Oral Testimony to the New Jersey Assembly Regulatory Oversight Committee, March 2, 2015, by Kenneth R. Wolski, RN

Chairman Gusciora and members of the Assembly Regulatory Oversight Committee, thank you for the opportunity to again address this committee.

My name is Ken Wolski.  I am Executive Director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc.  (CMMNJ)   I am a registered nurse with 39 years experience in New Jersey & Pennsylvania.

In 2003, I co-founded CMMNJ.  We are the only statewide organization in NJ that is solely dedicated to bringing about safe and legal access to medical marijuana.  We incorporated in 2006 and became a 501(c)(3) in 2007.  Our mission is to educate the public about the benefits of medical marijuana.
 
Last year I presented to this committee my resume, some Op Eds I had published on the importance of home cultivation, some testimony from patients who are having a great deal of difficulty with the medical marijuana program, and a Compact Disc (CD) containing the revisions to the Regulations that enact the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA) that we feel are necessary in order to make this a successful program.

In looking at where we were a year ago and where we are today, not much has changed.

• 3 ATCs were open then; 3 ATCs are open now (it's like having three pharmacies in the entire state);
• About 250 doctors were in the program then; about 350 doctors are in it now--out of over 30,000 licensed physicians in the state;
• About 1700 patients were registered a year ago; about 3700 patients are registered now, in a state with almost 9 million people.

When the CUMMA passed into law in Jan., 2010, The Legislature found and declared that:
• there was “beneficial use for marijuana in treating or alleviating the pain or other symptoms associated with certain debilitating medical conditions” and,
• this “law will have the practical effect of protecting from arrest the vast majority of seriously ill people who have a medical need to use marijuana.”

That has simply not happened in the 5 years since this bill became law.

Marijuana has enormous therapeutic potential, but,
• Most people who could benefit from marijuana therapy do not have one of the severely limited qualifying conditions;
• Those who do have a qualifying condition find the application process too difficult, or too time-consuming to manage; and,
• Even those who manage to get an ID card find the program too expensive to afford.

Limited qualifying conditions:
There is no valid medical or scientific reason to limit marijuana therapy for pain management to only two diseases, cancer and HIV/AIDS.

Marijuana is effective for pain management for any disease, injury or medical condition that causes chronic pain, and, for conditions that cause neuropathic pain, marijuana works better than any other drug on the market.  Last year there was some question about what constitutes chronic pain and I want to offer a definition so that we are clear on this. Chronic pain is unrelieved pain in a major disabling condition that continues for six months or more. Marijuana therapy is appropriate for any chronic condition that a doctor might prescribe a narcotic for
and, in fact, marijuana is significantly safer than narcotics.  There is a 25% reduction in opiate overdose deaths in states that have robust medical marijuana programs.  See that article from “Science Daily” that I provided to members of this committee.

There is no reason to limit marijuana therapy for only three neurological conditions.  Marijuana is neuroprotective according to the Expert Opinion Paper of the National MS Society published in 2008. That means that marijuana can delay or even stop the progression of these incurable neurological conditions, but it continues to be nearly impossible for patients to legally access.

Twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day in the U.S. because Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is so poorly managed by traditional pharmaceuticals. We give parades and platitudes to veterans for their
service, but we deny them access to appropriate health care—marijuana therapy—which shows great promise in the management of PTSD in the states and foreign countries where it is allowed.

The DOH is empowered to add qualifying conditions at any time.  But the DOH has created an overly burdensome process that we believe is designed to fail.  The process has not even started yet due to self-imposed restrictions by the DOH.

Application process too difficult:
Finding a doctor who participates in the MMP is difficult when only about 1% of NJ physicians are signed up to take part. The Regulations created the very thing the statute wanted to avoid—patients going to a small list of doctors specifically for marijuana recommendations.  The statute wanted to ensure that there was a bona fide doctor/patient relationship but instead, patients have to abandon their family doctors and specialists and find a doctor on the DOH’s list.

The application process is too lengthy for nearly all hospice patients who die before they ever get access, and for many cancer patients who get a cancer diagnosis and have to endure chemotherapy before they can ever get an ID card.

Medical marijuana too expensive:
The marijuana from New Jersey’s ATCs is the most expensive in the nation.  It is just not an option for the many patients who have been impoverished by their illness.

The DOH justified this high price by saying in its Biennial Report that NJ is an expensive state to live in.  There was no sympathy at all from the DOH, no attempt at accommodating the poor—the DOH just seemed to say, “If you want cheaper medical marijuana, go find yourself another state to live in.”

