Year End
Report 2019
The
Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization, incorporated in
the State of New Jersey. The mission of
CMMNJ is to educate the public about medical marijuana. The goal of CMMNJ is to have safe and legal
access to medical marijuana for qualified New Jersey patients.
In 2019, CMMNJ held eleven free public meetings at the
Lawrence Township Library in Mercer County.
(The February
2019 meeting was canceled due to snow.) At the
meetings, Board members and volunteers planned upcoming events and educational
programs. CMMNJ sent the agenda and
minutes of these meetings via e-mail to over 1000 supporters each month and
posted the agendas on Facebook,
Twitter and on the CMMNJ blog.
CMMNJ’s
public meetings for 2020 will continue to be held on the second Tuesday of each
month from 7 - 9 pm at the Lawrence Twp. (Mercer County) Library, 2751
Brunswick Pike
Lawrenceville, NJ, 08648. All are
welcome at these meetings and there is never a charge to attend. Meeting at the
library does not imply Mercer County’s endorsement of our issue.
New Jersey Highlights of 2019:
·
Marijuana legalization for adults failed to progress through the
New Jersey legislature in 2019 despite the support of the governor, the senate
president and the assembly speaker, as well as a majority of voters in the
state;
·
In November 2019 it was finally decided that the adult use of
marijuana will be voted on as a ballot question in November 2020;
·
The Medical Marijuana Program continues to expand as Governor Murphy
signed the Jake Honig law in July 2019;
·
Marijuana reform progresses nationally and regionally;
·
CMMNJ publications, activities, finances and Board report.
Marijuana legalization advanced:
In 2014, CMMNJ’s Board of Directors endorsed legalization of marijuana. The
Board recognized legalization as the most efficient and effective way to get
the therapeutic effects of marijuana to the vast number of patients who can
benefit from this plant. Legalization of
marijuana is also an important step in undoing the harms to our society that
are caused by our current policy of drug prohibition.
In January 2018, Governor Phil Murphy brought a new
administration to Trenton that was much friendlier to marijuana reform than the
previous administration. However, the state’s adult use marijuana reform continued to be delayed throughout
the year. The primary legalization bill,
S2703/A4497, the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory and
Expungement Aid Modernization Act” which legalizes
personal use cannabis for adults passed legislative committees 11/26/18 and on 3/18/19 (see
testimony to Senate Judiciary
Committee & Assembly Appropriations Committee) but the hoped for floor vote did not take place on March 25. The Senate
failed to get enough votes to guarantee passage. So the marijuana legalization
bill was delayed. Key NJ Senators say they got more calls opposing this
bill than supporting it! Supporters were encouraged to reach out to
organizations and tell them to tell their members to support this bill.
However, some advocates opposed the bill because it did not include home
cultivation or sufficient social justice provisions. In-fighting among
Democrats that had nothing to do with marijuana played a role in the failure to
pass the adult use bill. Republicans in the Legislature uniformly opposed the
bill.
Gov. Murphy signed A5322 to
allow hemp farming in NJ after registration with the Dept. of Agriculture.
The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) closed their HQ in
Trenton after 17 years.
New
Jersey (NJ) Department of Health (DOH) Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP):
The seventh anniversary of legal sales of marijuana in New Jersey was on
12-6-19. The ninth anniversary of New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical
Marijuana Act becoming law was on 1-18-19.
Seven Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) are currently
open and dispensing medical marijuana to over 60,000 qualified patients: Greenleaf Compassion Center of Montclair,
Harmony Dispensary of Secaucus, Compassionate Care Foundation of Egg Harbor and
Garden State Dispensary of Woodbridge and Union Township, Curaleaf of NJ in
Bellmawr (Camden Co.) and Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center of Cranbury.
One additional ATC opened in 2019—RISE Dispensary (GTI New Jersey),
in Paterson, Passaic County, NJ. The new ATC is scheduling appointments to
dispense medicinal marijuana to patients and/or their caregivers, and accepting
walk-ins. A patient can change their ATC whenever they wish but can only be
registered with one ATC at a time.
