CMMNJ Zoom Meeting Agenda for July 9, 2024

 

CMMNJ Monthly Public Zoom Meeting Agenda for July 9, 2024 at 7 pm

ZOOM Meeting ID: 830 7019 0783  Passcode: 325970 Or click: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83070190783?pwd=9Dd55h2am4Vb7aSUc0T3v7b2pBlW0K.1

One tap mobile (646) 931-3860; Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/koIAewUoG

Agenda: New Jersey Issues: 

CMMNJ’s NJ Cannabis Town Hall that was held on June 22nd at Raritan Valley Community College was very successful. Thanks to all who participated in the Panel Discussions, Cannabis Career Fair, and Expungement Clinics.

The NJ CannaBusiness Association (NJCBA) hosted a webinar on cannabis home growing with State Senator Vin Gopal (D-11) and leading advocates.

S2283: Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act passed the Senate Health Committee on 6/6/24 but it was amended to tightly regulated therapeutic access, eliminating home cultivation. The bill is in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. A3852, the identical Assembly bill, passed the Assembly Health Committee on 6/17/24. There is no legislative activity scheduled for July 2024.

Bill A4461 will have the NJCRC regulate Delta-8 and other hemp-derived products. Susanna Short said that Delta hemp drinks should be sold in licensed dispensaries only. Guy Lardieri agreed: “Keeping the regulation of these products within the CRC's purview is essential.” Cannabis license holders are mandated to be pro-union. Scott Rudder declared, “We’re going to allow thousands of liquor stores to sell weed in their stores.” Substitute S3235 passed the Senate and Assembly 6/28/24. Gov. Murphy can line-item veto.

Juniper Lane Atlantic City, Colleen Begley's cannabis business, received from NJEDA a Cannabis Seed Equity grant of $150,000. “I spent my time fighting not just for legalization but (to) allow former felons like me to become licensed operators,” said Colleen, who served years in NJ’s prisons, including EMCF/Clinton, for marijuana violations. Susanna Puntel Short, a cannabis industry consultant, worked with Begley as a specialty coach in the NJEDA's Technical Assistance Program. 

IMPROVING ACCESS TO MEDICAL CANNABIS, By Ken Wolski, RN, New Jersey Nurse & Institute for Nursing Newsletter, June 2024, page 4.

Appellate Court denies relief for Steven Kadonsky. “Finally, we reject (his) fundamental fairness argument that we continue to punish him for conduct that is now recognized as legal. That argument is faulty. It is not legal today to operate a largescale unlicensed marijuana distribution network.”

Trenton’s proposed Ordinance makes it unlawful for any person to smoke cannabis in, or on, any public space, with fines from $250 to $1000 for any violation, unless a patient can show a Medicinal Cannabis ID card. Public comments are welcome on 7/11/24, 5:30 PM at the city council meeting. 

NORML Action Alert: New Jersey: Allow Patients to Grow Their Own Medicine

CMMNJ Website is still unavailable as we transition out of GoDaddy. Are there volunteers who are interested in being part of the “CMMNJ Tech Team” to help with websites, blogs, social media, streaming, video, and audio? Text Nick Mellis @ 609.331.9304 - TEXT ONLY to schedule a talk. 

Please subscribe to CMMNJ’s YouTube channel—we need 50 subscribers for greater access!

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC):

The next CRC meeting: July 18, 2024 at 11 a.m. at 44 S. Clinton Ave., Trenton. Register to speak by Thursday, July 16th at 5 p.m. Submit written comments by July 19th at 5 p.m.

Invited Testimony to the CRC 6/17/24: Recommendations to the CRC: Allow anyone with prescriptive privileges to recommend cannabis for any condition. Make healthcare facilities allow the use of medical cannabis by patients. Institutionalized patients qualify for medical cannabis; it could benefit them, and save operating expenses. NJ must require education on the Endocannabinoid System for all health care professionals as a condition for continued licensure in the state. “NJ has a unique opportunity to lead medical cannabis research,” M4MM Co-Director Gaetano Lardieri declared. 

S3484: Provides health care practitioners discretion to determine which medical conditions could qualify patients for use of medical cannabis. Introduced by Sen. Troy Singleton (Thank you!) on 6/24/24 and referred to Senate Health Committee. 

CRC: Find a Dispensary in NJ. Benzinga’s list of medical cannabis dispensaries.

