NJ: Medical marijuana law offers new centralized approach

by Chris Goldstein - New Jersey will try a new approach for a medical marijuana program. Already allowed in 13 states and recently in the District of Columbia, regulated cannabis access has been put in place elsewhere with a network of caregivers, cultivators and compassion centers. But in New Jersey the entire process would be centralized in an innovative way. The new model needs to work because unlike the 13 other states, NJ residents will not be allowed to grow their own marijuana.

The Legislature passed The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act on 1/11/2010. Outgoing Governor Jon Corzine is expected to sign the bill into law very soon. Advocates predict that by the end of 2010 patients will be able to register and access legal medical cannabis.

The bill states that the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) must promulgate rules for the patient/caregiver registry system along with a permit process and regulations for the Alternative Treatment Centers. Those rules must be created within six months, expect to see them around July 2010.

After those rules are issued, patients can register and ATC’s can begin to be authorized. So how will it work?

NJ Medical Marijuana process
Step 1 – Doctor and Patient consultation
Step 2 – Application to the program
Step 3 - Registry card issued (A single caregiver per patient may now apply)
Step 4 – Note for 30-day supply, determined by physician, up to 2oz every month
Step 5 – Patient or Caregiver go to Alternative Treatment Center to access marijuana
Step 6 – Doctor must re-authorize monthly supply every 30-90 days

New Jersey’s new model for dispensing medical marijuana will see Alternative Treatment Centers required to grow, cure and produce all marijuana products (such as edible preparations) as well as dispense the cannabis on a single site. An ATC would also be allowed to sell marijuana consumption devices such as pipes and vaporizers.

This would create the most comprehensive medical marijuana production facilities outside of the federal government’s program at the University of Mississippi. In other states groups of cultivators send their marijuana to dispensaries or compassion centers.
READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE

Chris Goldstein has been actively working on medical marijuana in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He can be reached for media requests media@cmmnj.org

NJ: Supporters gather for historic medical marijuana vote

WHEN: 12 Noon January 11, 2010 WHERE: Trenton, State House 100 W. State Street CONTACT: Ken Wolski ohamkrw@aol.com

NJ: Supporters gather for historic medical marijuana vote

Trenton – Patients and advocates are gathering on January 11, 2010 to witness an historic vote in the New Jersey legislature on medical cannabis. First introduced in 2005, The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act has bi-partisan support and is favored to pass. It would make NJ the 14th state to offer regulated medical cannabis access to those suffering from serious medical conditions.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) and NORML-NJ are coordinating public support in Trenton. Patients, their families and supporters of medical marijuana are being asked to continue their email and telephone contacts with legislators urging them to vote ‘yes’ on the bill. CONTACT NOW

CMMNJ has reserved Committee Room # 9 on the 3rd Floor of the State House Annex for media relations and a patient rest area on Monday. Supporters are being asked to have a strong presence in front of the State House as well as within the Senate and Assembly chambers. Free stickers and buttons will be available, please dress in business attire.

A press conference is planned in the Rotunda area of the State House following the final votes, when they occur. Because of the nature of these last legislative sessions an exact time will not be available. Please keep checking the CMMNJ Blog at www.cmmnj.org for updates on 1/11/10.

The current language of The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act A804/S119 would implement the most tightly regulated medical marijuana program in the country. Local advocates are confident that the bill will benefit those suffering from some of the most serious medical conditions anyone must bear such as HIV/AIDS, Cancer, MS and ALS.

Medical marijuana is a concept that has significant public support in New Jersey with 86% of residents backing a state authorized program. Most of the major newspapers in the region have offered their editorial endorsement of the bill. Organizations such as the New Jersey State Nurses Association, The New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, The New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization along with other patient advocacy groups have strongly and consistently supported medical marijuana legislation in the state. More at www.cmmnj.org

Contacts and directions
Email NJ legislators about medical marijuana: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=12767456

Media may contact CMMNJ to speak with patients who would benefit from the program or for information about the bill:
Ken Wolski RN ohamkrw@aol.com 609 394 2137
Chris Goldstein activevoiceradio@gmail.com

Directions to the NJ State House in Trenton
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/directions.asp

Final plea for medical marijuana in New Jersey

1/8/2010

From: Chris Goldstein
Board of Directors, The Coalition for Medical Marijuana- NJ
executive Director of NORML-NJ

As someone who has advocated for safe medical marijuana access I am writing today to strongly urge you to vote 'Yes' in this final phase of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act A804/S119.