In the packet of material I have provided to Committee members, there is:
• Testimony from two patients, Maryanne Boniello and Vanessa Waltz who could not be here today.  Their testimony explains in detail some of the problems they have had with the medical marijuana program;
• A Petition for Rulemaking that CMMNJ submitted to DOH in Oct., 2014.  CMMNJ made a formal application through the Regulatory process to the DOH for modifications to some of the more egregious regulations. Namely:
1. Eliminate the $200 fee for all volunteer caregivers and eliminate the illegal sales tax on medical marijuana.
2. Delete the registration requirement for doctors as well as the unwarranted course requirement in pain management in order for licensed physicians to recommend medical marijuana.
3. Eliminate the regulatory requirement for physicians to violate patient confidentiality and that section which interferes with the physician’s professional judgment.
4. Eliminate the regulatory requirement that requires physicians to provide warnings to patients that directly contradicts the law.
5. Add as an additional qualifying debilitating condition Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to accommodate the influx of recent military service veterans inasmuch as the DOH failed to establish the panel as required by N.J.A.C 8:64-5.1 to add new conditions.
6. Eliminate the requirement for parents to seek the approval of three licensed physicians in order to obtain medical marijuana for their child.
• The packet of material also contains a summary of the changes A3525/S2312 will bring to the NJ Medicinal Marijuana Program. This is a much more comprehensive legislative fix of the MMP, that:
1. Eliminates the physician registry;
2. Expands qualifying conditions—includes PTSD, Alzheimer’s, Lyme or Parkinson’s Disease, hepatitis, nail patella & any condition causing severe or chronic pain, severe nausea or cachexia;
3. Restores limited home cultivation (five plants plus one or more mother plants) for patients--patients may grow themselves, use a registered grower, or use an Alternative Treatment Center;
4. Protects organ transplant patients from disqualification simply for the use of medical marijuana;
5. Eliminates the tax on the sale, use, cultivation and possession of marijuana;
6. Includes explicit employee protection—makes it unlawful to take adverse employment action simply for medical marijuana use;
7. Eliminates background check and fee for caregiver ID card;
8. Reduces ID card fee to $50 with no automatic expiration;
9. Eliminates requirement for psychiatric clearance for minors—keeps pediatrician requirement;
10. Requires initial and ongoing training for all state, county and local Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) on the rights of patients, growers and caregivers and trains LEOs in Field Sobriety Tests who may not simply rely on blood or urine tests for DUIs;
11. Includes explicit immunity from civil liability and criminal prosecution for the authorized use of medical marijuana;
12. Requires physicians to determine the form, strain and amount of marijuana for their patients and eliminates the two ounce/month limit, as the amount required is determined by patient need;
13. Allows patients to obtain medical marijuana from out-of-state if necessary and out-of–state ID cards are honored in New Jersey;
14. Cuts permit fees for Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) from $20,000 to $5000 and imposes no upper limit on the number of ATCs permitted;
15. Removes strain or potency limits imposed on marijuana cultivated;
16. Allows ATCs to dispense a 60-day supply of marijuana instead of current 30-day limit;
17. Permits any edible form of marijuana for any age;
18. Establishes dosage units for all forms in conjunction with Department of Health (DOH);
19. Requires testing in licensed laboratories on each batch of marijuana (and on request) for chemical composition, biologic contaminants, pesticides, solvents and foreign material with results of testing available on request;
20. Forbids the DOH to issue overly restrictive or unduly burdensome regulations for this law.

In summary, the MMP fails the vast majority of patients in NJ who:
• Who know they can benefit from marijuana therapy;
• Who see patients in other states obtaining relief with marijuana therapy for the same debilitating medical conditions that they have;
• Thought they would be protected by having safe and legal access to marijuana therapy; and,
• Who continue to suffer needlessly—and even die--in NJ, or who break the law and risk serious civil and criminal penalties for their use of an unauthorized medicine.

CMMNJ believes that the MMP is a case of Failure to Thrive.  This Failure to Thrive is not the result of a lack of ability on the part of the Health Department, but a lack of political will to create a meaningful program, and this is directly a result of Governor Chris Christie.

This governor has said that he is “done” expanding the medical marijuana program, apparently regardless of whatever evidence is presented to him. He has questioned the legitimacy of this program, and all 23 state programs like it, by saying these programs are just a “front” for legalization.

I worked in state government here in NJ for 25 years, all, or part of, five decades, actually. I know how the system works.  The governor appoints the commissioner of the Department of Health and that commissioner serves at the pleasure of the governor.  If the commissioner does not carry out the wishes of the governor, that commissioner is replaced.

I believe that public health is too important to be run this way.  The Commissioner of the Department of Health needs independence from the political whims of governors (especially those with presidential ambitions whose decisions may well not be based on the best interests of the people of the State of New Jersey).  A Health Commissioner in New Jersey could perhaps be independently elected, or else be given lifetime tenure after vetting.  Some solution must exist to ensure that public health decisions in NJ are based on sound science and not political whims or worse yet, delusions.

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

New Jersey will host Medical Marijuana Stakeholders Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 7/29/2010
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey CMMNJ
www.cmmnj.org

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



New Jersey will host Medical Marijuana Stakeholders Meeting

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) is proud to announce that on August 21, 2010 a Medical Marijuana Stakeholders Meeting will be held in conjunction with the national patient advocacy organization Americans for Safe Access (ASA).

This unique event will take place in Trenton, NJ at the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium on Saturday, August 21 from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM.

Medical marijuana patients, their families, advocates, potential Alternative Treatment Center owners, and health care professionals should attend the meeting.

Steph Sherer, Executive Director of ASA, will be the featured presenter at the Stakeholders Meeting. Steph is an international leader and expert in medical cannabis advocacy who aids in drafting legislation and advises governments around the globe. She has been a guest lecturer at University of California, Berkeley and George Washington University, DC.

CMMNJ has worked with ASA as a resource throughout the medical marijuana legislative effort in New Jersey. Now that the Garden State has passed a compassionate use law it is vital for local advocates to learn from seasoned experts how to proceed forward. New Jersey’s medical cannabis patients and volunteers can also be an important part of the national discussion about safe access.

ASA has ambitious national, regional and local Goals and Objectives for providing medical marijuana to patients. The Stakeholders Meeting will look at the following topics:

1. Creating the political playing field necessary to pass federal, state, and local legislation.
2. Implementing medical cannabis laws with methods that meet the needs of patients.
3. Passing meaningful legislation that creates safe and legal access in additional states.

Jahan Marcu, a cannabinoid researcher from Temple University School of Medicine will present as Vice-Chair of ASA's Medical Advisory Board.

Also presenting on the status and details of New Jersey’s medical marijuana law will be CMMNJ’s Executive Director Ken Wolski RN and the group’s media spokesperson Chris Goldstein. Additional speakers will be announced.

The cost to attend the all-day conference is $20.

There is limited seating. To secure a place at this important meeting:
- Send a check made out to "CMMNJ" 219 Woodside Ave, Trenton, NJ 08618

- Or, pay through PayPal at www.cmmnj.org make sure to put “Stakeholders Meeting” in the note

A benefit dinner with CMMNJ’s volunteers, Board members and ASA’s Steph Sherer will also take place on Friday night, 8/20/10 at 7:00 PM for $100.00. A separate payment is required for dinner reservations.

