Medicinal Marijuana Head Faces Great Obstacles

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey (CMMNJ) notes with interest the appointment by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) of John H. O'Brien Jr., a 26-year veteran and retired lieutenant of the New Jersey State Police, as director of New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP).

CMMNJ has a deep respect for the superior officers of the New Jersey State Police. We believe they have a clear understanding of the rights of the citizens that they serve and protect. CMMNJ certainly wishes Mr. O’Brien success in his new position, and we hope that he will be true to his word and “bring the program to full implementation” in a timely manner.

Having said that, CMMNJ has serious doubts that the MMP can ever be meaningfully implemented during the Christie administration.

The appointment of a person with a law enforcement background as opposed to a health care background is another example of the fear from the Christie administration that permeates every aspect of this program. This fear is making the program unworkable.

CMMNJ has made a very detailed critique of the rules that this program will operate under. This critique was submitted to DHSS and is available at:

http://cmmnj.blogspot.com/search/label/rules%20medical%20marijuana

Nonetheless, the DHSS adopted its rules virtually unchanged. The DHSS has:

• arbitrarily capped the THC content of the marijuana that will be available to patients;
• started a physician registry that has dissuaded all but 1% of New Jersey licensed physicians from participating;
• insisted on layer upon layer of security for Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) that is far greater than what is required for pharmacies;
• micromanaged the ATCs and interfered with local zoning issues;
• made it impossible to add qualifying conditions to the existing law for years to come; and,
• made it impossible to start the patient registry nearly two full years after the law passed.

The legislature has already declared that these rules are inconsistent with the intent of the legislation. CMMNJ supports the legislative initiative to invalidate a number of these rules.

Additionally, the Board of CMMNJ has endorsed Assembly Bill A4252 which decriminalizes possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana in New Jersey. The bill currently has seventeen sponsors led by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora (D-25) and Michael Patrick Carroll (R-15). CMMNJ has taken this action for the following reasons:

• nearly two years have passed since the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law, yet not a single patient has received legal medical marijuana;
• patients continue to be arrested and imprisoned in this state for using medical marijuana illegally to treat their medical conditions; and,
• countless patients who could benefit from medical marijuana are currently disqualified from participating in New Jersey’s MMP and will continue to be disqualified for the foreseeable future.

CMMNJ notes with concern that marijuana experts have been completely excluded from meaningful participation in the development of the MMP. CMMNJ believes this is like trying to build a bridge without using bridge engineers. The new head of the MMP faces tremendous obstacles in bringing this program to full implementation.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA

Executive Director

Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org

219 Woodside Ave.

Trenton, NJ 08618

609.394.2137

ohamkrw@aol.com

New Jersey Medical Marijuana ATC Applications Released

4/13/2011 - Documents from the application process in New Jersey for the medical marijuana Alternative Treatment Centers are being released. The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) and Freedomisgreen.com acquired the six applications that were approved. They are posted online for public download here: http://www.scribd.com/NJcannabisDocs

Requests for the information were filed through the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) with the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

DHSS officials said that the scoring and review documents from the application process are being released later today. The additional twenty-five unapproved applications are expected later this week.

CMMNJ and Freedomisgreen.com will continue to post the documents online for public review.

CONTACT:
Chris Goldstein 267 702 3731

Ken Wolski 609 394 2137 or ohamkrw@aol.com

ALERT - Gov. Christie cancels medical marijuana hearing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/3/2010
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey CMMNJ
www.cmmnj.org

CONTACT: Ken Wolski 609 394 2137 ohamkrw@aol.com

UPDATE: - Gov. Christie cancels medical marijuana hearing at War Memorial
- CMMNJ press conference also canceled

CMMNJ comments on the Governor’s Medical Marijuana "compromise" and cancellation of the DHSS Public Hearing from executive director Ken Wolski:

CMMNJ is glad to see that the Governor is trying to craft regulations that are more closely in line with the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, but much work remains to be done.

We are glad that the ATC’s will be the way the law intended them to be. But this can hardly be considered a compromise—the law was quite clear that all ATCs should be responsible for cultivation, processing and distribution of medical marijuana. The rules still regulate ATCs more strictly than full service pharmacies are regulated, and this is inappropriate.

