NJSNA supports insurance for medicinal cannabis

 

NJSNA supports insurance for medicinal cannabis

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHO:     The New Jersey State Nurses Association (NJSNA) 

WHAT:   Renewed endorsement of medicinal cannabis insurance bills

WHERE: In the New Jersey State Legislature     

WHEN:   During Nurses Week/Nurses Month, May 2025

WHY:    To improve healthcare in New Jersey

Judith Schmidt, RN, the Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey State Nurses Association/Institute for Nursing (NJSNA/IFN) and Margaret Daingerfield, NJSNA President, confirmed the continuing support of the NJSNA for the following bills to provide insurance coverage for medicinal cannabis:

• S1944: Allows costs of medical cannabis to be reimbursed by Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund, PAAD, Senior Gold and VCCO.
• S1943/A4371: Requires workers' compensation, PIP, and health insurance coverage for the medical use of cannabis under certain circumstances.
• A898/S2828: Establishes program to subsidize purchase price of medical cannabis for registered qualifying patients enrolled in Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare programs. 

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. said, “When passed into law, these bills will make the medical benefits of cannabis available to many residents who have been impoverished by their illnesses or injuries. These bills will also reduce healthcare costs in the state. Cannabis stabilizes multiple conditions. Greater access to cannabis therapy will allow patients to require:

• fewer pharmaceuticals;
• fewer surgical procedures; and,
• fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations.”

Previous versions of S1944 passed out of the Senate Health Committee on 3/10/22 and the Assembly Health Committee on 5/24/22. Previous versions of S1943 passed out of the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee on 2/13/20 and the Assembly Appropriations Committee on 10/26/20.

Please join with the NJSNA/IFN in support of these bills.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA

Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. https://cmmnj.org/

219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618 (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com

CMMNJ, founded in 2003, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization.

CMMNJ Urges Veto Override of Delaware’s HB 371

CMMNJ Urges Veto Override of Delaware’s HB 371

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHO: The Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ)  

WHAT:   Urges DE legislators to override Gov. Carney’s veto of House Bill No. 371

WHERE: Delaware Legislative Hall, 411 Legislative Ave., Dover, DE 19901

WHEN: June 7, 2022 at 12 noon

WHY:       Stop treating cannabis consumers as criminals

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) is disappointed that Delaware Governor John Carney vetoed HB 371, a bill to remove the penalties for simple marijuana possession. Gov. Carney said his veto was out of concern for young people, law enforcement, and his uncertainty about the long-term health and economic impacts.

HB371 does not in any way amend marijuana laws with respect to use by young people. For decades, over 80% of high school seniors told Monitoring the Future that marijuana was “easy to get,” or “fairly easy to get.” When marijuana is legalized for medical or adult use, there has not been any significant rise in use by adolescents.

Adult use marijuana laws are not associated with an uptick in overall criminal activity. Recreational marijuana use is NOT a gateway to harder drug use, crime, or increased DUI’s. Even the DEA no longer believes in the Gateway myth (Federal Register, 7/8/11).

Medical patients use cannabis because it improves their quality of life, and it can do that long term. There are multiple economic benefits to improved long-term health. Currently, 19 states and Washington D.C. are beginning to reap the rewards of legalization.

“Cannabis legalization is the best way to get this essential medicine to the most people,” said Ken Wolski, RN, Executive Director of CMMNJ. “The therapeutic benefits of cannabis are enormous. Cannabis can help with a host of physical, mental, and emotional problems, many that may be undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed in people.”

CMMNJ urges Delaware legislators to override the veto and pass HB 371 into law. "Meanwhile, Delawareans are invited to use our New Jersey beaches and legal recreational cannabis until they can override the governor's veto," said CMMNJ Board Member Peter Rosenfeld..

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 

CMMNJ, founded in 2003, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. 

LEGALIZE IT NJ! State House Annex Rally, 4/20, Noon - 2 pm

MEDIA ADVISORY:  April 18, 2019
CONTACT: Ken Wolski, CMMNJ, (609) 394-2137 email: ohamkrw@aol.com

Saturday April 20, Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) to host rally:

LEGALIZE IT NJ!

IN SUPPORT OF CANNABIS LEGALIZATION IN NJ

COALITION FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA - NEW JERSEY and allies will rally on the steps of the New Jersey Statehouse Annex Saturday, April 20 from 12N - 2P to demand that our legislators pass the
"NEW JERSEY CANNABIS REGULATORY AND EXPUNGEMENT AID MODERNIZATION ACT" (S2703/A4497)

We need common sense cannabis reform today! 