Please, vote ‘Yes’ to allow your fellow New Jersey residents to treat symptoms or diseases that are the most horrifying to face or relief at the end of life

Vote ‘Yes’ to stop the arrest of seriously ill and dying NJ residents who choose the scientifically proven therapy of marijuana. I have personally witnessed the awful impact that medical cannabis prohibition is having on those suffering, such as MS patient John Wilson in Somerset County.

Vote ‘Yes’ to allow the same access to medical cannabis that exists in 13 other states and has been allowed by Congress recently in the District of Columbia. While there has been media attention paid to a few of those states, many of our nation’s medical marijuana programs run as a quiet success for those who desperately need this therapy.

2009 was a year that saw a tangible shift by the federal government on medical marijuana. The Department of Justice asked US Attorneys not to spend their resources prosecuting state authorized medical marijuana patients, caregivers and facilities.

During my own interactions with elected officials on all levels and the public, reasonable questions arise when considering a medical cannabis program. The New Jersey Legislature has considered this bill since 2005 and has continually refined the language. The result in 2010 is pragmatic legislation that sought to best protect and serve patients’ needs.

The current language of The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act A804/S119 would implement the most restrictive and tightly regulated medical marijuana program in the country. As advocates, we are confident that the current bill will benefit those suffering from some of the most serious medical conditions anyone must bear such as HIV/AIDS, Cancer, MS and ALS.

Medical marijuana is a concept that has significant public support, with 86% of residents favoring a state authorized program. Most major newspapers in the region have offered their editorial endorsement of the New Jersey bill. Organizations such as the New Jersey State Nurses Association, The New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, The New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization along with other patient advocacy groups have strongly and consistently endorsed this medical marijuana legislation.

Please keep in mind that many NJ residents are indeed supporting the medical cannabis effort from the confines of their homes, hospital beds or hospice care facilities. Those who may directly benefit from an authorized access program in New Jersey have reached out to you to tell their stories and ask for your support. Thousands of calls, emails and postcards have been sent in from every area of the state.

I would ask that you review the compelling and even heartbreaking public testimony offered to the Senate and Assembly committees by these patients. These residents have had the courage to tell you the truth about the benefits of medical marijuana for their conditions, offering as much information as possible with advocates and medical experts.

Our plea is to allow safe, regulated access to this proven treatment and to stop making refugees or criminals of the sick and dying who legitimately seek relief from medical marijuana. In no uncertain terms; your support on January 11th will benefit those who suffer the most in NJ.

Please, vote ‘Yes” on Monday for The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act S119/A804.

Sincerely,

Chris Goldstein

Medical marijuana bill's restrictions opposed

"...to allow patients to produce their own medicine and individually adjust the dosage to control their symptoms, safely, under medical supervision...will produce tremendous savings both to the patient and to the state...(and) will refocus the health care industry away from the pharmaceutical industry and the health insurance industry and back towards the patient, where the focus of health care belongs."

Medical marijuana bill's restrictions opposed

The "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" was introduced in 2005 by Senator Scutari (D-Linden), and Assemblymen Gusciora (D-Princeton) and Carroll (R-Morris). This bill would remove the statewide penalties for possession, use and cultivation of a small amount of marijuana when it is recommended by a doctor. The bill had informational hearings in the Senate in June 2006, and in the Assembly in May 2008. Every major newspaper in New Jersey had editorially endorsed this bill. The bill also picked up key endorsements from health care organizations such as the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, the New Jersey League for Nursing, the New Jersey chapters of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the New Jersey State Nurses Association. Polls showed the New Jersey public supported this bill with approval ratings between 70% and 86%. The bill picked up a total of 11 co-sponsors in the Assembly and 8 in the Senate.