Similarly, the rules should never have required physicians to include a statement that each and every patient “has not responded to conventional medical treatment.” We are glad that the rules are returning to the language of the law, which currently requires only a few diagnoses to be resistant to conventional treatment in order to qualify for marijuana therapy.

Patients and advocates still have a number of serious concerns and strenuous objections to many provisions in these deeply flawed proposals which are not only contrary to law but which will only serve to further harm already suffering people.

* The 10% cap on THC is arbitrary, capricious and inappropriate.

* The law calls for a patient registry. It does not require physicians to register in order to certify that patients have a qualifying condition. This registration process is unnecessary, outside the scope of the law and will have a chilling effect on the program.

* The DHSS has said on their web site for months that pain patients would be included in the law. Now they have restricted chronic pain eligibility only to cancer and AIDS patients. Gov. Christie misinformed Pat Layton of Cape May Court House this past August. Ms Layton asked the governor about the availability of medical marijuana because she suffers from back pain due to nerve damage. Layton said the governor told her that medical marijuana would be available for people with the kind of pain she experiences. But it won’t be. The DHSS, despite its power to add qualifying conditions to the law at any time, states patients must suffer, at a minimum, until October 2013 before the DHSS will even consider accepting petitions to add qualifying conditions. Tens of thousands of New Jersey pain patients who have waited for the Compassionate Use Act to take effect will now find that the very law that was passed to protect them and provide them relief does still not protect them.

* The DHSS says, “…the Act finds and declares that marijuana has beneficial uses in treating or alleviating pain or other symptoms associated with certain debilitating medical conditions.” Yet the DHSS continues to require physicians to attest that they “have provided education for the patient on the lack of scientific consensus for the use of medical marijuana.”

* Governor Christie has said that he will not permit a “relaxation” of the regulations, and the entire DHSS staff is following his lead. Medical decisions about this program are being made not in the realm of science but in the realm of politics. The Health Department should function for public health, not a political agenda.

* DHSS clearly recognizes specific medical uses for marijuana and proposes a program for the safe delivery of marijuana to patients. It should not delay for even a moment the rescheduling of marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a more appropriate schedule. The New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, (N.J.S.A. 24:21-2) defines a Schedule I drug as one that “has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; or lacks accepted safety for use in treatment under medical supervision.”

Patients and advocates have worked hard for many years to get this law passed. They should expect reasonable regulations to enact the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana law that are not overly burdensome and unnecessary.

CONTACT: Ken Wolski ohamkrw@aol.com 609 394 2137

www.cmmnj.org

CMMNJ is the only tax-exempt 501c3 non-profit in New Jersey whose mission is to educate the public about the benefits of medical marijuana.

CMMNJ plans press conference at New Jersey medical marijuana hearings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/3/2010
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey - CMMNJ
www.cmmnj.org

MEDIA NOTE: Location changed for public hearing

CONTACT: Ken Wolski 609 394 2137 ohamkrw@aol.com

CMMNJ plans press conference at New Jersey medical marijuana hearings

Trenton - The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) will hold a public hearing on the proposed regulations for the medical marijuana program next week. The hearing takes place Monday December 6, 2010 starting at 10:00AM. The location has been moved to the auditorium at the New Jersey War Memorial building in Trenton.

CMMNJ is planning a press conference at the War Memorial front steps at 12 noon with patients and advocates who will testify at the hearing.

Ken Wolski is a Registered Nurse and executive director of CMMNJ. He issued the following statement today:

“The rules from DHSS propose amendments to the medical marijuana law not merely regulations to enact it. Many of the new requirements are burdensome and unnecessary far exceeding the already restrictive language of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.

Governor Christie has said that he will not permit these rules to be revised, so we can only hope that the public comment period with the DHSS is not merely an exercise in futility. Ultimately the New Jersey Legislature needs to intervene to protect the integrity of our law and insist that these rules be revised.”

This summer the Christie Administration requested a 1-year delay in implementing the program. Instead, the Legislature granted an extra 90 days. Under the current time-line the medical marijuana program is supposed to become operational in January 2011.

In November both Assembly and Senate Committees forwarded a resolution that would force a re-evaluation of the proposed regulations. Strong patient testimony was featured at the committee hearings. The Assembly then passed the resolution ACR 151 in a floor vote. Senate voting is expected on 12/13.

