CMMNJ Agenda for June 2012

Monthly Public Meeting Agenda
Lawrence Township Library, Room #3
Tuesday, June 12, 2012; 7:00 PM -- 9:00 PM

7:00 PM:  Call meeting to order.   Approve May 2012 minutes.  Discuss:

ATC update: Montclair ATC growing marijuana?  No other ATC has permit to grow.  Update on lawsuit filed on 4/4/12 by NORML NJ attorneys Wm. Buckman and Anne Davis on behalf of a New Jersey medical patient who would qualify for cannabis access.

New Jersey Moves to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession; A1465 passes Assembly Judiciary Committee unanimously on 5/21/12.  CMMNJ supporters testify at hearing.

Connecticut Becomes 17th Medical Marijuana State, June 1, 2012.

Vanessa Waltz met with Congressman Holt on 6/5/12 re: medical marijuana trial for veterans with PTSD and ongoing federal obstruction of marijuana research.  Larry Vargo represented CMMNJ at the Million Marijuana March, May 19 in Philadelphia.

NJ Medical Marijuana current court cases:

Ed (NJWeedman) Forchion convicted of possession; hung jury on distribution charge.  Freed awaiting retrial.   

John Wilson released to Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) after about 4 months in prison.

On-going cases: Eric Hafner, Middletown, NJ; Colleen Begley, Burlington County.

Upcoming events: NORML NJ meeting, 7 pm, June 11 at the Ale House, New Brunswick, NJ.

Treasury report: Checking: $2647; PayPal: $3339. 

CMMNJ meetings are the second Tuesday of each month from 7 - 9 PM at the Lawrence Twp. Library, 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246.  All are welcome.  Snacks are served.  (Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement of our issue.)  For more info, contact: 

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc. 219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618   (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com www.cmmnj.org

 
Monthly Public Meeting Minutes

Lawrence Library
May 8, 2012  

7:00 PM:  Call meeting to order. April 2012 minutes approved. Discussion:

ATC update: Montclair ATC to start growing marijuana.  Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) released a list of registered physicians on 4/16.  Egg Harbor ATC, nor any other ATC, still has not received permit to grow.  Camden update: lawsuit pending against Zoning Board for refusal to approve ATC. 

On April 4, NORML NJ attorneys William Buckman and Anne Davis filed a lawsuit on behalf of a New Jersey medical patient who would qualify for cannabis access.  CMMNJ is not part of the lawsuit, but supports it.  Update awaited; delays expected.

Update re: medical marijuana trial for veterans with PTSD.  Get NIDA out of the loop.

CMMNJ attended Ramapo College “Greenfest” on 4/20/12, thanks to Larry Vargo.

Vanessa Waltz wrote a letter to her Breast Cancer Survivor’s Group re: medical marijuana.

NJ Medical Marijuana current court cases:

Eric Hafner, on-going Middletown, NJ case. 

Rally for Ed (NJWeedman) Forchion, Burlington Co. Court, Mt Holly, May 1, 2012 @ 8 am.  Colleen Begley’s case also in Burlco.

Write to inmate John Wilson #716024B, Jones Farm, P.O. Box 7100, West Trenton, NJ 08628 

Events: Million Marijuana March, May 19 in Philadelphia.

NORML NJ meeting at 7 pm on May 14 at the Ale House, New Brunswick, NJ.

Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, 4/26-28/12, Tucson, AZ.

Treasury report: Checking: $2647; PayPal: $3339. 

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc. 219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618   (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com www.cmmnj.org

Recent Media Coverage and Blogs:

Alternative Treatment Centers:

The New Herb in Town

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/realestate/new-jersey-in-the-region-housing-medicinal-marijuana.html

Medical Marijuana Court Cases:

Man with multiple sclerosis who grew pot is out of prison after 5 months

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/multiple_sclerosis_man_who_gre.html

New Jersey medical marijuana grower freed from jail

http://newyork.newsday.com/news/health/new-jersey-medical-marijuana-grower-freed-from-jail-1.3757141

Prosecutor: NJWeedman is a "charlatan ... a wolf in hemp clothing"

http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/mount_holly/prosecutor-njweedman-is-a-charlatan-a-wolf-in-hemp-clothing/article_9afe059c-495c-5c99-97be-07a015b51b32.html