On December 15, 2008, the New Jersey Senate Health Committee conducted a hearing and then voted 6 – 1 in favor of “The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act” (S119) as amended. The amendments established Alternative Treatment Centers that resembled collective gardens, where patients owned the marijuana plants and reimbursed the Centers for the cost of producing the medicine. The favorable committee vote allowed the bill to be released to the full senate for a vote.

On February 23, 2009, the full New Jersey State Senate approved the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" (S119) by a vote of 22 – 16. Qualifying medical conditions included chronic pain, cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, etc. Patients would be issued ID cards in a program run by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). Patients would be permitted to grow up to six plants and possess one ounce of marijuana, but they would not be permitted to use their therapeutic marijuana in public or while operating motor vehicles. Patients were given the option to designate a caregiver or an Alternative Treatment Center to grow the plants for them, but the caregiver/center must also register with DHSS. The bill was very conservative. None of the 13 medical marijuana states had a smaller plant limit or possession amount. Still, supporters were convinced that the bill would help a tremendous number of patients here and they applauded the senators who supported this bill.

The bill would next go to the New Jersey Assembly, the lower house, for votes in the health committee and then the entire assembly. On June 4, 2009 the New Jersey Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee passed the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act 8 - 1, forwarding the bill to the full Assembly for a vote. The Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc. is grateful to the assembly health committee for passing the "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act” A804/S119 on to the entire assembly, however, CMMNJ objects to the substitutions added by the committee. The committee’s substitutions to this bill are overly restrictive and they possibly render the bill unworkable.

The assembly health committee’s substitutions:
• Remove the provision for qualified patients to grow their own supply of marijuana;
• Place severe and unnecessary restrictions on physician recommendations;
• Deny access to the largest population of patients, those suffering from chronic pain; and,
• Arbitrarily limit patient access to one ounce of marijuana per month.

Having qualified patients or their caregivers grow a limited supply of marijuana on a physician’s recommendation is part of the program of all thirteen states that have passed these laws. Nor does this patient access result in greater recreational use of marijuana-—one of the fears the committee was apparently addressing. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration studies show that teenage marijuana use has declined in eight of ten medical marijuana states between 1999 and 2006. Marijuana use by AIDS patients and cancer patients deglamorizes its use for teenagers. It is not something they want to emulate. Moreover, for the past 30 years, the Monitoring the Future surveys have shown that over 80% of high school seniors in New Jersey have said that marijuana is “very easy to obtain” or “fairly easy to obtain.” Instituting a medical marijuana program simply cannot increase availability to teens and almost certainly will result in decreased teen use. Another study by Texas A&M University shows that adult use of marijuana has remained steady in medical marijuana states. As further proof that these programs are working well, about a dozen other states, besides New Jersey, have legislation or ballot initiatives pending that will allow qualified patients to grow their own medical marijuana.

It is a wonderful advance in American health care to allow patients to produce their own medicine and individually adjust the dosage to control their symptoms, safely, under medical supervision. This will produce tremendous savings both to the patient and to the state. This will also refocus the healt hcare industry away from the pharmaceutical industry and the health insurance industry and back towards the patient, where the focus of health care belongs.

The restrictions the assembly health committee placed on physicians are at odds with current medical practices in America and may well render the law unworkable. Physicians specialize. If you break an ankle, your doctor sends you to the ankle doctor. But if you need marijuana therapy, your treating physician would be unable to send you to a doctor who specializes in marijuana therapy, according to the health committee. Physicians are wisely reluctant to recommend a treatment unless they have had specialized training or experience in that treatment. Because of this, even otherwise qualified patients will do without proper treatment. It would not be without precedent for the New Jersey legislature to pass an unworkable medical marijuana bill. In 1981, the “Dangerous Substances Therapeutic Research Act” passed into law here. This law was written to protect patients who engaged in
clinical trials of marijuana. To this day, not a single patient has ever been able to take advantage of this law.

The assembly health committee also said that only New Jersey licensed physicians could recommend marijuana to their patients. If a New Jersey patient sought treatment in New York City or Philadelphia, that patient would not be protected. Nor could out-of-state medical marijuana patients safely visit friends or relatives, or even vacation in New Jersey.