The DHSS public hearing on Monday is just one part of the official public comment process for the medical marijuana regulations. Detailed written comments must be submitted via regular mail to various state departments for consideration by January 14, 2011.

CONTACT: Ken Wolski or Chris Goldstein, 609 394 2137

www.cmmnj.org

CMMNJ is the only tax-exempt 501c3 non-profit in New Jersey whose mission is to educate the public about the benefits of medical marijuana.

ACTION ALERT - Contact NJ legislators to support medical marijuana

National NORML has created a CAPWIZ so that NJ residents can easily contact their legislators. A pre-written letter created by Ken Wolski at CMMNJ is included.

Please take a moment to support realistic regulations for our medical marijuana program:

http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=19491501


Thank you!

NJ Legislators: Make the DHSS rewrite the Medicinal Marijuana Program Rules

November 11, 2010

Dear New Jersey Legislator:

Please support Resolutions SCR130 and ACR151 introduced by Senator Nicholas Scutari and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora that will compel the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to rewrite the rules for the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.

The rules proposed by the DHSS for the Medicinal Marijuana Program are so burdensome, unnecessary and outside the scope of the law that they demand extensive revision.

These rules:
• Endanger the entire program by limiting marijuana cultivation to two facilities;
• Arbitrarily limit the THC content of the marijuana to the detriment of patients;
• Create a burdensome and unnecessary physician registry;
• Delay for two years the addition of qualifying medical conditions for the program; and,
• Micromanage the Alternative Treatment Centers with rules far more restrictive than those required for pharmacies.

Senate and Assembly committees heard testimony and favorably passed Resolutions SCR130 and ACR151 on November 8, 2010. Please vote in favor of these Resolutions when they come before the entire legislature. We are only asking the DHSS to follow the law as written. Patients in New Jersey will be grateful for your support.

Sincerely yours,


Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc.
219 Woodside Ave.
Trenton, NJ 08618

NJ DHSS starts marijuana registry for doctors

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) launched the physician registry for the Medial Marijuana Program today. No other state with a medical cannabis access law has this requirement.

https://njmmp.nj.gov/njmmp/

CMMNJ press release below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey CMMNJ
www.cmmnj.org

CONTACT: Ken Wolski or Chris Goldstein 609 394 2137 media@cmmnj.org

NJ DHSS starts doctor registry for marijuana

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) launched the physician registry for the Medical Marijuana Program today. No other state has this requirement. The details emerged in draft regulations DHSS released earlier this month.

LINK https://njmmp.nj.gov/njmmp/

Ken Wolski is a Registered Nurse and the executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey. He issued the following statement today:

"The entire physician registration program is unnecessary and was created in the draft regulations from DHSS and not the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The law only calls for a patient registry, not a physician registry.

The DHSS says that there will be a public comment period on the draft regulations after they are published in the NJ Register in November. This new registry has no input from patients, legislators or the public.

Moreover, the physician registration program is even more limiting. A new requirement says that physicians must certify that they have completed medical education in Addiction Medicine and Pain Management within the past two years. Physicians must include the course title that covers these two areas, or they will be rejected from the registry.

This is a curious add-on. Marijuana is approximately as addictive as caffeine. Physicians should not be required to take a course in addiction medicine for recommending a substance with documented low addiction potential.

The physician, as part of the registry process, must further certify that the patient has not responded to conventional medical treatment for all qualifying conditions. This goes far beyond the law, which currently requires only a few diagnoses to be resistant to conventional treatment.

The physician is also required to attest that; 'I have provided education for the patient on the lack of scientific consensus for the use of medical marijuana.' This is a blatantly political statement, at odds with the law itself, and shows open hostility to the use of marijuana as medicine.

Finally, it appears that DHSS has also added a new Debilitating Medical Condition to the list that will qualify for medical marijuana. 'Agitation due to Alzheimer's Disease' is now included, arbitrarily, with no public comment.

While it is entirely appropriate to add this condition, it is entirely inappropriate to stop there. Why must tens of thousands of chronic pain patients wait a minimum of two years to be included in NJ's law, when the DHSS clearly has the power to add qualifying conditions so easily?”

CMMNJ is holding a Patient Advisory Group meeting at the Collingswood Public library at 7:00PM on Wednesday October 27th.