Media passes are available and a brief press conference will be held.

About ASA
Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. ASA has over 30,000 active members with chapters and affiliates in more than 40 states. ASA protects the rights of cannabis patients.

Recent ASA Accomplishments:

Federal Policy on Medical Marijuana Turns Corner - Justice Department tells prosecutors to respect state law. The Justice Department told U.S. Attorneys that they should not expend resources prosecuting medical cannabis patients and their caregivers in states that have adopted laws allowing medical use.

ASA Works with US Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) to introduce the Truth In Trails Act, HR 3939, with 28 co-sponsors to allow medical defense in some federal marijuana trials by recognizing state medical cannabis laws.

Federal Agency Solicits Proposals for Cannabis Cultivation - Just seven months after the DEA again rejected a judge's recommendation that a university be granted a license to grow research cannabis, a federal "Request for Proposals" was issued for the production and distribution of cannabis.

Two Milestones reached by Dr. Sunil Aggarawal of the University of Washington, member of the ASA Medical & Scientific Advisory Board member:
- The American Medical Association affirmed the medical benefits of marijuana and urged further research, reversing its 72 year old position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value.
- Review of 79 clinical studies finds marijuana a safe, effective medicine - found that "nearly all of the 33 published controlled clinical trials conducted in the United States have shown significant and measurable benefits..."

CONTACT: Ken Wolski or Chris Goldstein at 609 394 2137

Americans for Safe Access online: www.safeaccessnow.org

More about medical marijuana in New Jersey at www.cmmnj.org

Read the full text of NJ's medical marijuana law http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/PL09/307_.HTM

New Jersey delays medical marijuana law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6/29/2010
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ)
www.cmmnj.org

CONTACT: Ken Wolski RN 609 394 2137 ohamkrw@aol.com or media@cmmnj.org

New Jersey delays medical marijuana law

Trenton - The New Jersey Senate and Assembly passed bills to move back the effective date of state’s medical marijuana law by 90 days. The long-suffering residents who will qualify for the program were relieved that legislators rejected a request from Governor Christie for a 6-12 month delay in the law.

There was also a tepid response among patients and elected officials to proposals from the Governor for a fundamental redesign of the medical cannabis program.

The amendments passed yesterday make the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act effective on October 1, 2010. This will give state government officials until January 1, 2011 to finalize rules and regulations.

Ken Wolski RN, the Executive Director of CMMNJ said today, “ A three-month delay is better than a six or 12 month delay. We're also grateful that the legislature did not attempt to amend the content of the law.”

The Department of Health and Senior Services has oversight of the medical cannabis program. DHSS Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh fully endorsed the medical and scientific value of cannabis in a recent New Jersey Network (NJN) appearance.

Peter Rosenfeld, a potential patient on the Board of Directors at the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey said “We hope that during this delay NJ-DHSS is more transparent than it has been in the last six months, allowing our group and other interested groups to give feedback about the program.”

So far, DHSS and other state officials have not met with any local advocacy groups or residents that the law was written to serve. This has left many preparing for a bigger effort to get the medical marijuana law put into practice.

Wolski said CMMNJ meetings have seen their strongest attendance in the last few months. “This is an agonizing delay. Marijuana is medicine in New Jersey and patients deserve, want, and need timely access to it.”

CONTACT: Ken Wolski RN 609 394 2137 ohamkrw@aol.com or media@cmmnj.org


The next CMMNJ public meeting takes place Tuesday July 13th at the Lawrence Township Library at 7:00PM

www.cmmnj.org

Final version of NJ medical marijuana law published

Read the final version of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/PL09/307_.HTM

Medical Marijuana press conference in Trenton on 6/4

MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 1, 2010

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ)
www.cmmnj.org

NORML-NJ
www.normlnj.org

Medical Marijuana press conference in Trenton on 6/4

Patients, professionals seek timely regulations

On Friday June 4, 2010 at 1PM local medical marijuana advocacy groups will hold a press conference at the State House in Trenton. Potential medical marijuana patients, doctors, nurses and supporters of the new law will address recent news of a proposed delay for implementing the program.

The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was voted and signed in law in January 2010. As passed, the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) was to issue draft regulations in July and patients were anticipating access to a running program by the fall.

Last week a request was made for an additional 6 months to 1 year before the draft medical marijuana program regulations are issued. The extension would require legislation.

CMMNJ and NORML-NJ do not see any need for a delay.

Ken Wolski a registered nurse and Executive Director of CMMNJ said, “If the DHSS cannot write these regulations in 6 months, there is no guarantee they will be able to write them in 18 months. Patients are suffering as they continue to wait for the program.”

Anne M. Davis, Executive Director of NORML-NJ said, “This is a law and there are no exceptions. There are patients with chronic or even terminal illnesses that cannot get an extension on life.”

The 6/4/10 press conference will feature brief statements along with a Q&A. A full list of participants will be released on Thursday June 3, 2010.

CMMNJ and NORML-NJ are addressing two main points:
- Timely implementation of the medical marijuana law
- A request that those in the Christie Administration meet with New Jersey’s local medical cannabis experts and advocates to discuss the law

Media may contact:
Ken Wolski ohamkrw@aol.com 609 394 2137
Anne Davis: law@annemdavis.com 732 477 4700
Chris Goldstein: media@cmmnj.org

WHAT: Medical marijuana press conference
WHERE: Trenton, NJ – State House – State Street entrance steps
WHEN: June 4, 2010 at 1:00PM
WHY: Timely implementation of the medical marijuana law

Christie administration seeks to delay the New Jersey medical marijuana law

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

WHO: Governor Chris Christie’s administration
WHAT: Wants to delay the New Jersey Medical Marijuana law for up to one year
WHEN: May 27, 2010
WHERE: Trenton, NJ
WHY: The logistics involved are too complex for the NJ Department of Health

A proposal by Governor Christie’s administration seeks to delay the implementation of the “New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" by up to one year. The request for a 6-12 month delay was first reported this week in the NJ Spotlight. New Jersey became the 14th US state to legalize medical marijuana on January 18, 2010. The law is scheduled to take effect in July. The bill, originally introduced in 2005 by Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden), saw broad bi-partisan support when it eventually passed. It was reported that senior staff in Governor Christie's office asked for the delay because they feared the complexities of developing a business model for medical cannabis distribution. Ken Wolski, RN, Executive Director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) said, “There must be no delay in implementing this law. Patients are suffering now, and to tell them they must continue to suffer for another year because of the bureaucrats in Trenton is unacceptable.”