The assembly substitutions acknowledge that “marijuana may alleviate pain or other symptoms associated with certain debilitating medical conditions.” But then it eliminates chronic pain as a qualifying condition for marijuana therapy except in rare cases. Nearly half of all current physician recommendations for marijuana therapy are for chronic pain. About one in five Americans suffer from chronic pain from a wide variety of diseases like arthritis and conditions like accidents and injuries. Some of the most rigorous studies, studies using the gold standard of scientific research (the double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial) have established the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana in pain management. It is simply unfair to restrict the greatest number of New Jersey patients from access to medical marijuana.

The Assembly Health Committee also arbitrarily determined that every qualified patient should be limited to only one ounce of marijuana a month. There is no scientific basis for this limitation. In fact, the federal government, in its Investigational New Drug (IND) program provides patients with two ounces of marijuana per week. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) sends this standard dose of marijuana, about a half-pound a month, to the patients enrolled in this program in canisters of 300 pre-rolled cigarettes that may be consumed at a rate of ten or more a day. NIDA has been doing this for up to 27 years. This long-term dosage has proven to be safe and effective, with no unacceptable side effects. For legislators to set this arbitrary one ounce limit is akin to saying, “We know you need antibiotics, but we’re only going to let you have one pill a day. Never mind what your doctor says, and never mind how you are responding to this therapy.”

The senate version of the "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act” A804/S119 does not contain the assembly health committee’s substitutions. CMMNJ recommends that this version of the bill should pass into law. This will ensure a workable, cost-effective, and proven program for qualified patients, that is, at the same time, extremely conservative. Let’s make sure that the intent of this bill is not undone by undue restrictions.


Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org
609.394.2137 ohamkrw@aol.com

The New Jersey State Nurses Association (NJSNA) supports the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (S119/A804)

Letter from the NJSNA 12/9/09

The New Jersey State Nurses Association (NJSNA) supports the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (S119/A804) and we urge the NJ General Assembly to pass this legislation.

A804 will protect patients who use marijuana with a physician’s... prescription under a program run by the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services. At the same time, this legislation contains, and continues, sufficient safeguards to protect the public against drug abuse. Medical marijuana is currently legal in 13 states and in the majority of these states teen marijuana use has declined, according to government studies. Medical marijuana has not led to broader legalization of drugs anywhere in the country in the 14 years medical marijuana programs have been in place.

In 2002, NJSNA adopted a resolution at its annual membership meeting that recognized the therapeutic value and safety of medically recommended marijuana. At that time, NJSNA urged the Governor and the State Legislature to move expeditiously to make medical marijuana legally available to New Jersey residents who could benefit from it.NJSNA has repeatedly testified in support of medical marijuana since the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was first introduced in 2005.NJSNA represents over 110,000 Registered Professional Nurses in the State.

In 2004, the American Nurses Association (ANA) adopted a Position Statement on “Providing Patients Safe Access to Marijuana/Cannabis.” The ANA supports the right of patients to have safe access to therapeutic marijuana/cannabis under appropriate supervision of the prescriber and the education of registered nurses regarding current,
evidence based therapeutic use of marijuana/cannabis. The ANA represents 2.7 million RN's in the U.S.

NJSNA would appreciate your support for this important treatment for patients in need of it.

Should you wish to discuss this matter further, you may contact Dr. Barbara Wright, NJSNA Interim CEO {contact info}.

Sincerely,

Barbara Goldberg-Chamberlain,
PhD, RN, APN, CCRN, WCC

President- New Jersey State Nurses Association
The Voice for Nurses in New Jersey!

www.NJSNA.org

More Debate Video

More of the video form the 10/19 debate at the Ocean County College.

The full debate is online at http://www.youtube.com/user/NJmedicalmarijuana

ASA: Behind the DOJ Memo

10/25/09 by Chris Goldstein

Scoop: Staffers at Americans for Safe Access met with Department of Justice officials before the memo on medical marijuana was released last week.

My role with several marijuana reform non-profits in New Jersey and Pennsylvania requires interaction with the national reform groups. One that has represented patients with great passion and success is Americans for Safe Access.

They have aggressively pursued issues related to medical marijuana laws and then the rights of patients under those laws. ASA has chapters in several states with main offices in California and Washington DC.