⚫ JOBS ⚫ TAX REVENUE ⚫ CRIME REDUCTION ⚫ BETTER ACCESS FOR PATIENTS AND DOCTORS 
⚫SOCIAL JUSTICE ⚫ EXPUNGEMENT

"NEW JERSEY CANNABIS REGULATORY AND EXPUNGEMENT AID MODERNIZATION ACT"; legalizes personal use cannabis for adults; creates Cannabis Regulatory Commission to regulate personal use and medical cannabis; provides expungement relief for certain past marijuana offenses. 

EVENT DETAILS:
WHAT: Legalize It NJ! Rally in support of New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory & Expungement Aid Modernization Act S2703/A4497
WHEN: Saturday, April 20, from 12N to 2P
WHERE: New Jersey State House Annex, 125 West State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608.  

**This event is open to the general public. TV, radio, print, and online media outlets are encouraged to come and report on our citizens’ action. 

IMPORTANT: No smoking is permitted on state house grounds but patients may legally smoke across the street.


Hosted by www.cmmnj.org: Coalition for Medical Marijuana of New Jersey

NJ Medical Marijuana Patients for Home Cultivation

         
                                         
New Jersey Medical Marijuana Patients for Home Cultivation

Registered medical marijuana patients in New Jersey call on New Jersey legislators and Governor-elect Phil Murphy to allow home cultivation of cannabis.

Caregivers and patients were expecting home gardens until the provision was removed in 2009 from the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act. Now, almost a decade later, the promise of a robust medical marijuana program is broken.

Home Cultivation is STILL needed for three reasons:
1) Cost - the cost of medical marijuana exceeds half the income of 50% of patients who are on disability;
2) Consistent supply - many patients need specific strains for their conditions, but the dispensaries have trouble maintaining their supplies, often dropping production of the most effective strains;
3) Empowerment - allowing patients to grow their own medicine lets them take control of their disease.

The recreational marijuana bill will likely make the medical strain supply issue worse, to the detriment of patients. Home cultivation is one way of alleviating this issue.

Ken Wolski RN, Executive Director of CMMNJ, stated, “Home cultivation empowers patients to take charge of their own healthcare, to grow their own medicine for pennies and to choose the specific strains that best helps their medical conditions.”

Peter Rosenfeld of CMMNJ added, “As New Jersey moves on to full legalization of marijuana, we want our legislators and Governor-elect Murphy to consider the needs of our state's medical marijuana patients.”

CMMNJ extends an open invitation to Governor-elect Murphy to attend the free, monthly CMMNJ public meeting: Lawrence Township Library, Room #3, Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:00 PM -- 9:00 PM

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.
(609) 394-2137
www.cmmnj.org  

ohamkrw@aol.com

For more info, contact: Peter @ (856) 495-5824
                                      jprosenfeld@yahoo.com

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides education about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana law: patients demand amendments and implementation

WHO: Medical marijuana patients, families and advocates

WHAT: Hold a Press Conference to demand that the Governor and the Legislature amend and implement the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, after two full years

WHEN: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 12:00 noon

WHERE: The State House steps, Trenton, NJ

WHY: The governor has delayed this law since he took office; patients have no legal protection

Medical marijuana patients and advocates will demand that Governor Chris Christie and the New Jersey Legislature amend and implement New Jersey’s medical marijuana law at a Press Conference at the State House steps in Trenton, NJ on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 12:00 noon.

The “New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" was signed into law on January 18, 2010. Still, not a single patient in this state has enjoyed the legal protection that this law was designed to provide. Ken Wolski, RN, executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) said, “Gov. Christie has delayed and obstructed this law since he took office. The Legislature is also abandoning the seriously ill residents that this law was passed to protect. Qualifying New Jersey residents deserve to have this law working”

New Jersey passed the first compassionate use law in the country that did not include provisions for patients or their caregivers to grow cannabis. Language to allow micro-plots of up to six plants was stripped away from the legislation at the Assembly Health Committee hearing chaired by Herb Conaway on June 4, 2009. The Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) in the original bill were registered collective gardens but were re-designed as quasi-pharmacies after that hearing. Now seriously ill residents must rely on six regional ATCs for all of their marijuana. But ATCs have struggled to open, leaving NJ patients with no marijuana at all. Home cultivation is permitted in 14 states and guarantees safe and legal access to qualified, registered patients.

CMMNJ is calling on the Governor and the Legislature to support amendments to the Compassionate Use Act:

• restore home cultivation (six plants per patient/caregiver);

• restore ATCs as collective gardens, in addition to quasi-pharmacies;

• restore chronic pain from any cause as a qualifying condition and respect out-of-state ID cards;

• add explicit workplace and housing protection for registered patients;

• stop the physician registry and start the patient registry; and,

• reschedule marijuana to a more appropriate schedule that acknowledges marijuana’s accepted medical uses in the U.S., its safety profile and its low addiction potential.

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides education about the benefits medical marijuana.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director

Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.

219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618

609.394.2137 www.cmmnj.org ohamkrw@aol.com