Advocates noted that with any delay to the program many terminally ill patients would not live to find relief with legal medical marijuana. Hospice and Palliative Care networks are some of the strongest supporters of the medical cannabis law. Wolski continued, “Marijuana is recognized as medicine in New Jersey and patients deserve timely access to it. The recent trial and conviction of MS patient John Wilson in Somerville amply proves that patients desperately need regulated access to marijuana that is legal in the eyes of police, prosecutors, judges and juries around the state.”

The new law removes penalties for the possession, and use of marijuana when a New Jersey licensed physician recommends it for one of the qualifying medical conditions. These conditions include cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, etc. Patients will be issued ID cards in a program run by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). The marijuana will be obtained from Alternative Treatment Centers that will be licensed and regulated by the state. Of the 14 medical marijuana states, only the Garden State currently prohibits patients from cultivating their own medical marijuana in the safety of their homes.

Wolski noted that in a February 2010 letter to DHSS Director Joe Eldridge, CMMNJ offered free, expert advice in the development of regulations to implement the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana law. Thus far, DHSS has not requested any information from CMMNJ. CMMNJ was formed in 2003, incorporated in New Jersey and is recognized as a 501(c)(3) by the federal government. CMMNJ is the only statewide organization solely dedicated to providing education and information about safe and legal access to medical marijuana, and it has closely followed the law’s evolution and patients’ concerns. CMMNJ’s Board of Directors includes health care professionals, attorneys and potential patients with over 50 years of combined experience directly related to medical marijuana. CMMNJ is uniquely qualified to assist in developing effective regulations for New Jersey. Patients and advocates at CMMNJ welcome a dialogue with DHSS and the Christie Administration to discuss the best plan to implement the law.

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

Report from Somerville--John Wilson Bail Hearing

Judge Reed set bail for John Wilson at $15,000 today at a hearing in Somerville, NJ. John's father, Ray, couldn’t come to the hearing because he was desperately trying to raise bail for his son. Even John couldn’t come to the hearing because he was locked up in one of New Jersey’s most remote prisons—Southern State Correctional Facility, near Cape May.

John was convicted of second degree manufacturing of marijuana—he grew some plants to treat his illness, but he was not permitted to discuss his illness during the trial. The judge denied John’s request for bail pending his appeal. John’s lawyer, Jim Wronko, appealed the judge’s decision to lock John up pending appeal. The judge did so despite the fact that John was no flight risk and no threat to the community. The appeals section of Superior Court agreed with Mr. Wronko and sent the case back to Judge Reed to set bail.

The prosecutor, Cassandra Serentino, asked for $75,000 to $150,000 bail. When asked why by the judge, the prosecutor said that was what was listed for such an offense on the bail schedule, but that she would defer to the judge for “whatever you deem appropriate.”

The judge cited the fact that John had no prior criminal record, was gainfully self-employed, had a family who was at the trial every day, and had many responsible members of the community vouch for him “in the cause which he has come to represent,” i.e., medical marijuana.

All those factors militate in his favor, the judge ruled, before setting the lower bail.

The judge acknowledged that the case has garnered a great deal of publicity and public debate. He was disappointed by what he called the lack of understanding of the three branches of our government. He was also disappointed by the personal attacks on him by well-meaning but ill informed people. He cited a recent editorial in The Times of Trenton, NJ that compared him to a “hanging judge” in Old England who hung a young girl for stealing three pennies. He said it was an unfair comparison.

The judge said his critics fail to consider the fact that the law is determined by the legislature, and is, he said, “clear and precise.” The judge said his critics should not denigrate the judicial branch of government when they disagree with the results, but should instead devote their efforts to changing the law, “and in this case, they have.”

The judge said that he did his duty in respect to the Constitution, and that he had no more ability to grant a pardon than he did to change the law himself. He protested the attacks on the judiciary in general and “on this jurist in particular.”

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey had appealed to Governor Jon Corzine and Attorney General Anne Milgram to pardon John Wilson or to use prosecutorial discretion to make this case go away, before it ever even went to trial. It would have spared the state and the defendant great expense, and it would have spared a conscientious judge great embarrassment.

But the State of New Jersey insisted on pursuing this case—the case of an impoverished young man with multiple sclerosis (MS) who grew marijuana to treat his disease. While the trial was in progress, the state passed into law the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The state officially recognized that marijuana is medicine, and specifically recognized that it is medicine for MS.

The state desperately tried to send John Wilson to prison for twenty years. In the end, John spent a little over thirty days locked up. Let’s hope that’s all the time he ever spends in prison. Let’s also hope he is the last medical marijuana patient to be prosecuted in New Jersey.

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

VIDEO: NJ HIV patient on medical marijuana bill passing

Video from Jay Lassiter of bluejersey.com

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

Photo: MS Patient John Ray Wilson Trial

Here is John with CMMNJ co-founder Jim Miller at the courthouse on Friday 10/30 2009. Thanks to K. Long for the pic!

CMMNJ is continuing our support of John Ray Wilson, who faces 15 years in state prison for growing 17 marijuana plants. John lives with MS and used cannabis therapy for treatment.

Donate to the Wilson family directly here.