On Wednesday I called ASA's DC office to check in about some literature for events. Their Director of Government Affairs is Caren Woodson. She's an experienced beltway player who has led protests on the street and meetings on The Hill. We've interviewed many times for podcasts and radio and have been working together as advocates this year.

After talking business I asked her what she thought of the Department of Justice memo. Caren's usual, very professional tone changed and there was excitement in her voice: She and Steph Sherer, ASA's Director, had been invited for a meeting with DOJ officials the week before. This was the only known meeting of advocates with the DOJ on this issue.

That morning I had just happened to have wrapped up a telephone radio interview with an author of a book on public education. I asked Caren for an interview right away. The recording took 12 minutes and it aired that night on KSFR 101.1FM with my show Active Voice Radio.

LISTEN- MP3 of Caren Woodson's 10/21/09 interview

In the past, ASA was protesting in front of the Department of Justice: Loudly and very visibly protesting at that. Now they are invited in for meetings. There was no stronger indicator this week of this tangible shift in federal policy on medical cannabis.

The impact of the DOJ memo is already being felt locally in NJ/PA. Two major editorials were published in the immediate wake of the news. The NJ General Assembly is expected to see The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act in a floor vote this fall.PA should have the first public legislative hearings on the issue soon.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Easing Their Pain

The Obama administration's new policy on medical marijuana should make it easier for New Jersey and Pennsylvania to legalize its use for seriously ill patients. The Justice Department has removed a major legal hurdle by issuing a memo directing federal prosecutors in states that allow medical marijuana not to target patients or their sanctioned suppliers when the drug is purchased for legitimate purposes. Read Full Editorial

Times of Trenton: It's About Time

New Jersey legislators, poised to vote on the issue, may be encouraged by the federal change of heart. It reflects the opinion of a majority of Americans -- and 82 percent of N.J. residents -- who favor dispensing marijuana to patients. With the new federal policy in place, there is no reason for New Jersey to any longer delay legalizing medical marijuana. Read Full Editorial

NJ residents who support medical marijuana can CLICK HERE TO CONTACT ELECTED OFFICIALS IN NJ

More information about medical cannabis in NJ can be found at the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey www.cmmnj.org

Seton Hall Center for Health & Pharm Law Supports NJ Medical Marijuana Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE by CMMNJ

For more info, contact: Ken @ (609) 394-2137


Seton Hall Center for Health & Pharm Law Supports NJ Medical Marijuana Act


WHO: Seton Hall University School of Law Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy

WHAT: Published support for the “New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act”

WHEN: August 26, 2009

WHERE: A Position Paper in HEALTH REFORM WATCH available at: http://www.healthreformwatch.com/2009/08/26/position-paper-in-support-of-the-new-jersey-compassionate-use-medical-marijuana-act/

WHY: Because the legislation has been carefully drafted to allow New Jersey residents with debilitating medical conditions access to marijuana to ease their suffering without creating an undue risk of abuse or diversion.


The Seton Hall University Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law & Policy published a Position Paper today that supports the passage of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The Center said that the legislation has been carefully drafted to allow New Jersey residents with debilitating medical conditions access to marijuana to ease their suffering without creating an undue risk of abuse or diversion.

The Center cited available medical evidence that supports the use of marijuana to treat each of the debilitating medical conditions set forth in the Act: AIDS/HIV; cachexia (wasting syndrome); cancer; glaucoma; severe and persistent muscle spasms; severe nausea; severe or chronic pain; and seizures.


The Seaton Hall Center also addressed the issues of abuse and diversion. They noted that no state that has passed a medical marijuana law has subsequently experienced an increase in recreational marijuana use among its children and youth. The Act’s multiple safeguards against abuse and diversion of medical marijuana provide further reassurance, it noted. If passed, the Act would be among the most restrictive of all the states’ medical marijuana laws.

Thirteen states, covering about 25% of the U.S. population, currently have medical marijuana programs.

On February 23, the New Jersey Senate voted 22-16 to pass S119, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The Assembly health committee voted 8-1 to pass an amended version of the bill on June 4. The bill must now pass the full Assembly. If the amended bill clears the Assembly, it would return to the Senate for a second vote because of the changes before it goes to Gov. Jon Corzine (D), who has said that he will sign the bill if it makes it to his desk.