 

'NJWeedman' Convicted of Pot Possession

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/11/tagblogsfindlawcom2012-lawandlife-idUS309184361920120511

NJWeedman asks court to set aside guilty verdict

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/crime/njweedman-to-asks-court-to-set-aside-guilty-verdict/article_6b336f48-d7ec-56d7-b6f4-f219067eed8e.html

Decriminalization:

Changing pot law in Jersey:  http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2012/05/changing_pot_law_in_jersey.html

Editorial: Reduce N.J. marijuana possession penalities to fit the crime:  http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2012/05/editorial_decriminalize_mariju.html

New Jersey Moves to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession:  http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/drug-law/breaking-bill-decriminalize-marijuana-possession-moves-forward-new-jersey

Pot decriminalization advances:  http://www.app.com/article/20120522/NJNEWS1002/305220020/Pot-decriminalization-advances

Decriminalizing pot is a logical move for state:  http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20120522/OPINION01/305220014

The Record: Time to exhale

http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/152189325_Time_to_exhale.html 

Panel approves bill to decriminalize small amounts of pot:  http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/panel-approves-bill-to-decriminalize-small-amounts-of-pot/article_c71e67a5-a52d-5690-b837-9626e4f288cc.html

Cutting marijuana penalties cuts incarceration costs:  http://articles.philly.com/2012-05-27/news/31860314_1_marijuana-drug-arrests-small-amounts

NY pot plan: Right step or bad message?  http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/justice/ny-marijuana-law/index.html

Should Smoking Marijuana be Decriminalized? [POLL]

http://millburn.patch.com/articles/should-smoking-marijuana-be-decriminalized-poll

Extra:

Connecticut Becomes 17th Medical Marijuana State

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/health/addiction/connecticut-becomes-17th-medical-marijuana-state

Newark Mayor Cory Booker declares support for medical marijuana

http://presstv.com/usdetail/242940.html

A Judge’s Plea for Pot:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/opinion/a-judges-plea-for-medical-marijuana.html

Bipartisan Amendment to Defund Obama Medical Marijuana Raids

http://www.allgov.com/US_and_the_World/ViewNews/Bipartisan_Amendment_to_Defund_Obama_Medical_Marijuana_Raids_120514

Republican Led House Votes to Continue Medical Marijuana Raids: http://www.theweedblog.com/republican-led-house-votes-to-continue-medical-marijuana-raids/

Medical Marijuana Raids To Continue After House Defeats Defunding Bill:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/medical-marijuana-raids-defunding-bill-_n_1507978.html

Decriminalize possession of small amount of marijuana

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey Inc. (CMMNJ) supports Assembly Bill A1465, which decriminalizes possession of 15 grams of marijuana or less. This bill will provide a level of protection for thousands of sick, disabled and dying patients that New Jersey’s medical marijuana law does not provide.

The mission of CMMNJ is to educate the public about the medical benefits of marijuana. Since CMMNJ was founded in 2003, board members have taken a strictly neutral stance on the issue of broader legalization of marijuana. But at this time, the board of CMMNJ has endorsed A1465 for these reasons:

• More than two years have passed since the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law, yet not a single patient has received legal medical marijuana.
• Patients continue to be arrested and imprisoned in this state for using medical marijuana illegally to treat their medical conditions. 
• Countless patients who could benefit from medical marijuana are currently disqualified from participating in New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana program and will continue to be disqualified for the foreseeable future.

A1465 will receive its first public, legislative hearing in the Assembly Judiciary Committee today at 10 a.m. in the Statehouse Annex. CMMNJ urges the committee members to approve the bill.

-- Ken Wolski, RN, MPA,
Trenton
The writer is executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey Inc. (cmmnj.org).

http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2012/05/times_of_trenton_letters_to_th_346.html

See also: (CMMNJ) Testimony in Support of A1465:

 http://cmmnj.blogspot.com/2012/05/testimony-in-support-of-a1465.html

MS Patient John Wilson Released to ISP

New Jersey multiple sclerosis (MS) patient John Ray Wilson was released from a New Jersey Department of Corrections minimum security facility yesterday to the Intensive Supervision Program (ISP).  Wilson served over four months of his 5-year prison sentence at the DOC.   Wilson will spend approximately 16 months in the ISP, if he is successful in the program.  According to the manager of the program, ISP officers devote approximately 80% or their time to direct field supervision, involving themselves in almost every aspect of the participants’ lives.  Wilson was careful to explain that a provision of his release is that he not speak publicly about medical marijuana during his time under the ISP.  He is not available for media interviews at this time.