Despite a public call from two state Senators for a pardon the criminal trial against John is moving ahead.

Read more about John's case here

In August CMMNJ rallied at the Somerset County Courthouse. Our volunteers plan on having a supporting presence at the courthouse through all phases of the trial.

The next date is December 14, 2009. Read More

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

John Wilson Trial Date Set

CMMNJ's Jim Miller was at the Somerset County Courthouse on 10/30 for John Wilson's court hearing.

Despite a public call from two state Senators for a pardon the criminal trial against John is moving ahead.

CMMNJ is planning to have a supporting presence at the courthouse during all phases of the trial. The tentative dates are 12/14 for jury selection and 12/21 for opening arguments.

Jim was quoted and photographed in the following news article

Senators Push for Pardon of Franklin Man with MS Charged with Growing Medical Marijuana - MyCentralJersey.com

A four-year plea deal is on the table. But Lesniak said even that could ensure that Wilson would die behind bars.

Prosecuting people like Wilson "wasn't the intent of the legislation," of the drug manufacturing statute, Lesniak said. "It was designed to go after drug kingpins. This is hardly the case."

Wilson is facing two other charges, a second-degree manufacturing charge and a third-degree possession offense. The second-degree charge can bring five to 10 years in prison; a third-degree offense, three to five years.

Lesniak said they have not sought an outright pardon since Wilson must face consequences if found guilty. Community service would be a more appropriate sentence, Lesniak said. READ FULL ARTICLE

More about medical marijuana in New Jersey at www.cmmnj.org

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

CMMNJ letter to NJ A.G. on behalf of MS patient facing 20 years in prison for medical marijuana

Edward R. Hannaman, Esq.
7 Bradway Ave.
Ewing, New Jersey 08618

September 3, 2009

Hon. Anne Milgram
Attorney General
P.O. Box 080
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0080

Re: John Wilson

Dear Attorney General Milgram:

I feel compelled to write to you on behalf of John Wilson, but also in the interests of justice, the conservation of State resources and to preserve the clarity of your conscience. As an attorney I believe this prosecution to be not only ill conceived under the circumstances and excessive in its object, but pursued in a manner that will lead to a grave injustice.

Following the death of a friend’s young son from cancer that was staved off solely by the use of marijuana as recommended by his oncologists, I accepted a position as a Board member of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey. In that role, I have seen and spoken with many patients, family members, caregivers and medical professionals who attest to the palliative effects of marijuana on a host of serious illnesses. In many cases it has proven to be the only salvation for patients.

Others with expertise in this area have written to you previously documenting the grave nature of Mr. Wilson’s medical condition and supplying you with considerable evidence that marijuana has been found to be a palliative for it. It is a well -established and undeniable fact that marijuana is a benefit to those with multiple sclerosis. This was confirmed again by a recent independent study conducted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The facts in this matter are simple. John Wilson lacks medical insurance and suffers from multiple sclerosis, a terrible and incurable illness. Because other medications as well as bee sting therapy had failed him, he turned in desperation to the use of marijuana which he grew himself on his own property. For this act of self-preservation he has been charged with manufacturing and producing marijuana. He is being subjected to a prison sentence of twenty years. Sadly, the failure to properly apply current law or allow our system of justice to work as intended has forced John Wilson to face a far harsher and crueler punishment than anyone in his situation deserves.

Notably, there is no charge of nor is there any evidence that John Wilson supplied or intended to supply marijuana to anyone other than himself. The police did not find any caches of weapons, bundles of money, client lists or the quantities of marijuana expected and necessary if distribution were a motive. His condition and the proven medical efficacy of marijuana for it document the motive for growing was medical use. The very manner in which it was grown speaks to the naiveté of John Wilson. Anyone sophisticated would be expected to have grown the plants indoors or if outside at least camouflaged them or, typically not on one’s own property. Because most of the plants seized lacked buds, he may very well have been growing plants incapable of therapeutic yields.

As you are no doubt aware, there have been cases in this state in which those supplying cocaine and heroin to others have caused death and been subjected to less incarceration than John Wilson is facing. In Mercer County, at least one individual who grew far more plants than were grown here and who had no relevant medical condition was allowed to participate in pre-trial intervention. Mr. Wilson has no criminal record, was not supplying a substance to anyone but himself, did not seek it on the illegal market and, most significantly, harmed no one. As you are well aware, if John Wilson were to have killed another person to protect his own life, he would have a defense. How can it be that growing a plant to save his life is deserving of no less?

The statute under which John Wilson is charged (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-1.1 et seq.) counsels consideration of the seriousness and degree of dangerousness of the offense. It also looks to the harm suffered by the victim and states that it is aimed at aiding in the battle against drug distribution chains and those posing the greatest danger to society. It logically focuses on “the role of the actor in the overall drug distribution network” (1.1c). The entire statutory intent is clearly and understandably designed to deter “the most culpable and dangerous drug offenders” as well as affording special protection to children. NONE of these serious concerns are even remotely applicable to John Wilson.

In defining the “manufacture” that Mr. Wilson is charged with, Section 2 of the statute states; “…except that this term does not include the preparation or compounding of a controlled dangerous substance or controlled dangerous substance analog by an individual for his own use…” (Emphasis added). By the very definition of “manufacture” in the statute, it is wrong to charge John Wilson under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-4 with manufacturing!

Moreover, by its very terms, the statute places his use at issue, thereby making it a material matter required to be submitted to the court. Although mere “planting” is defined as “production”, the situation in John Wilson’s case is demonstrably outside of the clearly articulated legislative intent in enacting this law for society’s protection. Notably, Mr. Wilson would not be subject to the enhanced punishment for the mere number of plants he was growing. To impose the harshest punishment possible, the prosecutor claims that each day a plant grew constituted a separate production offense. In that way the actual plants were multiplied into a sufficient number to constitute a first -degree crime. Would that your prosecutors could demonstrate such creativity in going after those committing securities fraud, political corruption or serious offenses against the public peace.