Federal Drug Policy Reform: 

Self-reported daily or near daily cannabis use rose from 0.9 million people in 1992 to 17.7 million people 30 years later – a 15-fold increase in the per capita rate. “high-frequency cannabis use is now more commonly reported than is high-frequency drinking”.

“Rescheduling is a half-measure; DEA must deschedule marijuana,” M. Brennan

A prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) wants the DEA to extend the current public comment period for marijuana rescheduling. “It is a significant reversal of nearly a dozen prior agency decisions rejecting proposals to move marijuana out of Schedule I.”

Lawmakers need to recognize the perilous consequences of legalization.

Research Evaluates CBD as an Alternative Analgesic for Acute Dental Pain

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development won its bid to dismiss a civil suit challenging the denial of Section 8 housing benefits to medical marijuana users because the drug remains illegal under federal law, a federal court said.

CMMNJ’s post-legalization medical cannabis goals:

Insurance bills (note new bill numbers for 2024 - 2025 legislative session):

• S1944: Costs of medical cannabis to be reimbursed by Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund, PAAD, Senior Gold and VCCO. The bills passed both Health Committees and are in the Senate and Assembly Budget and Oversight Committees. 

• S1943/A4371: Requires workers’ compensation, PIP, and health insurance coverage.

• A898/S2828: Subsidize medical cannabis in Medicaid or NJ Family Care.

Home cultivation bills (note new bill numbers for 2024 - 2025 legislative session):
Website: https://www.letpatientsgrownj.com/

• S1393/A846: Authorizes home cultivation of medical cannabis.

• A414: Legalizes possession of six marijuana plants for personal use.

• S1985: Legalizes six plants for personal use and 10 plants for medical 

Hospital and Institutional Access: NJ patients in hospitals, nursing homes, state institutions, group homes and hospice are unable to access medical cannabis. Patient outcomes would improve, and health care costs would be reduced if these patients had access to medical cannabis.

Upcoming Events: 

Shore Grow, LLC plans another Patient Aid Day, 8/11/24, Noon to 4 pm. 1710 Rt. 35 Oakhurst, NJ; Shore Grow's 2024 Class Schedule.

Third Annual National Cannabis Patients’ Awareness Day, Trenton, 7/10/2024, 11:11 a.m.

Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM) Upcoming Events

Happy Wellness Expo, FDU, Madison, NJ, 9/8/24, 10 - 5 p.m.

NECANN NJ Cannabis Convention Fri, Sept 6 & Sat, Sept 7 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

Treasury report: 

Checking: $10,077  

Fundraising ideas are always welcome.

Make a tax-deductible donation via PayPal to info@cmmnj.org, 

or send a check to: CMMNJ, 219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618.

Or scan:

More info: 

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com 
Facebook: Friends of CMMNJ: https://www.facebook.com/groups/62462971150/
Twitter: @CMM_NJ
CMMNJ blog: https://cmmnj.blogspot.com/

Website: Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey: Join the “CMMNJ Tech Team” to help with websites, blogs, social media, streaming, video, and audio. Text Nick Mellis @ 609.331.9304

CMMNJ awards:

2021: NJ Governor's Jefferson Award in the Volunteer Group category;
2023: NJ State Governor's Volunteerism Award in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Champion for Justice Category "for extraordinary service to your community;"
2023: Ken Wolski won a Lifetime Achievement award;
2023: NJ Senate and Assembly Joint Legislative Resolution affirmed CMMNJ's importance as a "catalyst for the legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana in the State" and paid “tribute to all who have contributed to its success and renown.”

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.

Rescheduling is a half-measure; the DEA must deschedule marijuana

The DEA must deschedule marijuana 

Dear Sir, 

The Biden Administration’s recent move to reconsider marijuana’s status as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is a step in the right direction, but it falls woefully short of what is needed. Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is not enough. Instead, it is time to end the failed policy of criminalization and completely remove marijuana from the CSA’s drug schedules. 

Given the Biden Administration’s acknowledgment of the racially discriminatory enforcement of marijuana laws, any policy development that ignores these considerations is unjustifiable. President Biden has repeatedly promised to decriminalize marijuana. The DEA should not undermine this commitment by finalizing the proposed rule to reschedule marijuana under the CSA. It is imperative for the Biden Administration to fulfill this promise by taking decisive action to end and repair the harms of federal marijuana criminalization. 