NJ
DOH OK’d 6
applications
for ATCs on 12/17/18 in Atlantic City, Elizabeth,
Ewing, Paterson, Phillipsburg & Vineland. Applicants must comply
with background checks and state and local regulations. Only RISE in Paterson has
opened so far. The DOH
selected 6 applicants:
- NETA
NJ, LLC – Phillipsburg
- GTI
New Jersey, LLC – Paterson
- Verano
NJ LLC – Elizabeth (Dispensary), Rahway (Cultivation Site)
- Justice
Grown – Ewing
- MPX
New Jersey – Atlantic City (Dispensary), Galloway (Cultivation)
- Columbia
Care New Jersey – Vineland
NJ DOH published MMP
Biennial Report 4/1/19. Recommendations therein were to: Raise the 2 ounce per month limit; Lower
prices by expanding supply, access and competition; Increase cultivation sites to
24, & add 50 dispensary sites. CMMNJ
Board members interviewed. MMP
has over 40,000 patients. Opioid Use Disorder was approved for marijuana therapy
in conjunction with Medication Assisted Treatment.
By June 2019, the MMP expanded to 47,500 patients, 950 doctors.
The medical marijuana
expansion act, S10/2426, was stalled, after sailing through
three legislative committees on November 26, 2018. This bill was tied to the legalization
bill, though there was really no reason that it could not advance on its own. Governor
Murphy signed the medical marijuana expansion act, S20/A20
into law on 7/2/19, effective immediately. It included:
- Patients may visit
doctors only once a year;
- there is an increase
in allowable limits
to 3 ounces/month for all, and unlimited
amounts for hospice patients;
- Advanced
Practice Nurses (APNs) and Physicians’ Assistants (PA’s)
will be permitted to recommend marijuana;
- edibles, tinctures, and sublinguals
are now permitted for adults as well as minors;
- various
patient
protections were included for workplace, housing, child care, etc.;
- the
state sales
tax will be eliminated in 2022;
- institutional caregivers will be able to procure medical marijuana for patients in
health care facilities;
- educational programs will be developed;
- research will be conducted;
- out-of-state ID
cards will be honored, etc.
Home cultivation is still not considered for NJ
patients, however.
CMMNJ wants 30-second video testimony on why patient/caregiver home cultivation and co-ops are necessary and what being legal means to you. Send to #CMMNJ: https://www.facebook.com/CoalitionforMedicalMJNJ/ Ken was interviewed on 101.5 FM about ATC prices and advocated for home cultivation for patients. CMMNJ participated in a rally in Trenton for home cultivation on 11/25/19.
A number of patients complain physicians refuse to discuss cannabis with their
patients. CMMNJ requested documentation of these refusals—who, what, when, where, and why.
Jim Miller started a
campaign including a petition to end the sales tax on medical marijuana immediately.
DOH
issued an RFA for 108
new ATCs in NJ, including 24
for cultivation, 30 for manufacturing & 54 for dispensaries. Applications were due August 15, 2019. DOH
changed and reissued the
RFA for 24 new ATCs in NJ on 7/1/19, including up to 8 in the north, 8 in central NJ, 7 in the south, and 1
“at-large”; these include 5 for cultivation, 15 dispensaries, and 4 vertically
integrated permits. Application forms were posted July 15; due on 8/21
(Dispensary) and 8/22 (Cultivation & Vertically Integrated). Pre-Application
Webinar was held on 8/2/19. Applicants sought community
support for proposed ATC sites in Trenton,
Brick,
Vineland,
Clayton,
etc.
NJ’s first death associated with vaping was noted. The NJ DOH
MMP said there were no reports of serious lung illness associated with products
sold in NJ ATCs. The problem should spur
legislators to make vaping safer through regulations, not bans, just as we made
cars safer in response to traffic deaths.