In this case the prosecution has taken a law designed to punish those actually manufacturing drugs in large quantities for the illegal drug trade, ignored its purpose and tortured its language to imprison for decades a patient treating himself for multiple sclerosis. The prosecution proceeds heedless of the law’s expressed intent and with an inhumane disdain for the affect on a human being suffering an incurable disease. This cannot remotely be characterized as part of a war on drugs. In reality it is nothing less than a reprehensible persecution of a sick person using a medicine.

Justice demands that this case be considered not only on all of its facts but also within the context of the medical marijuana movement. At present, thirteen states in this country, representing over twenty five percent of the population of the United States, have legalized the use of marijuana for a number of conditions, including multiple sclerosis. As evidenced by the Bills introduced in other states, this is an ever-growing movement. On February 23 of this year, New Jersey’s Senate voted to approve S119 (appropriately termed the Compassionate Use Act), which allows patients to use marijuana for a number of conditions, including multiple sclerosis. It is for good reason that it is referred to as the “Compassionate Use” Act. In June, the Assembly Health Committee voted to release the companion Bill, A 804, for a full Assembly vote. Although it made some changes, it maintained the right of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis to use marijuana. You are well aware of these Bills since your own office pronounced the use of medical marijuana “workable”. Governor Corzine has stated openly that he would sign a Bill authorizing the use of medical marijuana.

What is easily most disturbing in light of the manner in which our system of justice is intended to function is that your prosecutor pushed to deny the jury the following facts: that John Wilson’s suffers from multiple sclerosis, that marijuana is recognized as legitimate treatment for that condition and that he was growing the marijuana solely for that purpose. These are all crucial facts, material to his individual use and all spurned by your prosecutor as irrelevant to a jury’s evaluation. Incredibly, the prosecutor characterized as “prejudicial” expert testimony from a physician about the medical benefits of marijuana use by John Wilson. In the absence of the relevant medical facts how is the jury to determine whether John Wilson’s situation and conduct were the focus of the legislature’s intent?

Our system, which is grounded on the presumption of innocence, protects the accused from prejudicial facts being used against him or from the jury misusing facts adverse to the defendant. Fairness demands that material facts be submitted to the jury. The prosecution’s aversion to the facts and characterization of them as prejudicial rests on nothing more than the fear that they undermine the prospects of an easy conviction. Convictions, however, are not the means by which we measure justice. We measure justice by whether there was a truly fair trial. Withholding medical marijuana use is a perversion of the evidence rule shielding the jury from adverse facts about the defendant that could serve to prejudice the jury against him. Thus, the court will instruct a jury exposed to the fact that the defendant committed a prior illegal, that it is not to assume thereby that he has likely done so again. In this case, considering the statutory language, the true prejudice lies in denying the jury access to all the facts, in effect forcing them to render a verdict based on a one-sided presentation. This trial begins with a rejection of a belief that constitutes the very heart of our jury system, a trust in the common citizen to do what is right.

Trial by a jury of ones’ peers is intended in a democratic society to stand as a bulwark against the tyranny of the state, unjust prosecutions and oppressive laws violative of the community’s conscience. Our justice system has evolved as a result of a tumultuous past replete with examples of such threats to freedom. As a result, western democracy extols the fact that the jury can stand up to any sovereign. It was for good reason that the denial of this sacred protection of individual liberty was specifically noted as a grievance against the King in our Declaration of Independence. Thus, our founding fathers recognized and the soldiers of our revolution fought specifically for, the fundamental and inviolate right for every citizen to be afforded the protection of a trial by jury in criminal cases.

We revere the principle that our government is founded upon the consent of the governed and it is reflected in the jury’s power to do justice. No less an authority than Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes observed that it is the province of the jury to keep the administration of the law in accordance with the wishes and feelings of the community. As he stated in the Horning case in 1920: “The jury has the power to bring in a verdict in the teeth of both the law and facts.” Justice Holmes certainly understood and advocated that the jury is ultimately the conscience of the community; not the legislator, not the prosecutor and not even the court. Thus it is a fundamental tenet of our law that a court in a criminal case, despite overwhelming and uncontroverted evidence of guilt, cannot direct a verdict of guilt contrary to a jury’s verdict of acquittal.

Our system allows the jury to decide whether the defendant is justly or unjustly accused. It is to the independence of the jury that we look to prevent the wrongful infliction of punishment through an opprobrious law and to stay the hand of a vengeful prosecutor. Its power stems from its role as the judicial manifestation of the right of a free people to self-determination. It is no less than the embodiment of our principle that ultimate power rests with “we the people.” The jury’s authority is as essential aspect of a government formed to be one that is “of the people.” It is not an overstatement to acknowledge that juries are the most critical element in a judicial system guaranteeing justice for every citizen. In a system where the people are sovereign both the language and application of a statute are subject to the moral scrutiny of the jury acting as the conscience of the community. Denying the jury essential knowledge serves to undermine the crucial role entrusted to it by our democracy.

A fair trial requires that the jury be kept free from improper influence, not that it be kept ignorant of the facts as is being done in the case of John Wilson. It is for good reason that we have the maxim: suppressio veri, expression falsi. One cannot expect a jury denied the facts to do true justice as our system intends. To have John Wilson convicted by a jury deprived of all relevant facts about his condition and marijuana use, is no more a challenge than convicting someone of overtime parking. Except, tragically, in this case the conviction sends a multiple sclerosis sufferer to prison for decades. It is pathetic that a prosecutor would be given any credit for a conviction under these circumstances no less laud it as a “victory”. It is certainly a loss for justice.

The public record documents the anger felt by jurors when they learn of the true facts only after the trial. This was the case in 2003 when a federal jury in California convicted Ed Rosenthal for growing marijuana. After rendering the verdict, jury members were informed that Mr. Rosenthal was not only growing it for medical patients, but that he was doing so pursuant to California law and in fact was doing so as an agent of the city of Oakland. Naturally the court and prosecution considered those inconvenient facts “prejudicial” to the jury’s impartiality.