The only way to truly end federal marijuana criminalization and its associated harms is to completely deschedule marijuana from the CSA. A new federal marijuana policy should prioritize public health and equity. It should aim to end unjust criminal consequences, restore rights and opportunities for those affected by marijuana criminalization, and ensure a diverse marketplace that protects small businesses and equity programs from large corporate monopolies. 

The current proposal to reschedule marijuana fails to address the core issues of federal marijuana criminalization. Rescheduling will not stop federal arrests for possession and use, nor will it free those imprisoned for marijuana-related offenses. It will not expunge previous marijuana arrests, end deportations, or remove immigration consequences stemming from marijuana activity. Moreover, it will not restore access to government benefits lost due to marijuana-related activities or bring state marijuana programs into compliance with federal law. 

 

Even for the marijuana industry, rescheduling to Schedule III is inadequate. While it would eliminate certain federal tax penalties for state-regulated marijuana businesses, it would not provide them with legal access to essential business services, nor is it likely to result in significant wage increases for workers or lower prices for patients and consumers. More importantly, rescheduling would continue the criminalization of personal possession, cultivation, use, and participation in state-legal marijuana businesses. 

The process of evaluating marijuana’s status under the CSA is also deeply flawed. The administrative review conducted by the FDA and DEA is limited in scope and fails to consider the racist origins and impacts of marijuana prohibition. These policies have had devastating social, economic, and public health consequences, particularly for Black and Latino communities, which continue to suffer from mass incarceration, inaccessible public housing, and denial of food assistance programs. 

Furthermore, the U.S. has played a significant role in enforcing marijuana prohibition globally, with devastating consequences. With changing domestic realities, the U.S. has a responsibility to repair the damage caused by prohibitionist policies and support systemic changes internationally. Active diplomacy at the United Nations and other international forums is essential to challenge the outdated global drug control regime.  

Rescheduling marijuana is a half-measure that fails to address the root problems. To achieve meaningful reform, the DEA must issue a new rule to deschedule marijuana from the CSA entirely. 

As often heard in circles of those recovered from needless suffering, “Half measures avail us nothing.” 

Thank you. 

 

Michael Brennan 

Member, Board of Directors 

Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc. 

219 Woodside Ave Trenton, NJ 08618 United States

Trenton's "Cannabis Consumption" Ordinance

 Testimony to the Trenton City Council

Re:  Proposed Ordinance 24-042, “Cannabis Consumption”

By Ken Wolski, RN, MPA

June 18, 2024

This ordinance (below) makes it unlawful to smoke or vape cannabis in public in the City of Trenton and institutes a series of fines from $250 to $1000 for violations of the ordinance.

I am grateful for the amendment to this ordinance that protects the use of medical marijuana in public, wherever cigarette smoke is permitted. The amendment allows a police officer to ask a person who is using marijuana publicly to produce a Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) Medicinal Cannabis Program (MCP) ID card in order to avoid a fine.

The MCP started in 2012. Prior to the legalization of adult use cannabis in New Jersey 2021, there were 130,000 patients in the CRC’s MCP. Currently, there are under 80,000 patients in the program. Around 50,000 medical marijuana patients in New Jersey no longer bother to use an ID card to prove that they are legitimate medical marijuana patients. This is primarily to avoid the exorbitant physician fees that are often required to stay in the program. Now, patients may obtain the same medicine that is available to them without a physician's recommendation.  

In addition, many patients use cannabis medically without ever being diagnosed with a medical or mental health problem—they just found that cannabis improves their life.  

Trenton has a poverty rate of 28%. Many residents may be restricted from using their medical marijuana indoors because they live in subsidized housing, or their landlord forbids smoking indoors, or they may be homeless. If they can't use their medicine indoors, and now they can't use it outdoors, what are they to do? 

This poverty rate also guarantees that impoverished, mostly minority, residents are targeted in the city by this ordinance. If they are unable to pay the fines for public use of cannabis they will now be involved in the criminal justice system. This is exactly the scenario there most residents in New Jersey wanted to avoid when they voted to legalize medical adult use of cannabis.

Finally, in my 48 years as a New Jersey Registered Nurse (RN), I have worked for a time as a Public Health Nurse in the City of Trenton. Evidence shows that second-hand tobacco smoke has far greater health concerns than second-hand cannabis smoke, in most situations.