The Superior Court Appellate Division ruled that Medical Marijuana users may not be Discriminated
Against In New Jersey
With CMMNJ’s encouragement, advocates attended and spoke up at
local council meetings and other civic meetings throughout the state in support
of marijuana reform. Jim Miller went to the Toms River council and Lefty Grimes and the Ignorance is No Excuse tour went to many communities.
Marijuana
rescheduling in New Jersey:
The New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division heard oral
arguments for marijuana rescheduling/descheduling in New Jersey on 11/29/16 in
Trenton. Nearly a year later,
in November 2017, the Appellate Court ruled
that the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs (“the Division”) in the New Jersey Attorney General’s office erred when he
said he lacked the authority to reclassify/reschedule/de-schedule marijuana. The
Director must reconsider his decision in the “post-CUMMA era” the court said. New Jersey must recognize marijuana's
medicinal value, the court insisted. The AG’s office announced that it will not further pursue its appeal. The
Division recognizes that it has the authority to reevaluate how marijuana is
classified under state law.
Accordingly, rescheduling/descheduling hearings were held by
the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General on 4/19/18 in Newark
and on 4/24/18 in Trenton.
For CMMNJ testimony, click the links. We still await summaries or other results
of these hearings. CMMNJ called the NJ OAG re: results of marijuana
rescheduling hearings 4/19/18, Newark
& 4/24/18 Trenton,
but there was no reply from the OAG. The OAG is reportedly still working on it.
Marijuana
reform progresses nationally, regionally and internationally:
The “Compassionate Access, Research
Expansion and Respect States” (CARERS) Act & the “Marijuana Justice Act” were re-introduced in the 116th
Congress. New Congressional Dems plan to hold House hearings.
Drug Enforcement Administration’s announcement: it
will begin processing applications to cultivate marijuana for research. Reg proposal first. Hemp is no longer a
controlled substance.
Feds continue to prohibit
the Department of Justice from using its resources to prosecute individuals
acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws. However, President
Trump said, in a signing statement, that he still could enforce federal laws.
Jahan Marcu’s “Journal
of Endocannabinoid Medicine” launch 11/15/19, & ABC7 report.
June
7th was the anniversary of Cheryl Miller’s death in 2003.
Statehouse Podcasts:
CMMNJ participated in
a series of Statehouse Podcasts
going back to 2014. The final 2019 Statehouse Podcast concluded with Thanksgiving Day
lunch/clothing giveaway outside the Annex. Permits were obtained from the State Police each week for the demonstrations.
The podcasts and demonstrations called
attention to the deficiencies of the MMP and the need for legalization of
marijuana and home cultivation.
2019 CMMNJ
Publications:
CMMNJ Monthly Agendas and Minutes also contain links to published reports
by and about CMMNJ Board members and friends.
For the CMMNJ Agendas and Minutes, see the CMMNJ blog. May 16,
2019 was the 10th anniversary of the CMMNJ blog.
CMMNJ Meeting Agenda for December 10, 2019 & November
Minutes
CMMNJ
Video Supports Adult Use Cannabis Bill
CMMNJ Meeting Agenda for October 8, 2019 and September
Minutes
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
September 10, 2019 and August Minutes
Safety
of NJ ATC Vape Carts
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
August 13, 2019 and July Minutes
Sen.
Sweeney: we support legalization; will you support home cultivation?