Consider the infamous case of Richard Paey, a paraplegic sentenced to serve a twenty-five year prison sentence in Florida for “drug distribution” merely for his use of prescription drugs to alleviate his extreme and constant pain. In Florida, the law allows possession of over a certain quantity of even prescription drugs to be alleged to constitute distribution. The prosecutors knew this tormented individual never attempted to nor did he ever have the intention or means to sell. Still they made sure that the jury was unaware of its innate power to do justice for this pathetic victim. Those jurors were publicly and understandably upset with the law and the verdict they believed they had to deliver. Their upset led to a campaign to free him, culminating in a pardon from the Governor. Still, Mr. Paey suffered three excruciating years in prison. Florida taxpayers pointlessly absorbed the costs of not only another prisoner but the considerable costs of maintaining him on a morphine drip. Must we make every jury so cynical that its members are forced to assume they are being deprived of compelling facts benefiting the defendant in these types of cases and automatically acquit to avoid tragic injustice?

Prosecutions carried out without regard to concerns about society’s legitimate protection, legislative intent or a sense of compassion for patients deserving mercy become tools of tyranny. Moreover, such prosecutions violate the fundamental tenets of our democracy and do a disservice to the very people they professes to benefit. The case at hand is as good an example as one can find of the very sort of tyranny that our jury system was designed to thwart and will, if given a fair chance. Just as in the cases noted above, a prosecution “victory” here sending John Wilson to prison works a disgraceful injustice on the system as well as the individual. To maintain the integrity we expect of our system of justice, we need to give the jury a fair opportunity to do justice. Thus far we are doing no more than repeating the tragic mistakes of others.

While the denial of facts to this jury may result in a conviction, it is a shortsighted strategy that has the potential to work harm to society in the future. Jurors should not believe they will be compelled to act solely on instinct if they are to abort a severely misguided prosecution-such as the one in this case. Should they vote to convict, we can expect jurors to publicly express misgivings once they learn of the actual facts, and especially when they put the facts in context of the legalization movement. We can rest assured future jury members will be cognizant of the fact that they may also be denied compelling exculpatory evidence that would change their view of the charges.

The applicable law in this matter is not inherently defective, but it has been unconscionably distorted and misused to punish a multiple sclerosis patient hurting no one while simply treating himself. A jury knowing the law’s full intent and all the facts has good reason to refuse to convict John Wilson. It could justifiably conclude that treating one’s multiple sclerosis with a substance widely recognized by the medical community as a palliative is not a crime and the legislature did not intend it to be prosecuted as one. Moreover, such a conclusion would be in accord with the views of the Senate of this State, the Assembly Health Committee, the office of Attorney General and our Governor as well as the laws of thirteen other states. Is unbridled prosecutorial zealousness in pursuit of the pointless and unjust conviction of a multiple sclerosis patient to be allowed to trump these compelling contrary views-embodying as they do the actual will of the people?

As the legislature moves inexorably to end the cruel criminal stigma for suffering persons using marijuana as medicine, your Gangs/Organized Crime Unit unleashes its full wrath on exactly such a person. What, one must ask, fuels the rush to do this clear injustice of branding a patient as a criminal? Certainly not even the prosecutors can seriously believe it is to protect society. The actual and only victim here is John Wilson himself who was desperately growing marijuana to treat his own tormenting multiple sclerosis. He was NOT involved in the drug trade nor does he pose any other risk to society the legislature sought to prohibit.

In light of the recent legislative action aimed specifically at authorizing the use of medical marijuana by multiple sclerosis patients and the intent and wording of existing statutes, this prosecution is an affront to the legislative process, justice and humanity. One labors to imagine how this prosecution could be made any more absurd, illogical, inhumane and contrary to clear legislative intent.

A concern for justice notwithstanding, one would expect more humane treatment of John Wilson on purely practical grounds. How can this State, with deficits running into the billions of dollars- intentionally devote precious resources in an effort to imprison a multiple sclerosis patient? In addition to the considerable costs of housing an ordinary prisoner, the taxpayers will have to pay for constant, expensive medical treatment for John Wilson. This burden is compounded by the ultimate absurdity that this considerable expense results in absolutely no benefit whatsoever to public safety. With actions like this, it is no mystery why New Jersey serves as the brunt of jokes. This can be expected to generate more-and justly so.

Ms. Milgram, as the Attorney General and our chief prosecutor, you are the only government official who can rein in the over zealousness of this prosecution. As Justice Jackson observed while he was Attorney General of the United States: “The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation that any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous.” If you will exercise your discretion in accordance with the true interests of justice and societal concerns, you can end this terribly misguided prosecution. If not, one legitimately may wonder why we need a human being as Attorney General. A prosecution computer would do as well. Input only facts favorable to the prosecution, set for maximum punishment and proceed to seek conviction regardless of the context, the consequences or humane concerns. It is for good reason we, as human beings, reject such mechanical justice. We expect our Attorney General to administer the laws fairly, acknowledging that the true interests of the state and society embrace our humanity. Thus it is that John Wilson’s case is exactly the type that cries out for your personal attention.

Neither true justice nor effective prosecution equate to seeking to convict every person of the highest degree crime possible, regardless of circumstances. Neither accepts that the law can be tortured to construe a meaning in violation of common sense and public safety. A just prosecution eliminates our need to rely for justice, as we do in this case, on the hope that one ordinary person called to jury duty and deprived of the facts will exhibit an instinct for the right and possess the considerable courage to act on it. Both justice and your duty exhort you, as our Attorney General, to exercise your prosecutorial discretion and save a harmless person afflicted with multiple sclerosis from prison.