The mission of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is to educate the public about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana. The Coalition is grateful for this well-researched and well-written Position Paper. For more info, contact:

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director

Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org
844 Spruce St., Trenton, NJ 08648
609.394.2137

CMMNJ Monthly Public Meeting Minutes August 11, 2009

CMMNJ Monthly Public Meeting Minutes

Held at the Lawrence Township Library

Tuesday, August 11, 2009


7:15 PM: Meeting called to order. July 2009 minutes approved. Discussion:


- Please attend a rally at the court house at 20 N. Bridge St., Somerville, NJ on Fri., 8/21 from 11AM to 2PM in support of multiple sclerosis (MS) patient John Wilson, who faces 20 years in prison for growing marijuana to treat his disease. John was forbidden by the judge to even mention his medical condition during his trial. For directions and parking call 908-231-7000. Local police ask only that the rally be peaceful and not obstruct traffic and be confined to the sidewalks in front of the court house.



- In addition to the Somerville rally, CMMNJ will appear at the following upcoming events:

· Wed., 8/19 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM; Northeast Regional Library, 2228 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA;

· Wed., 8/26, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, Levittown Regional Library, 7311 New Falls Road, Levittown, PA;

· “Vasagrass” Music Festival; 8/29, 1:00 to 9:30 PM in Hackettstown, NJ; http://tickets.createavibe.com/;

· Boston Freedom Rally, Sept. 19, 2009 & NORML Conference, San Francisco, Sept. 24-26, 2009;

· Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival, 10/1-4 in Madison, WI and the New York Harvest Fest 10/9-12.

· the NJ League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City in November.



- CMMNJ members continue to contact and meet with legislators regarding the overly restrictive “substitutions” to the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act which is due for a vote by the entire Assembly this November. Tell your legislators that you want the Senate version of the bill that does not contain these restrictions, to pass into law. Discussion re: print and video ads.



- CMMNJ has new photos, etc. on Facebook and Facebook Friends of CMMNJ.



-Treasury report: Current account balances: Checking: $4129.89; PayPal: $133.23. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) organization. All funds received go towards public education about medical marijuana. Donations may be made securely through Paypal or checks made out to “CMMNJ” and sent to corporate headquarters at the address below. Get a free t-shirt for a donation above $15—specify size. Thank you for your support.


9:00 PM Adjourn meeting.


Scheduled meetings are Sept. 8, Oct. 13, & Nov. 10, 2009. CMMNJ meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Lawrence Twp. Library from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM. All are welcome. Snacks are served. The library is at 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246. (Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement of our issue.) For more info, contact:



Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org

844 Spruce St., Trenton, NJ 08648

(609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com

NJ Assembly Hearing Videos now online!

You can now watch videos of the 6-4-09 Assembly health and Human Services committee hearing that passed A804 forward!

http://www.youtube.com/NJmedicalmarijuana

Medical Cannabis: In 90 Seconds or Less

Medical Cannabis: In 90 Seconds or Less

Chris Goldstein - CMMNJ

On June 4, 2009 the New Jersey Assembly Health and Senior Services committee met to consider medical marijuana legislation for the Garden State and one thing was for sure: The bill would pass committee.

Assemblyman Herb Conaway MD got the proceedings underway by telling the room packed with cannabis supporters : “We have heard this bill at length before. We’re not going to have extensive testimony on various portions of the bill …the bill has I will tell you… there is a favorable opinion of the bill on this committee and this legislation will be moving here today.”

This commitment to medical marijuana on the part of these legislators in NJ was rather refreshing and unique. And all this was generally good news to the crowded committee room.

But the bill everyone on the committee was supporting was one that had changed dramatically. The new version of A804 was something none of the advocates or opponents in the room had a chance to read yet.

"Substitutions” were made by the committee just that morning that took away home cultivation, removed Chronic Pain from the list of qualifying conditions, put forth the new idea of just 6 Alternative Treatment Centers to grow medical marijuana along with a courier delivery system to serve patients and further restricted physician recommendations.

So, to those packed in like sardines sweating away to testify there was an atmosphere of a tempered victory for medical cannabis. But because of the pre-announced conclusion, testimony was then limited to just 90 seconds per person.