Wilson was arrested on August 18, 2008 and was charged with “manufacturing” 17 marijuana plants that he used to treat his MS.  Wilson faced 20 years in state prison for this crime.  At trial, Superior Court Judge Robert Reed would not let the jury hear the reason that Wilson grew the marijuana plants, essentially removing Wilson’s only defense.  Many members of the community felt this was an injustice and protested outside the court house in Somerville.  In December 2009 Wilson was acquitted of the most serious charge, but he was convicted of a second degree charge of manufacturing marijuana.  He was sentenced to five years in prison on March 19, 2010, but granted bail pending appeal.    

 

On July 26, 2011, an Appellate Court affirmed the conviction and sentencing. The state Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal on January 20, 2012 and Wilson was taken into custody seven days later.   State legislators and many supporters called for a pardon for Wilson.  However, Governor Christie refused to pardon Wilson, and even called into question the legitimacy of his MS diagnosis.  Prison medical staff meanwhile treated Wilson promptly and appropriately for his MS.

MS is a qualifying condition for marijuana therapy in New Jersey according to the two-year-old Compassionate Use Act, but the state’s Medicinal Marijuana Program is not operational yet.

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

Testimony in Support of A1465

Testimony in Support of A1465

New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee

May 21, 2012

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) supports Assembly Bill 1465 which decriminalizes possession of 15 grams of marijuana or less.  This bill will provide a level of protection for thousands of sick, disabled, and dying patients which New Jersey's medical marijuana law does not provide.

The mission of CMMNJ is to educate the public about the medical benefits of marijuana.  Since CMMNJ was founded in 2003, Board members of this organization have taken a strictly neutral stance on the issue of broader legalization of marijuana. But at this time the Board of CMMNJ has endorsed A1465 for these reasons:

• Over two years have passed since the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law, yet not a single patient has received legal medical marijuana;
• Patients continue to be arrested and imprisoned in this state for using medical marijuana illegally to treat their medical conditions; and,
• Countless patients who could benefit from medical marijuana are currently disqualified from participating in New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP) and will continue to be disqualified for the foreseeable future.

New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana law is a failure.  The original bill was introduced into the legislature in January 2005.  This bill was meant to protect patients who are suffering from debilitating medical conditions and who use marijuana on the advice of licensed physicians.  After five years of debate the bill was signed into law in January 2010.  Yet as of today, not a single patient or caregiver in New Jersey has even received an ID card from the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).  Not a single Alternative Treatment Center is yet open for business and not a single legal marijuana plant is yet growing in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, patients continue to be arrested and imprisoned for using marijuana to treat debilitating and even fatal medical conditions here.  Eric Hafner was recently arrested in Monmouth County for possession of less than a gram of marijuana.  Eric, a card-carrying medical marijuana patient from California, faces up to a year in a New Jersey jail when his case comes to trial later this year.

Even if the DHSS’s MMP ever gets operation, it is wildly deficient in properly identifying patients who can benefit from medical marijuana in New Jersey.  Chronic pain, for example, is considered a qualifying condition only if it is associated with HIV/AIDS or cancer.  All other cases of chronic pain are disqualified.  There are an estimated 75 million cases of chronic pain in the United States--about one in four people suffer from this at some point in their lives.  Given New Jersey’s population of over eight million people, this means
that over two million New Jerseyans could benefit from medical marijuana for chronic pain alone.  All but a handful of these patients are disqualified by the MMP.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in four Americans suffer from mental illness at some time in their lives. Many of these patients could benefit from marijuana therapy. There is a wealth of evidence that marijuana can be useful in the management of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, mania, crippling anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and even some cases of schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s Disease.  Current research has even identified the component
of marijuana—a cannabinoid—that has anti-psychotic properties.  Moreover, marijuana’s safety margin is certainly far greater than those of the accepted and traditional pharmaceutical interventions for these maladies.  Yet no mental or emotional disorders qualify for marijuana therapy in New Jersey.