Thank you for this opportunity to address City Council.

Ken Wolski, RN

6/18/24

ORDINANCE No.___24-042___________________________________ 

Approved as to Form and Legality 

Factual content certified by WESLEY BRIDGES, ESQ., CITY ATTORNEY 

STEVE WILSON, POLICE DIRECTOR 

AN ORDINANCE CREATING CHAPTER 48 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF TRENTON, ENTITLED “CANNABIS CONSUMPTION” 

WHEREAS, section 46 of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, P.L. 2021, c. 16 (the “Act”) codified at N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10A, provides that “nothing in this section shall permit a person to smoke, vape or aerosolize any cannabis item in a public place . . . and any indoor public place as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L. 2005, c.383 (C. 26:3D-57), or portion thereof, even if the smoking of tobacco is otherwise permitted in that place or portion thereof pursuant to the “New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act”; and 

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A 40:48-2, a municipality may make, amend, repeal, and enforce such other ordinances, regulations, rules and by-laws not contrary to the laws of this state or of the United States, as it may deem necessary and proper for the good government, order and protection of person and property, and for the preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare of the municipality and its inhabitants, and as may be necessary to carry into effect the powers and duties conferred and imposed by this subtitle, or by any law; and 

WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Trenton determines that it is necessary and proper for good government, order and protection of persons and for the preservation of the public health, safety and welfare of the City and its inhabitants to enact an ordinance to prohibit the smoking, vaping or aerosolization of any cannabis item in a public place (including the public streets) and indoor public place and to provide for a civil penalty for a violation in accordance with the Act. 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TRENTON: 

SECTION 1 Chapter 48 of the Code of the City of Trenton, entitled “Cannabis Consumption”, shall be added to the Code of the City of Trenton as follows: 

§ 48-1 Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated

CANNABIS, CANNABIS ITEM Any usable cannabis, cannabis product, cannabis extract and any other cannabis resin, all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant or its seeds, but shall not include the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink, or other product. “Cannabis” does not include hemp or a hemp product cultivated, handled, processed, transported, or sold pursuant to the New Jersey Hemp Farming Act, P.L. 2019, c. 238 (N.J.S.A. 4:28-6 et seq.). 

ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICE An electronic device that can be used to deliver cannabis or other substances to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette or vape. 

INDOOR PUBLIC PLACE A structurally enclosed place of business, commerce or other service-related activity, whether publicly or privately owned or operated on a for-profit or nonprofit basis, which is generally accessible to the public, including, but not limited to: a theater or concert hall; public library; museum or art gallery; bar; restaurant or other establishment where the principal business is the sale of food for consumption on the premises, including the bar area of the establishment; garage or parking facility; any public conveyance; any facility used for the holding of sporting events; recreational facility, shopping mall or retail store; hotel, motel or other lodging establishment; apartment building lobby or other public area in an otherwise private building. 

MARIJUANA All parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant or its seeds, except those containing resin extracted from the plant products cultivated, handled, processed, transported, or sold pursuant to the New Jersey Hemp Farming Act, P.L. 2019, c. 238 (N.J.S.A. 4:28-6 et seq.). 

PUBLIC PLACE Any place to which the public has access that is not privately owned; or any place to which the public has access, including, but not limited to, a public street, road, thoroughfare, sidewalk, bridge, alley, plaza, park, playground, swimming pool, shopping area, public transportation facility, vehicle used for public transportation, parking lot, public library, or any other public building, structure; or any other public area. 

SMOKING The smoking, vaping, aerosolizing, burning of, inhaling from, exhaling the smoke from, or the possession of a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or any other matter or substance which contains tobacco or any other matter that can be smoked, or the inhaling or exhaling of smoke or vapor from an electronic smoking device. § 48-2 Smoking of marijuana and cannabis items prohibited. 

ORDINANCE It shall be unlawful for any person (except for medical cannabis patients, as set forth in Section 48-3 below) to engage in the smoking of marijuana or cannabis items in or on any public place or indoor public place. 

§ 48-3 Medical Cannabis Patients. 