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
July 9, 2019 and June Minutes
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
June 11, 2019 and May Minutes
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
May 14, 2019 and April Minutes
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
April 9, 2019 and March Minutes
LEGALIZE IT, NJ! State House
Annex Rally, 4/20, noon – 2 pm
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
March 12, 2019 & January Minutes
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
February 12, 2019 (Meeting canceled)
CMMNJ Public Meeting Agenda for
January 8, 201 and December 2018 Minutes
CMMNJ Year End Report 20187
Board member Jo Anne Zito’s Facebook
publications:
Medical Cannabis Home Cultivation Follow-up
with Senate President Sweeney
ATTENTION: NJ Cannabis Activism
Cannabis Legalization for Justice
No Grow
S10/A10 Testimony
NJ Cannabis News 3/20/19 ~ Legislature Quotes
Pass S2703/A4497, S10/A10, & S3205/A4498
Assembly Judiciary Hearing ~ Quijano
Expungement 6/4/18
Sweeney Protest Follow-up
Die-in for Medical Cannabis Home Grow Access
& Opioid Use Crisis
Cannabis Law Reform Yeas & Naes with
corresponding legislative districts
Home Grow Now
Home Grow States
CMMNJ members took part in the following events in 2019:
Patients Out of Time (POT) conference, Tampa, FL,
4/11-4/13/19.
Americans for Safe
Access (ASA) Unity Conference, Washington, D.C., 3/18- 3/20/19.
Community Cannabis Forum, Mt. Zion
Baptist Church, Pleasantville, NJ, 4/4/19, 7 – 9 pm.
Trenton Cannabis Community event, Trenton, NJ Library, 4/3/19.
Jersey Cannabis Network April 15, Asbury Park, Porta Asbury
Park.
Pennington Day, Pennington, NJ 5/18/19.
Moorestown Day, Main St., Moorestown, NJ, 6/1/19.
Smoke-In for Patient
Home Grow @ Sen.
Sweeney's, W. Deptford, 4/4/19.
Die-in for Medical
Cannabis Home Grow & OUD;
4/18/19, Trenton State House.
Trenton
State House Podcast, last Thursday of each month, noon.
Cannabis in the Community, Trenton Main Library, 5/8/19.
“Up in Smoke: Legalized Marijuana’s
Impact on Mental Health, Social Justice and Substance Use Recovery in NJ,” NJ
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Assn., Forsgate CC, Monroe, 5/23.
Jersey Gay Pride Festival, Asbury Park, 6/2/19.
Ethics Seminar, Inspira Health Network, Centerton
(NJ) Country Club, 10/17/19.
Shore
Grow Hydro, Patient Aid fundraiser for CMMNJ, 6/22/19, Ocean Twp., NJ.
“The
Grassroots Cannabis Forum” Kennedy Park, Asbury Park, 7/6/19.
“NJ Marijuana Update,” Trenton YMCA, 11/9/19.
“Medical
Marijuana & the Elderly,” Acorn Glen, Princeton, NJ, 11/12/19.
Jim Miller did a series of solo demonstrations
for home cultivation in front of the governor’s office.
“We All Die, And Marijuana Improves The Quality Of Life Of
The Dying Like No Other Drug” Interview With Activist and Medical Marijuana
Patient Ken Wolski: https://www.facebook.com/CoalitionforMedicalMJNJ/posts/2798456146850710
WEEDSTOCK,
DE NORML, 8/16 & 17.
Marijuana reform in Delaware, Repeal Day Rally & Soiree,
Wilmington, Dec. 7. (Zoe Patchell from the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network gave
an update on marijuana reform events in Delaware via phone during the CMMNJ
November public meeting. They celebrated Dec. 7 as the 86th
anniversary of the repeal of alcohol prohibition in the U.S.)
Rutgers Cannabis Symposium, Somerset, NJ, 12/18/19.
Thanksgiving Food & Clothing Giveaway, Trenton State
House, 11/28/19.
“#94 & NO MORE,” NJUMR State House Press Conference,
Trenton, 11/18/19.
The 16th anniversary of
CMMNJ’s first public event at the White Dog Café was on 3/10/19.
Web site update:
Amanda is working with Nick & Mike to update our site.