The DHSS is empowered to add qualifying conditions for marijuana therapy at any time.  Yet the DHSS has proposed a most cumbersome process to do so in the regulations that they have adopted.  CMMNJ predicts it will be a minimum of five years before the chronic pain category is expanded, and a minimum of ten years before mental or emotional conditions are added as qualifying conditions for marijuana therapy in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, legitimate patients continue to be dragged through the legal system and even imprisoned for following the advice of their physicians.  Millions more suffer needlessly while a viable therapeutic agent is readily at hand.  This is unacceptable.

Marijuana’s therapeutic potential is enormous. Clearly, the criminal justice system is not qualified to determine who the legitimate patients are.  Neither has the state legislature nor the DHSS shown that they are up to the task. Leave this up to the medical community in New Jersey to determine who is using marijuana appropriately, as medicine.  Meanwhile, stop arresting patients.

CMMNJ urges the Assembly Judiciary Committee to support A1465.  Thank you.

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

Legislative committee to consider bill to decriminalize marijuana in New Jersey

                       
 

WHO: Assembly Judiciary Committee
WHAT: Hearing on A1465 which decriminalizes 15 grams or less of marijuana in New Jersey
WHEN: Monday, May 21, 2012 at 10:00 am
WHERE: The State House Annex, Trenton, NJ
WHY:       New Jersey must stop arresting patients who use marijuana therapeutically   

New Jersey’s Assembly Judiciary Committee will conduct a public hearing on A1465, a bill which will decriminalize 15 grams or less of marijuana in the state.  The hearing is scheduled for Monday, May 21, 2012 at 10:00 am in the State House Annex.  Testimony from the public is invited during the hearing.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) supports A1465 because:

• Nearly two and a half years have passed since the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law, but not a single patient has been protected by this law;
• Patients continue to be arrested and imprisoned in this state for using medical marijuana illegally to treat their medical conditions; and,
• Countless patients who could benefit from medical marijuana are currently disqualified from participating in New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program and will continue to be disqualified for the foreseeable future.

Ken Wolski, RN, executive director of the CMMNJ said, “New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana law is a failure.  This bill was meant to protect patients who are suffering from debilitating medical conditions and who use marijuana on the advice of licensed physicians.  Instead, New Jersey continues to arrest and imprison these patients.  This is a Drug War atrocity.  We must stop arresting patients.”

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

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ  08618
609.394.2137 www.cmmnj.org   ohamkrw@aol.com

CMMNJ May 2012 Agenda

Monthly Public Meeting Agenda 
Lawrence Township Library, Room #3
Tuesday, May 8, 2012; 7:00 PM -- 9:00 PM

7:00 PM:  Call meeting to order.   Approve April 2012 minutes.  Discuss:

ATC update: Montclair ATC to start growing marijuana.  Department of Health and Senior Services DHSS) released a list of registered physicians on 4/16.  Egg Harbor ATC still has not received permit to grow.  Camden update, lawsuit pending against Zoning Board.

On April 4, NORML NJ attorneys William Buckman and Anne Davis filed a lawsuit on behalf of a New Jersey medical patient who would qualify for cannabis access. Named in the suit are the DHSS Commissioner Mary O’Dowd and the newly appointed director of the Medicinal Marijuana Program John O’Brien.  CMMNJ is not part of the lawsuit, but see CMMNJ's response (below).

Update of ongoing efforts re: medical marijuana trial for veterans with PTSD.

NJ Medical Marijuana current court cases:
Eric Hafner, on-going Middletown, NJ case.
Rally for Ed (NJWeedman) Forchion, Burlington Co. Court, Mt Holly, May 1, 2012 @ 8 am.
Colleen Begley’s case also in Burlco.
Write to inmate John Wilson #716024B, Jones Farm, P.O. Box 7100, West Trenton, NJ 08628

Upcoming events: Million Marijuana March, May 5, 2012 (coming to a city near you.) CMMNJ in NYC.
NORML NJ meeting at 7 pm on May 14 at the Ale House, New Brunswick, NJ.
Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, 4/26-28/12, Tucson, AZ.