Advocates and opposition scrambled to cut down speeches and adapt to the situation. Still some new patient testimony was very compelling like that of Diane Riportella who is dying of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, “ It saddens me and enrages me that I have to spend my last days fighting for the right to use and have access to the medicine that relives my suffering.”

Five of us had planned to testify on behalf of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey CMM-NJ. But the committee allowed just one of us to come forward and it ended up being me. It wasn’t easy to fairly represent our constituency of medical marijuana patients or the issue overall with such limited time. Here's that testimony.



The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act now goes to the full Assembly for a floor vote this fall. If it passes, the Senate must have a vote of concurrence. Governor Corzine said he will sign it into law, should it pass. www.cmmnj.org

CMMNJ Medical Marijuana Radio PSA

CMMNJ Medical Marijuana Radio PSA


The Coalition for Medical Marijuana in New Jersey now has a 30-second radio public service announcement or PSA available for radio stations and online broadcasters.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW: CMMNJ MP3

Longtime medical marijuana supporter and CMMNJ volunteer Diane Fornbacher voiced the script. Diane was a personal friend of Cheryl Miller and will voice a set of new PSAs and announcements soon.

CMNNJ supporters are encouraged to download the MP3 and send it via email or send links to radio stations, radio producers, podcasts, satellite radio shows and streaming internet programs.

We’ll let you know where you can hear the announcement next!

Medical Marijuana supporters are encouraged to produce volunteer media with text blogs, audio and video on sites like Youtube to support A804 in New Jersey.

Getting NJ Medical Marijuana Bill Passed

This is a blurry photo that I took when the NJ Senate passed bill S119, the "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" , on Feb.23, 2009. Since then, the Assembly version, A804, has been sitting in the Health and Senior Services Committee. If it ever gets out of committee it is likely to pass the full Assembly and the Governor has said he will sign it. But if it doesn't get out for a vote this session, I believe the process has to start over again from the beginning. Not to mention that medical marijuana patients are getting arrested in NJ while no action is taken, not to mention the thousands of serious ill New Jerseyans who could benefit from the bill during this time.

Please everybody, write the members of the Assembly Health and Senior Service Committee asking them to move this bill out as soon as possible. You can go to http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/assembly.asp and click on "Health and Senior Services" on the right and you'll get a list of the member names. Click on the individual members names to email them or get their phone numbers and call them. Especially Chairman Herb Conaway, who can be emailed through his website: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=186
Note that some H&SS Committee members, like Connie Wagner, are cosponsors of the bill and have worked hard to get the bill to where it is.

Patients Arrested: NJ Needs Medical Marijuana Law Passed

Patients Being Arrested: NJ Needs Medical Marijuana Law Passed

Chris Goldstein and Ken Wolski


We at CMMNJ and other advocates for medical marijuana speak about the patients who need this therapy so desperately. Many patients are waiting in pain for this bill to pass and refuse to engage in the underground marijuana market, fearing the legal sanctions if they are caught.

Some New Jersey patients, already forced into the underground market by the lack of a legal program, are being hauled to jail and threatened with decades of prison time for choosing a medicine that is already legal in 13 states.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana in New Jersey hears directly from these patients when they are arrested. These cases highlight the pressing and immediate need to have the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act passed by the state Assembly this year, in 2009. These suffering individuals should not have to wait for the legal protections and freedom of treatment afforded to millions of other Americans.


MS Patient in Somerville
“New Jersey multiple sclerosis (MS) patient John Ray Wilson, 36, was told by Superior Court Judge Robert Reed during a pre-trial hearing in Somerville, NJ that he faces 35 years in prison for growing a few marijuana plants that he used to treat his MS. Wilson was arrested on August 18, 2008 after the New Jersey State Police Marijuana Eradication Squad found his garden. Wilson was charged with “manufacturing” marijuana, despite his diagnosis of MS, despite a statement in support of medical marijuana by the National MS Society, and despite pending legislation that would protect MS patients who use medical marijuana in New Jersey.” –from CMMNJ