A. Medical cannabis patients are permitted to smoke cannabis in public places, except that such patients are not permitted to smoke cannabis in a school bus or other form of public transportation, in any private vehicle unless the vehicle is not in operation, on any school grounds, in any correctional facility, at any public park, at any recreational center, or in any place where smoking is prohibited pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:33-13, as per N.J.S.A. 24:6I-8 (the “Jake Honig Compassionate Use Act”). 

B. Medical cannabis patients smoking cannabis in permissible public places, as set forth in Section 48-3(A) above, shall be prepared to display their Medical Cannabis ID cards if requested by a law enforcement officer. The failure to display such identification shall subject the individual to the penalties provided for in this Chapter. 

§ 48-4 through 48-6. (Reserved). 

§ 48-7 Violations and Penalties. 

A. Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense. 

B. Penalties provided for herein shall be recoverable in a civil action by a summary proceeding in the Municipal Court of the City of Trenton. 

SECTION 2 All other ordinances in conflict with or inconsistent with this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency. 

SECTION 3 If any portion of this ordinance is adjudged unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or invalidate the remainder of this ordinance, but shall be confined in its effect to the provision directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

SECTION 4 This Ordinance shall take effect upon its passage and publication and as otherwise provided for by law.

Testimony to the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission

 

Testimony to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission

By: Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director

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

June 17, 2024

I appreciate the opportunity to make public comments on these issues: 

·        Qualifying medical conditions for the Medicinal Cannabis Program

·        Research 

·        Healthcare provider access 

Qualifying medical conditions:

I urge the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) to allow anyone with prescriptive privileges in New Jersey to recommend cannabis therapy for ANY condition that the prescriber feels may be helped by medical cannabis.

Leave this issue up to the physician, the Advanced Practice Nurse, or the Physician’s Assistant to act in the best interest of the patient.

The state of New Jersey has already approved numerous medical conditions as qualifying for cannabis therapy. Therefore, cannabis should be allowed to be recommended “off label” for any other condition, as is the case with prescription pharmaceuticals.

Adding individual conditions to the Medicinal Cannabis Program is time-consuming and inefficient. The Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA) passed into law in January 2010 with very limited conditions that qualified for marijuana therapy. It wasn't until September 2016—over six years later--that the first additional condition was added. This was done by the New Jersey Legislature, after the state’s Department of Health (DOH) refused to act on CMMNJ’s petition for rulemaking. That condition was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD was added after a vigorous, multi-year campaign by CMMNJ, local veterans, and others who suffer from this condition.

It wasn't until October of 2017--nearly eight full years after CUMMA passed into law--that 43 additional petitions were approved for cannabis therapy.

Also, consider the case of Rare and Orphan diseases. A Rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans. An Orphan disease is one whose treatment is not considered profitable by the pharmaceutical industry to develop. There are over 7,000 Rare and Orphan diseases that affect between 25 million and 30 million Americans. In New Jersey, somewhere between 500,000 and 900,000 residents suffer from Rare and Orphan diseases. These diseases often cause great difficulty in proper diagnosis and treatment. Over 95% of Rare Disease patients lack FDA approved treatment. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and Tourette Syndrome are two of these diseases, and they both qualify for marijuana therapy in New Jersey, but the latter took nearly eight years to qualify.

In 2009, a woman called me and told me her son suffered from one of these Rare diseases called Friedreich's ataxia, a neurological condition that, among other things, affected his ability to walk. The woman told me her son was helped tremendously by medical marijuana, but at the time she risked arrest and imprisonment for giving her son this treatment. Friedreich's ataxia is still not a qualifying condition for marijuana therapy in New Jersey.

The discovery of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) about 30 years ago provides the scientific basis for how cannabis can help with so many diseases, symptoms, and medical conditions. The ECS consists partly of a series of receptors throughout the entire human body for the components of marijuana--the cannabinoids. Our own body produces substances--endocannabinoids--that are identical to phytocannabinoids, or the cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. The purpose of the ECS is to restore homeostasis, or balance, to the mind and body. Medical cannabis can help where there is a deficiency in the production of the natural endocannabinoids. ECS researchers say that this system may play a role in all disease processes.

New Jersey needs to stop taking baby steps with cannabis therapy. It must begin taking robust measures. Allowing for any condition that a prescriber recommends is the appropriate way to proceed with additional qualifying conditions.

However, it really doesn't matter what condition qualifies for cannabis therapy if a patient cannot get it because of their living situation.