Thanks to CMMNJ Volunteers:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of CMMNJ, I would
like to thank all of our supporters for their tireless efforts and
contributions throughout the year. As we
are an all-volunteer organization, we are nothing without you! Special thanks go to:
- volunteer
administrators who moderate the many discussions on Facebook’s Friends of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-NJ;
- activists who
spoke out at community meetings to dispel marijuana stigmas;
- activists who contacted
the media and elected officials for marijuana reform;
- special “Thank you” to all who contributed
food, clothing and cash to the CMMNJ & Sativa Cross Thanksgiving Food & Clothing Giveaway at the Trenton State
House; and,
- CMMNJ
mourned the untimely death of Terry Harris with a moment of silence at the
November public meeting.
CMMNJ 2019 Board Update:
Vanessa
Waltz resigned from the CMMNJ Board in 2019. We are grateful for all that she
contributed to medical marijuana in New Jersey.
At the Board Meeting
on 4/2/19, CMMNJ welcomed Gaetano Lardieri onto our Board of Directors. Guy showed
his “project manager” skills by coordinating this year’s video project.
Ken won “Community Recognition”
from the Capital City Area Black Caucus on 11/9/19 for, “Your Commitment to
Persons of Color & Minority Participation in NJ’s Cannabis Community.”
Ken was also given a plaque by the American Cannabis Nurses
Association (ACNA) at their conference in New Orleans in December, recognizing
him as a “Founding Member, Cannabis Pioneer, and Past BOD” of the ACNA.
Frequent
Board discussions were conducted by group emails as opposed to formal Board
meetings during 2019.
At the close of 2019, the CMMNJ Board consists of the
following 11 people:
- Kenneth R. Wolski, RN, Executive Director;
- James Miller,
Senior Director;
- Edward R. Hannaman, Esq., Secretary;
- Nick Mellis;
- Peter
Rosenfeld;
- Larry Vargo;
- Amanda Hoffman;
- Jo Anne Zito;
- Philippe Dume;
- Michael
Brennan; and,
- Gaetano
Lardieri.
-
CMMNJ’s Honorary Board Member is Allan Marain, Esq.
Treasury
Report:
A detailed treasury
report was forwarded to CMMNJ Board members.
In summary, in 2019 CMMNJ had expenditures of $3,482 and income of $2,128
for a loss this year of $1,354. CMMNJ finished the year with a checking account
balance of $3,726 and a PayPal account balance
of $2512 for a grand total of $6,238.
CMMNJ still has almost 50,000 all hemp wristbands and necklaces that were donated to our
organization. The multicolored bands were made in Romania. The suggested price
is $1 apiece.
Wholesale prices are available.
CMMNJ
is grateful for the
generous financial support of all who contributed to our mission to educate the
public about the benefits of medical marijuana. CMMNJ is especially grateful to
those who contributed anonymously through Network for Good, whose donations
totaled $373 in 2019. CMMNJ is unable to individually thank those who donated
through Network for Good since the donations are listed as anonymous.
CMMNJ Board members
will be encouraged to increase fundraising efforts in 2020 in order to be in a
better position to meet our objectives and goals.
CMMNJ’s 2020 Recommendations:
·
Build support for the
ballot question to legalize marijuana for adults in New Jersey.
·
Allow registered patients
in the NJ MMP to grow a limited supply of cannabis (Home Grow Now!)
·
Increase fundraising efforts
for CMMNJ.
·
Plan and influence a
timely legalization program that brings affordable, high quality marijuana to
New Jersey adults in an appropriately regulated fashion.
·
CMMNJ renews its
annual call for national clinical trials of marijuana.
·
Reschedule or
deschedule marijuana, both in New Jersey and nationally.
·
Continue to expand New
Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program by adding qualifying conditions and
allowing home cultivation for patients.
·
Attend and
participate in marijuana-related educational conferences.
Schedule of CMMNJ 2020
meetings:
CMMNJ’s free, public meetings will continue to be held on
the second Tuesday of each month in 2019 from 7 - 9 PM at the Lawrence Twp.
Branch of the Mercer County Library, Room #1 or #3. (Meeting at the library does not imply the county’s
endorsement of our issue.)
Follow CMMNJ on Facebook at,
More Info:
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618
January 6, 2020