More information at www.cmmnj.org

CONTACT: Ken Wolski or Chris Goldstein 609 394 2137 media@cmmnj.org

Patients need no more delays or trial balloons; implement the medical marijuana law as written

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey (CMMNJ) fought the delay in implementing the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act and kept the focus on patients. Governor Christie and his administration requested a 6 – 12 month delay. But with the support of the lead sponsor of the bill, Senator Nicholas Scutari, (D-Linden) the legislature agreed to just a 90-day delay. Governor Christie’s spokesman said more time was needed to implement the law correctly.

The Governor’s appointee to Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), Dr. Poonam Alaigh, expressed support for medical marijuana that was wholehearted and unquestioned. Unfortunately, Dr. Alaigh also expressed some fears about cannabis. In an appearance on NJN, Dr. Alaigh feared that New Jersey would devolve into the “wild, wild West of California” where marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks coffee shops. But according to New Jersey’s law, only six (6) Alternative Treatment Centers will initially be permitted to open. The DHSS will grant licenses to these dispensaries, and it has the power to revoke these licenses. The DHSS has the power to monitor, oversee and investigate all activities of these Centers, including the prices that are charged to patients. It is difficult to imagine the basis for the fear of an uncontrolled proliferation of dispensaries in the state, since the DHSS has absolute control over when, and if, additional Centers may open.

A more disturbing development to medical marijuana advocates was the proposal floated by the Christie administration to allow only Rutgers University and the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals to be the sole producer and distributor of medical marijuana in the state. Advocates were certain that this proposal would only delay, perhaps indefinitely, realistic patient access to medical marijuana in New Jersey.

Gov. Christie’s proposal was unworkable for the following reasons:
1. Rutgers University and the Council of Teaching Hospitals would undoubtedly seek approval from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and the DEA will never grant that approval. The DEA does not recognize medical marijuana.
2. University and medical center employees would be at risk for federal prosecution and federal subsidies to these institutions would be jeopardized.
3. The head of Rutgers Agricultural School has gone on record as saying that his school is not interested in producing any cash crop, let alone marijuana.
4. Hospitals are not prepared to be marijuana dispensaries. They would have to hire more staff and expand facilities.
5. The proposal appears to corrupt the open, competitive bidding process by steering the state contracts for medical marijuana services to entities favored by highly placed political figures.
6. The law would have to be amended for these changes to be approved, and any amendment will only result in further delays. Every 90 days, 25% of the state’s hospice patients die. These otherwise qualified patients are dying without the relief that marijuana can bring them.

On Friday, July 23, 2010, Rutgers University declined the request from the Christie administration to be the sole producer of New Jersey’s medical marijuana crop. Doing so might jeopardize millions of dollars in federal funding, the dean of the biological school said.

This law does not need any more delays or trial balloons. The state health department will tightly regulate the Alternative Treatment Centers provided for in the law. Highly qualified private citizens stand ready to offer their expertise and take on the risk in order to serve patients. The medical marijuana law should be implemented as it is written without further delay.

NJ DHSS email to medical marijuana advocates

The following email was received by CMMNJ Board member Peter Rosenfeld from the New Jersey department of Health and Senior Services:

From: Medical.Marijuana@doh.state.nj.us

At this time, the Department is not reviewing proposals or receiving documents, nor is the Department meeting with potential vendors, advocacy groups, lobbyists or other interested parties to present business plans, strategies or offers of assistance. Given the large numbers and diverse recommendations, we believe this is the best way to assure an objective, science based strategy.

As you are aware, medical marijuana is not available in the state of New Jersey. The Department must first establish a process to register qualified patients, caregivers and alternate treatment centers. This includes the continuation of coordinated implementation strategies amongst all state agencies to ensure all issues are addressed adequately. Full implementation of the New Jersey Compassionate Use of Marijuana Act awaits completion of this mandated process, which will assure the intent of the Act is accessible to those patients with designated medical conditions, while ensuring that it is implemented in a safe and effective manner.

For additional information regarding this topic, please visit our website at www.nj.gov/health for the most current information about the implementation of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, including frequently asked questions.

Official NJ DHSS Medical marijuana website online

A website has been produced by the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services for the new medical marijuana program.

http://www.state.nj.us/health/med_marijuana.shtml