A while ago, I received a phone call from a woman who told me about her 90-year-old father who is living in an assisted living facility in central New Jersey.

This woman’s father suffers from chronic pain, and he is on opiates and cortisone injections. Her father's doctor recommended medical marijuana for him. So, the daughter got a caregiver card from the state’s Medicinal Cannabis Program and went to an Alternative Treatment Center. She spent $400 to purchase medical cannabis oil for her father. But the assisted living facility staff told her that she could not even bring the medical cannabis into the facility, let alone give it to her father. The director of the facility said their lawyers told him they could not have medical marijuana in their facility because they receive federal funds, and this would place those funds in jeopardy.

This patient, and many patients like him, continue to suffer needlessly by being deprived of the appropriate physician-recommended medicine due to fears that the federal government will interfere with New Jersey's medical marijuana program.

However, Congress has forbidden the Department of Justice to spend any money interfering with medical marijuana programs in any of the over three dozen such programs in the United States. The US Attorney General affirmed that they will not do so, and since then there has not been a single instance of this happening in any of the states with medical marijuana programs.

The CRC needs to reassure all facilities that house medical marijuana patients, and that receive federal funds, that they are not at risk of federal interference with New Jersey’s medical marijuana program.

The 2019 “Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act" called for immediate implementation of “Institutional caregivers” in the state. These caregivers are employees of a health care facility who are authorized to assist registered qualifying patients, who are patients or residents of the facility, with the medical use of cannabis, including obtaining medical cannabis and assisting these patients with the administration of medical cannabis.

 

Currently, most health care facilities forbid the use of medical cannabis in the facility. This is a dangerous and potentially fatal situation. A patient who suffers from seizures may be admitted to a health care facility for a condition that is unrelated to the seizure condition. Then, when the patient is denied access to the only medicine that controls their seizures--medical cannabis--the result can be fatal.

It is my sincere hope that the state will recognize its responsibility to the institutionalized patients in New Jersey. For 25 years, I have worked as a registered nurse (RN) in state institutions. I know that many patients in these institutions qualify for medical cannabis and could benefit greatly from it. The staff in these institutions are trained to administer, account for, and evaluate the effect of controlled substances. There is no reason to withhold this important medical therapy from these patients.

In fact, courts have determined that inmates in New Jersey’s prison system are entitled to “community standards” of healthcare. Edible and topical medical cannabis products will improve health care in state institutions, group homes, hospices, etc., and will reduce the costs of running these programs.

Research:

There are approximately 80,000 patients and caregivers in New Jersey's Medicinal Cannabis Program currently. These patients buy and consume medicinal cannabis regularly and some have been doing so for over a decade. It is a wasted opportunity to be providing medicinal cannabis to tens of thousands of patients every month and never once ask how they are doing on this medicine.

A simple questionnaire needs to be developed and sent to every patient as part of this program. The questionnaire would be voluntary, of course, and anonymity would be assured, but it can develop useful indications of how effective medicinal cannabis can be for various conditions.

The questionnaire should be simple to complete but with areas where patients can divulge greater information if they care to do so.

• What dosages and methods of administration do they use?
• Are patients experiencing side effects?
• Have they reduced their use of opiates or other medications?
• Have they experienced drug interactions?

These questionnaires, and follow-up questionnaires, can provide valuable information and be the basis for further research.

If the CRC does not have the resources to conduct this research, it can be farmed out to a local university in the state. Rowan University and Stockton University, among others, now have some exciting cannabis research projects that this could be a part of.

Researchers have complained for decades that the federal government obstructs research into the benefits of medicinal cannabis. The federal government's position that "marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" is effectively kept in place by the obstruction of privately funded medical cannabis research. As a result of its monopoly on the supply of cannabis that can be legally used in federally approved research, The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a subdivision of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), oversees all cannabis research in the U.S. and funds most approved studies involving cannabis. While a nominal number of studies in the U.S. are aimed at investigating the medical efficacy of cannabis NIDA focuses exclusively on the supposed harmful effects of the plant.

Even if the DEA eventually reschedules marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, it will be years before any federally approved clinical research studies are completed. It does no good to call for more study of cannabis and then fail to conduct what research is possible.

Healthcare provider access:

There is a great deal of ignorance and lack of interest in the physician community about medicinal cannabis. The American Medical Association (AMA) has refused to endorse any of the more than three dozen state medical marijuana programs. The AMA insists that medicines pass the gold standard of research--large scale, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials--which so far have been impossible to conduct in the United States.

