public comments are welcome on 7/11/24, 5:30 PM at the city council meeting. 

NORML Action Alert: New Jersey: Allow Patients to Grow Their Own Medicine

CMMNJ Website is still unavailable as we transition out of GoDaddy. Are there volunteers who are interested in being part of the “CMMNJ Tech Team” to help with websites, blogs, social media, streaming, video, and audio? Text Nick Mellis @ 609.331.9304 - TEXT ONLY to schedule a talk. 

Please subscribe to CMMNJ’s YouTube channel—we need 50 subscribers for greater access!

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC):

The next CRC meeting: July 18, 2024 at 11 a.m. at 44 S. Clinton Ave., Trenton. Register to speak by Thursday, July 16th at 5 p.m. Submit written comments by July 19th at 5 p.m.

Invited Testimony to the CRC 6/17/24: Recommendations to the CRC: Allow anyone with prescriptive privileges to recommend cannabis for any condition. Make healthcare facilities allow the use of medical cannabis by patients. Institutionalized patients qualify for medical cannabis; it could benefit them, and save operating expenses. NJ must require education on the Endocannabinoid System for all health care professionals as a condition for continued licensure in the state. “NJ has a unique opportunity to lead medical cannabis research,” M4MM Co-Director Gaetano Lardieri declared. 

S3484: Provides health care practitioners discretion to determine which medical conditions could qualify patients for use of medical cannabis. Introduced by Sen. Troy Singleton (Thank you!) on 6/24/24 and referred to Senate Health Committee. 

CRC: Find a Dispensary in NJ. Benzinga’s list of medical cannabis dispensaries.

Federal Drug Policy Reform: 

Self-reported daily or near daily cannabis use rose from 0.9 million people in 1992 to 17.7 million people 30 years later – a 15-fold increase in the per capita rate. “high-frequency cannabis use is now more commonly reported than is high-frequency drinking”.

“Rescheduling is a half-measure; DEA must deschedule marijuana,” M. Brennan

A prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) wants the DEA to extend the current public comment period for marijuana rescheduling. “It is a significant reversal of nearly a dozen prior agency decisions rejecting proposals to move marijuana out of Schedule I.”

Lawmakers need to recognize the perilous consequences of legalization.

Research Evaluates CBD as an Alternative Analgesic for Acute Dental Pain

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development won its bid to dismiss a civil suit challenging the denial of Section 8 housing benefits to medical marijuana users because the drug remains illegal under federal law, a federal court said.

CMMNJ’s post-legalization medical cannabis goals:

Insurance bills (note new bill numbers for 2024 - 2025 legislative session):

• S1944: Costs of medical cannabis to be reimbursed by Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund, PAAD, Senior Gold and VCCO. The bills passed both Health Committees and are in the Senate and Assembly Budget and Oversight Committees. 

• S1943/A4371: Requires workers’ compensation, PIP, and health insurance coverage.

• A898/S2828: Subsidize medical cannabis in Medicaid or NJ Family Care.

Home cultivation bills (note new bill numbers for 2024 - 2025 legislative session):
Website: https://www.letpatientsgrownj.com/

• S1393/A846: Authorizes home cultivation of medical cannabis.

• A414: Legalizes possession of six marijuana plants for personal use.

• S1985: Legalizes six plants for personal use and 10 plants for medical 

Hospital and Institutional Access: NJ patients in hospitals, nursing homes, state institutions, group homes and hospice are unable to access medical cannabis. Patient outcomes would improve, and health care costs would be reduced if these patients had access to medical cannabis.

Upcoming Events: 

Shore Grow, LLC plans another Patient Aid Day, 8/11/24, Noon to 4 pm. 1710 Rt. 35 Oakhurst, NJ; Shore Grow's 2024 Class Schedule.

Third Annual National Cannabis Patients’ Awareness Day, Trenton, 7/10/2024, 11:11 a.m.

Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM) Upcoming Events

Happy Wellness Expo, FDU, Madison, NJ, 9/8/24, 10 - 5 p.m.

NECANN NJ Cannabis Convention Fri, Sept 6 & Sat, Sept 7 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

Treasury report: 

Checking: $10,077  

Fundraising ideas are always welcome.

