NJ Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Patient Denied Medical Defense

NJ Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Patient Denied Medical Defense

June 28, 2009

New Jersey multiple sclerosis (MS) patient John Ray Wilson, 36, was told by Superior Court Judge Robert Reed during a pre-trial hearing in Somerville, NJ that he may not let the jury know that he has MS, or that his use of marijuana was an attempt to treat his disease.

Wilson faces 20 years in prison for growing a few marijuana plants that he used to treat his MS. Wilson was arrested on August 18, 2008 after the New Jersey State Police Marijuana Eradication Squad found his garden.

Wilson was charged with “manufacturing” marijuana, despite his diagnosis of MS, despite a statement in support of medical marijuana by the National MS Society, and despite pending legislation that would protect MS patients who use medical marijuana in New Jersey.

MS expert Dr. Denis Petro submitted testimony on Wilson’s behalf, but the judge refused to admit that testimony into trial. The prosecuting attorney asked, “If you robbed a bank and had MS, would you expect special treatment for that?” Wilson plans to appeal the judge’s decision.

The National MS Society recently confirmed in an Expert Opinion Paper that standard therapies often provide inadequate relief for the symptoms of MS and that marijuana helps with MS symptoms such as pain and spasticity and could limit disease progression.

“To know that an inexpensive herb like marijuana is able not only to relieve the immediate suffering of MS—the pain and spasticity—but also to actually arrest the progression of this incurable disease is a compelling reason to use it therapeutically. It is an outrage that Wilson faces many years in prison for this, and that he cannot even explain to the jury why he was using marijuana,” said Ken Wolski, RN, Executive Director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey (CMMNJ).

An estimated 15% of people with the disease use marijuana for symptom relief, according to the MS Society.

The "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act,” which was approved by the New Jersey Senate, awaits a vote in the Assembly. This bill would allow patients to use a small amount of marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it for the symptoms of a number of medical conditions including multiple sclerosis. Governor Jon Corzine has said that he would sign the bill into law when it gets to his desk.

CMM-NJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana.

For more info, contact:

Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. http://www.cmmnj.org/
609.394.2137

Star-Ledger Article

Judge won't Let Franklin Township Man Cite Medical Need for Marijuana

Medical Marijuana Poised to Replace Acetaminophen for Pain?

WHO: The FDA and CMMNJ

WHAT: Denounced acetaminophen and touted medical marijuana for pain management

WHEN: July 1, 2009

WHERE: Washington, DC and Trenton, NJ

WHY: Acetaminophen is a leading cause of liver failure in the U.S. while marijuana is non-toxic.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expert panel recommended yesterday that Vicodin and Percocet and other prescription drugs that combine acetaminophen with other pain killers be pulled off the American market. Acetaminophen is a leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., according to the FDA. The FDA recommendation will have a profound impact on the management of chronic pain in the U.S. since acetaminophen combination drugs were prescribed 200 million times last year.

Ken Wolski, RN, Executive Director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ), said, “It is now more important than ever to make marijuana available for chronic pain management. Marijuana is not toxic to the liver and no amount of marijuana can cause a fatal overdose. Chronic pain patients often find that they can reduce or eliminate entirely prescription pain medicine when they use medical marijuana,” he said.

The "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" (S119 & A804), was approved earlier this year by the New Jersey Senate. This bill will allow patients to use a small amount of marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it for chronic pain, nausea, cancer, AIDS,multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, etc. New Jersey patients who have a doctor’s recommendation to use medical marijuana would be issued state ID cards in a program run by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.

A version of the bill was recently released by the Assembly Health Committee and is due for a vote by the entire assembly this fall. Ironically, the assembly committee’s version of the bill would eliminate chronic pain as a qualifying condition, except in rare cases. CMMNJ opposes the assembly health committee’s restrictions to the bill. CMMNJ has collected the names and addresses of over one thousand New Jersey residents who support the original version of the bill. Governor Jon Corzine said that he will sign the bill into law when it gets to his desk.

The American Nurses Association, the American College of Physicians, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and many other professional healthcare organizations have endorsed medical marijuana.

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana. For more info, contact:

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director

Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.

www.cmmnj.org

844 Spruce St., Trenton, NJ 08648
609.394.2137

ohamkrw [at] aol.com