Indeed, only about 1500 physicians in New Jersey have signed up to allow patients into the medicinal cannabis program, out of approximately 28,000 physicians in the state (under 6%). Even the physicians who recommend cannabis in New Jersey typically make no specific recommendations about dosages, particular strains to use, or methods of administration. This information is more reliably obtained from bud tenders in the state’s Alternative Treatment Centers than from physicians.

The best way to ensure the appropriate education and counseling of medical cannabis patients in New Jersey is to ensure that the educators and counselors are themselves appropriately educated and trained.

The CRC should quickly adopt cannabis Dosing and Administration guidelines and educational programs on the Endocannabinoid System. The CRC must promulgate these guidelines and programs to the cannabis consuming community and to the healthcare community to increase the safety and appropriate use of cannabis products.

In fact, the Jake Honig Act required these guidelines, but they have yet to be adopted in New Jersey:

     “g.    The commission shall establish, by regulation, curricula for health care practitioners…:

     (1)   The curriculum for health care practitioners shall be designed to assist practitioners in counseling patients with regard to the quantity, dosing, and administration of medical cannabis as shall be appropriate to treat the patient’s qualifying medical condition.  Health care practitioners shall complete the curriculum as a condition of authorizing patients for the medical use of cannabis.”

Educational programs on the Endocannabinoid System for medical providers in New Jersey, now including physicians, Advanced Practice Nurses, and Physician Assistants, are required. Dosing and Administration guidelines and ECS educational programs are readily available. Some of the best resources on the ECS include:

• Patients Out of Time: https://patientsoutoftime.com/
• Americans for Safe Access: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/
• Society of Cannabis Clinicians: http://cannabisclinicians.org/
• American Cannabis Nurses Association: https://www.cannabisnurses.org/
• Project CBD https://www.projectcbd.org/
• The Answer Page: https://www.theanswerpage.com/
• National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: https://norml.org/

The New Jersey Department of Health’s Executive Order 6 Report on 3/23/2018:

The Department recognizes the need to provide education and guidance to providers. To that end, the Department is exploring the creation of an education program for all physicians, with focus on the endocannabinoid system. The Department plans to leverage the expertise of the Medicinal Marijuana Review Panel to oversee the curriculum development for this program. This education program will serve to create best practices for the safe and effective administration of medicinal marijuana to the expanded universe of qualifying patients. In conjunction with the provider education program, there is also a need to develop standardized dosing and administrative protocols for medicinal marijuana products, including information on expected effects, side effects, and adverse effects.

Marijuana is mainstream medicine. Even the DEA appears to be on the verge of finally admitting that marijuana is medicine, by reclassifying it to a Schedule III drug, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommends. Medical cannabis use in New Jersey is expanding rapidly as the adult use industry exposes ever more residents to the therapeutic benefits of cannabis. As more and more people experience these benefits, health care professionals in the state must become comfortable incorporating cannabis use into the therapeutic regimens of their patients. This can be done most efficiently by requiring education on the ECS for all health care professionals in the state of New Jersey as a condition for continued licensure in the state.

It is truly remarkable that an entirely new system in the human body was discovered a mere 30 years ago. The purpose of the ECS is to produce homeostasis or balance in the body.  In doing so, the ECS interacts with all the other systems in the human body--the musculoskeletal system, the digestive system, the nervous system, etc. Healthcare professionals who specialize in limited areas of the body cannot claim that cannabinoids play no role in their practice. The ECS may well play a role in all disease processes affecting humans and animals.

Thank you for the opportunity to address the CRC.

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

219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618

609.394.2137 (home/office)

609.721.1658 (cell/text)

http://cmmnj.blogspot.com/

 

June 17, 2024

CMMNJ Agenda for June 11, 2024

  

CMMNJ Monthly Public Zoom Meeting Agenda for June 11, 2024 at 7 pm

ZOOM Meeting ID: 819 0569 1235  Passcode: 735148 

Or, click: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81905691235?pwd=ebP0aK5uMgGCZwNbttu5aqPvi7WtwB.1

One tap mobile: (646) 931-3860 
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/koIAewUoG

Agenda: New Jersey Issues:

NJ Cannabis Town Hall, Saturday, June 22,  12 - 5pm, Raritan Valley Community College Conference Center, Branchburg, NJ 08876: Free!