Crohn’s Patient in Jackson
“ Mike and Marie Miceli of Jackson, NJ are some of the latest victims of a law that desperately needs to change. The New Jersey man who used medical marijuana as a last-resort treatment was arrested recently; his wife was also charged with a marijuana offense and the Division of Youth and Family Services seized their infant son. Mike has Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel condition that was diagnosed over ten years ago. He has constant diarrhea, nausea, absolutely no appetite and severe abdominal cramping. He takes a host of prescribed medications that are either ineffective or have intolerable side effects. On Thursday morning, September 4, 2008, the day of his arrest, he weighed 197 pounds. Two days later he had already lost nine pounds. He was wasting away and in severe pain. He has since endured prolonged hospitalization and major abdominal surgery. The arrest for his use of medical marijuana may turn out to be a death sentence for Mike Miceli.” –from CMMNJ


CA medical patient attends NJ Funeral, gets arrested
“Issac Jacobs (name changed by request) is a 55-year-old card-carrying medical marijuana patient from California. He has a recommendation from his physician to use marijuana for his serious medical condition. Recently, he flew to New Jersey to attend a funeral. While in a Costco parking lot here, he was found by police to be in possession of two marijuana cigarettes, or joints. He showed the police his medical marijuana card, issued by his county government in California. Instead of being let go, as he expected, he was detained, and his car was surrounded and searched by narcotics officers and dogs. He said he was treated like a major drug smuggler, and was told he faces mandatory jail time. He called me up to tell me his story and to ask if it was true that he was going to jail. Nonviolent drug offenders take up about one-third of all the prison beds in New Jersey, the highest proportion in the country. Mr. Jacobs was referred to a New Brunswick, NJ lawyer who is very experienced with marijuana cases. “–from CMMNJ


The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act would offer legal protections to each of these individuals for their individual cases of medical cannabis use, possession, cultivation and holding a registry card from California.


All of these issues are clearly addressed in A804 and legal protections would shelter patients upon apssage of the bill.
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Ken Wolski, co-founder of CMMNJ, is a registered nurse and long serving medical marijuana advocate. Wolski had this to say about these cases:

WOLSKI: “For just a single marijuana joint or a few marijuana seeds, the jail sentence medical patients face from a municipal court in New Jersey can be as much as six months. New Jersey also imposes a mandatory $500.00 penalty, and the law allows discretionary fines in addition to this. There are other penalties that are imposed on anyone in New Jersey found guilty of marijuana possession—even legitimate patients who are using marijuana under a doctor’s recommendation. According to the Center for Cognitive Liberty (www.cognitiveliberty.org), there are ranges of "collateral sanctions" that are triggered by a conviction for marijuana possession, even misdemeanor possession of less than 50 grams.

New Jersey imposes some of the most severe collateral sanctions in the nation on marijuana offenders. For example:

- private employers may deny employment based on conviction or arrests

- state and federal educational aid is denied by the Higher Education Act drug provision

- there is a 3-year ban from Public Housing; Ø there is a 5-year ban from adopting a child or becoming a Foster Parent

- there is a lifetime prohibition on possession of any firearm

- the driver's license may be suspended for six months to two years, even if the offense had nothing to do with a motor vehicle

- the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits may suspend hard-earned pension benefits due to incarceration.

As a result of these penalties, many marijuana offenders are surprised to find that the sentence actually imposed by the judge is less severe than the long-lasting social and legal consequences that follow from conviction, the Center for Cognitive Liberty said.

In short, then, New Jersey is prepared to throw patients in jail, fine them, deny these individuals employment, deny housing, deny transportation, deny education, deny income and deny parental rights...all for following the advice of their physicians.


If anyone still wonders if medical marijuana patients really get arrested in New Jersey, just ask these patients. I have heard from many many more. The excesses of this system are wretched indeed, and morally indefensible for legitimate medical marijuana patients to be treated in this manner."
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The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act is awaiting action by the Assembly Health Committee. Those in support of the bill are encouraged to contact their member of the Assembly and urge them to support A804.

Governor John Corzine has said he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

Opponents of medical access scoff at patients being arrested. But the reality is clear: the most vulnerable among us need these legal protections and marijuana access through a state authorized program right now and should not have to wait beyond the 2009 New Jersey Legisaltive Sessions.

More information at http://www.cmmnj.org/