Make a tax-deductible donation via PayPal to info@cmmnj.org, 

or send a check to: CMMNJ, 219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618.

Or scan:

More info: 

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com 
Facebook: Friends of CMMNJ: https://www.facebook.com/groups/62462971150/
Twitter: @CMM_NJ
CMMNJ blog: https://cmmnj.blogspot.com/

Website: Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey: Join the “CMMNJ Tech Team” to help with websites, blogs, social media, streaming, video, and audio. Text Nick Mellis @ 609.331.9304

CMMNJ awards:

2021: NJ Governor's Jefferson Award in the Volunteer Group category;
2023: NJ State Governor's Volunteerism Award in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Champion for Justice Category "for extraordinary service to your community;"
2023: Ken Wolski won a Lifetime Achievement award;
2023: NJ Senate and Assembly Joint Legislative Resolution affirmed CMMNJ's importance as a "catalyst for the legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana in the State" and paid “tribute to all who have contributed to its success and renown.”

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.

Rescheduling is a half-measure; the DEA must deschedule marijuana

The DEA must deschedule marijuana 

Dear Sir, 

The Biden Administration’s recent move to reconsider marijuana’s status as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is a step in the right direction, but it falls woefully short of what is needed. Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is not enough. Instead, it is time to end the failed policy of criminalization and completely remove marijuana from the CSA’s drug schedules. 

Given the Biden Administration’s acknowledgment of the racially discriminatory enforcement of marijuana laws, any policy development that ignores these considerations is unjustifiable. President Biden has repeatedly promised to decriminalize marijuana. The DEA should not undermine this commitment by finalizing the proposed rule to reschedule marijuana under the CSA. It is imperative for the Biden Administration to fulfill this promise by taking decisive action to end and repair the harms of federal marijuana criminalization. 

The only way to truly end federal marijuana criminalization and its associated harms is to completely deschedule marijuana from the CSA. A new federal marijuana policy should prioritize public health and equity. It should aim to end unjust criminal consequences, restore rights and opportunities for those affected by marijuana criminalization, and ensure a diverse marketplace that protects small businesses and equity programs from large corporate monopolies. 

The current proposal to reschedule marijuana fails to address the core issues of federal marijuana criminalization. Rescheduling will not stop federal arrests for possession and use, nor will it free those imprisoned for marijuana-related offenses. It will not expunge previous marijuana arrests, end deportations, or remove immigration consequences stemming from marijuana activity. Moreover, it will not restore access to government benefits lost due to marijuana-related activities or bring state marijuana programs into compliance with federal law. 

 

Even for the marijuana industry, rescheduling to Schedule III is inadequate. While it would eliminate certain federal tax penalties for state-regulated marijuana businesses, it would not provide them with legal access to essential business services, nor is it likely to result in significant wage increases for workers or lower prices for patients and consumers. More importantly, rescheduling would continue the criminalization of personal possession, cultivation, use, and participation in state-legal marijuana businesses. 

The process of evaluating marijuana’s status under the CSA is also deeply flawed. The administrative review conducted by the FDA and DEA is limited in scope and fails to consider the racist origins and impacts of marijuana prohibition. These policies have had devastating social, economic, and public health consequences, particularly for Black and Latino communities, which continue to suffer from mass incarceration, inaccessible public housing, and denial of food assistance programs. 

Furthermore, the U.S. has played a significant role in enforcing marijuana prohibition globally, with devastating consequences. With changing domestic realities, the U.S. has a responsibility to repair the damage caused by prohibitionist policies and support systemic changes internationally. Active diplomacy at the United Nations and other international forums is essential to challenge the outdated global drug control regime.  

Rescheduling marijuana is a half-measure that fails to address the root problems. To achieve meaningful reform, the DEA must issue a new rule to deschedule marijuana from the CSA entirely. 

As often heard in circles of those recovered from needless suffering, “Half measures avail us nothing.” 

Thank you. 

 

Michael Brennan 

Member, Board of Directors 

Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc. 

219 Woodside Ave Trenton, NJ 08618 United States