- Panel Discussions with Industry Leaders

- Cannabis Career Fair

- Expungement Clinics

S2283: "PSILOCYBIN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ACCESS AND SERVICES ACT” hearing in NJ Senate Health Committee, 6/6/2024 at 1 PM, Room 1, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ. To send testimony online, click here. 

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy was "honored" to have a marijuana product named "Murphy's Sourz" during a recent tour of Prolific Growhouse in Mount Holly.

Trenton City Council’s proposed Ordinance 24-042 makes it unlawful for any person to smoke cannabis in, or on, any public space, with fines from $250 to $1000 for any violation. See the ordinance at pages 94-96 on the agenda. Public comments are welcome on 6/6/24, 5:30 PM at the city council meeting. Moja Life opened in Trenton..

Lawmaker’s bill S2921 proposed to cap prices on NJ’s medical marijuana.

NORML Action Alert: New Jersey: Allow Patients to Grow Their Own Medicine

CMMNJ Website unavailable: transitioning out of GoDaddy: https://www.cmmnj.org 

Upcoming Events: 

NJ Cannabis Town Hall: Expungement Clinic; Cannabis Career Fair; & Panel Discussions. Raritan Valley Community College, 6/22/24, at 12:00 - 5:00 PM

Shore Grow, LLC 2024 Class Schedule 1710 Rt. 35 Oakhurst, NJ.

Third Annual National Cannabis Patients’ Awareness Day, Trenton, 7/10/2024,

Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM) Upcoming Events

Federal Drug Policy Reform: 

52 years late, DEA plans to change cannabis scheduling

The Department of Justice, which oversees the DEA, recommended that cannabis be classified as a schedule three drug. Americans for Safe Access: Take Action Today!

BE IT RESOLVED that the American Cannabis Nurses Association calls for evidence-based cannabis education to be made available to all practicing nurses and healthcare providers to support nurses’ competency with the endocannabinoid system and the entourage effect of whole plant cannabis medicine.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC):

The next CRC meeting: June 17, 2024 at 11 a.m. (virtual):

Watch live on YouTube; register to speak by Thursday, June 13th at 5 p.m.

NJ-CRC launches government relations webpage. 

Find a Dispensary in NJ.

CMMNJ’s post-legalization medical cannabis goals:

Insurance bills (note new bill numbers for 2024 - 2025 legislative session):

• S1944: Costs of medical cannabis to be reimbursed by Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund, PAAD, Senior Gold and VCCO. The bills passed both Health Committees and are in the Senate and Assembly Budget and Oversight Committees. 
• S1943/A4371: Requires workers’ compensation, PIP, and health insurance coverage.
• A898/S2828: Subsidize medical cannabis in Medicaid or NJ Family Care.

Home cultivation bills (note new bill numbers for 2024 - 2025 legislative session):

Website: https://www.letpatientsgrownj.com/

• S1393/A846: Authorizes home cultivation of medical cannabis.
• A414: Legalizes possession of six marijuana plants for personal use.
• S1985: Legalizes six plants for personal use and 10 plants for medical 

Hospital and Institutional Access: NJ patients in hospitals, nursing homes, state institutions, group homes and hospice are unable to access medical cannabis. Patient outcomes would improve, and health care costs would be reduced if these patients had access to medical cannabis.

Treasury report: 

Checking: $9,731  

Make a tax-deductible donation via PayPal to info@cmmnj.org, 

or send a check to: CMMNJ, 219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618.

Fundraising ideas are always welcome. 

More info: 

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com 
Facebook: Friends of CMMNJ: https://www.facebook.com/groups/62462971150/
Website: Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey: https://www.cmmnj.org 
Twitter: @CMM_NJ
CMMNJ blog: https://cmmnj.blogspot.com/

CMMNJ awards:

2021: NJ Governor's Jefferson Award in the Volunteer Group category;
2023: NJ State Governor's Volunteerism Award in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Champion for Justice Category "for extraordinary service to your community;"
2023: Ken Wolski won a Lifetime Achievement award;
2023: NJ Senate and Assembly Joint Legislative Resolution affirmed CMMNJ's importance as a "catalyst for the legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana in the State" and paid “tribute to all who have contributed to its success and renown.”

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.