Surely those in power realize that there are serious threats to public safety and welfare that must be addressed in New Jersey. Have we devoted adequate resources to combating the violent gangs openly roaming our cities and towns and literally shooting people in the streets? These are the criminals enriching themselves through the drug distribution chains and the ones at which the legislative proscriptions are aimed. The legislature took proper aim, yet your prosecutors manage to hit a multiple sclerosis patient! One would expect that actual drug gangs would be the focus for the Gangs/ Organized Crime Unit. Is it possible that it unable to discern the difference between gangs and patients?

Have we eradicated all political corruption? Have we begun indicting those responsible for the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money from the School Board Construction Corporation? Have we held accountable all the illegal polluters that have propelled this state into the nation’s leadership in toxic superfund sites? Undoubtedly an opposing political candidate would want to continue. It is also likely that an opposing candidate may wish to suggest correcting the apparently inverted priorities of your Gangs/ Organized Crime unit, even if our resources were not strained.

The obvious and serious faults with this prosecution mandate that you step in to restore justice. If you will not, who else can we expect with influence in this administration to exhibit the rationality to accept that this prosecution is a waste of our resources and take the initiative to end it? Is there no one who possesses the ability to exercise simple good judgment, if not sound political instincts? A question our Governor himself may wish to ask of his Attorney General is: “What is the public good in rigorously prosecuting a multiple sclerosis patient at this juncture especially when he harmed no one and you have the discretion to recognize that his conduct is not violative of the statutory intent and does not merit any first degree charges?” A person suffering from multiple sclerosis who was merely trying to alleviate his own suffering through home -grown marijuana presents no danger to society. Thus, one can confidently assert that that no one in our State with an ounce of humanity or intelligence will breathe easier knowing that your office has worked to imprison John Wilson. Quite the opposite. Those with a sound moral compass will view this prosecution seeking to inflict greater punishment on a person like John Wilson as nothing less than a cruelly vengeful, pointless act unworthy of an enlightened people.

Finally, along with all the other considerations, we must consider what of you Ms. Milgram? Should this case proceed to conviction and a prison sentence under your authority, you can never assert with a clear conscience that you are a compassionate individual who prizes true justice. Your conscience will remind you of John Wilson. But you need not rely on your conscience alone. Thousands of individuals are already aware of John Wilson’s plight. Before this case is over, many hundreds of thousands of people nationwide will be aware of it. Many of them will be those suffering from conditions treatable with marijuana, as well as their family members, caregivers and the medical professionals treating them. Even more people will be outraged and even sickened by the injustice of this prosecution. Few will remember the judge’s name; even fewer will recall the prosecutor’s. Rest assured, however, virtually everyone who remembers this case will remember that you, Ms. Milgram, were the Attorney General with ultimate responsibility for this prosecution. Everyone will recall that you knew all the relevant and mitigating facts about John Wilson specifically that he was a suffering person and not a drug dealer or a danger to society. Moreover, you knew during the prosecution that the law was on the verge of being rewritten to protect him-and in fact you agreed with that protection. And yet, for no reason that an enlightened society would support, you allowed this terrible injustice to be inflicted on John Wilson although it was easily within your power and arguably within your duty, to stop it.

The fact that this travesty of justice is occurring within months of passage of the law allowing use of marijuana by persons exactly like John Wilson is a tragically ironic. The timing alone exacerbates both the injustice and the cruelty of this prosecution. If you, Ms. Milgram, will not act for John Wilson, or justice, or New Jersey, will you at least preserve your own conscience by insisting that your agency show simple compassion for a suffering individual who harmed no one? The current course ensures you will bring on yourself the enmity of all those patients who are and who will be using marijuana as approved medicine, as well as all those who believe in enlightened justice.

Perhaps even worse than a troubled conscience, you will consign yourself to the ranks of those who cast themselves forever on the wrong side of history; those who persecuted women because they feared witches, who denied rights to minorities believing them to be inferior or who, similarly lacking basic knowledge or compassion, imprisoned persons guilty of nothing but poverty or mental affliction. On rare occasions, to the credit of our higher and better nature, society evolves to achieve greater enlightenment and humanity. We are irrevocably approaching that point regarding the use of marijuana to ameliorate the ravages of many heartbreaking diseases. Eventually, knowledge will join compassion in eradicating the cruel injustices of a war on patients masquerading as a war on drugs. Sadly, some will continue to cloak themselves in the darkness of ignorance long after the light dawns for most others. Those persons wielding power who do so and cling to the ways of a discredited past, decrying the advancement, are justifiably vilified by the verdict of history. You can act to ensure that you will not share the stigma of that fate.

At this juncture, when the overwhelming and ever-growing scientific evidence of the clear benefits of marijuana to help the sick are being slowly but inexorably recognized by governments, you, Ms. Milgram, can choose to lead along the path of enlightenment and humane justice. You can act right now to protect a harmless multiple sclerosis patient from the horror of imprisonment for an act that should never have been made illegal but, which, in any event, will be legal within months. The reputations of those, like you, who are entrusted with great authority is never justly measured by the plaudits from others similarly favored with power and influence. You are assured of getting those regardless of what you do. The true measure of a person’s worth is whether they exercised their authority so as to deserve the respect of those who have the least, who suffer the most and who desperately need our help. John Wilson is such a person.

Just as in every war, someone is tragically the last to die; in the strife of every social advancement, someone is the last sacrificed as a martyr to past injustice. Let that not be John Wilson’s fate.

It is unfathomable that anyone with the power to stop a clear injustice would not act to do so at any time. It is incredibly tragic that it would be permitted at this juncture when the legislature has finally recognized the benefits of marijuana as a medicine to many patients and is bringing a long overdue measure of humanity to the law. If John Wilson is knowingly allowed to be the last casualty of the current inane and inhumane policy, it will be an indelible stain on justice, New Jersey, and your conscience.

Very truly yours,
Edward R. Hannaman, Esq.
Board Member, CMMNJ