Treasury report: Checking: $2672; PayPal: $3339.

CMMNJ meetings are the second Tuesday of each month from 7 - 9 PM at the Lawrence Twp. Library, 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246.  All are welcome.  Snacks are served.  (Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement of our issue.)  For more info, contact:

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc.
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618   (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com www.cmmnj.org

Monthly Public Meeting Minutes
Lawrence Library
April 10, 2012

7:00 PM:  Call meeting to order. March 2012 minutes approved. Discussion:

ATC update: Egg Harbor ATC did not receive permit as expected on April 1.  Montclair ATC facing more hurdles.  Camden ATC preparing to file lawsuit against Zoning Board for rejecting it.  CMMNJ Board member suggested ATCs start OAL challenge.  Also, DHSS did not release list of registered physicians as promised in mid-March.

Judiciary Committee approves SCR89 (Resolution to Free John Wilson), but measure falls one vote short in full Senate vote on 3/15/12.  New book suggestion for NJ Legislature: “Profiles in Cowardice.”  Governor Christie inappropriately questioned John Wilson’s diagnosis.

NJ Medical Marijuana current court cases discussed:
Eric Hafner, on-going Middletown, NJ case.
Ed (NJWeedman) Forchion, Burlington Co. Court, Mt Holly.
Colleen Begley’s case also in Burlco.
Write to inmate John Wilson #716024B, Jones Farm, P.O. Box 7100, West Trenton, NJ 08628

Update of ongoing efforts in D.C re: medical marijuana trial for veterans with PTSD.  Why are our soldiers less important than Israeli Defense Forces who get access to this?  Feds continue to block studies.

Adding clinical conditions to the Compassionate Use Act: PTSD, Neuropathic Pain, Chronic Pain, etc.  When will DHSS accept applications?

Treasury report: Checking: $2753; PayPal: $3339.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, Inc.
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618   (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com www.cmmnj.org


Recent Media Coverage and Blogs:


Alternative Treatment Centers:


Medical marijuana in N.J. / Outrageous delays

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/editorials/medical-marijuana-in-n-j-outrageous-delays/article_569d6efa-f6a9-5b33-8608-d46413b9dbf6.html


N.J. must move it on medical marijuana
http://blog.nj.com/ledgerletters/2012/03/nj_must_move_it_on_medical_mar.html

Editorial: Fear-mongering over medical marijuana in N.J. hurts the sick
http://www.nj.com/sunbeam-voices/index.ssf/2012/04/fear-mongering_over_medical_ma.html


New Jersey: NORML Lawyers File Constitutional Lawsuit Over State’s Failure To Implement Two-Year-Old Medical Cannabis Law
http://cannabis.hawaiinewsdaily.com/2012/04/05/new-jersey-norml-lawyers-file-constitutional-lawsuit-over-states-failure-to-implement-two-year-old-medical-cannabis-law/

Medford man sues state for delaying pot program
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20120405/NEWS01/304050011/Medford-man-sues-state-delaying-pot-program

Support grows for medical marijuana in Plumsted farming community
http://www.app.com/article/20120405/NJNEWS/304050055/Support-grows-medical-marijuana-farming-community?odyssey=nav%7Chead




420 Q & A With Ken Wolski, CEO of Coalition for Medical Marijuana – New Jersey
http://kcmjournalist.com/2012/04/420-with-ken-wolski-of-cmmnj/

Christie Maintains Tough Stance On Medical Marijuana Program [AUDIO]
http://nj1015.com/christie-maintains-tough-stance-on-medical-marijuana-program-audio/

New Jersey Gets Ready to Roll
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47079479

Medical Marijuana To Be Grown in Secret Location
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/burlington/148104005.html

N.J. patients, doctors weary of wait for medical marijuana [video]
http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/042212_The_wait_for_medical_marijuana_in_NJ_has_patients_doctors_weary_.html

The Record: Seeds of hope
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/147870755_Seeds_of_hope.html

NJ gives Montclair center 1st permit to grow legal medical marijuana in the state
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/d741cc151e674596a014d2d622e5a22e/NJ--Medical-Marijuana-NJ/

Medical Marijuana Court Cases:

Medical Marijuana - Just Say Not Guilty
http://www.ahherald.com/opinion-mainmenu-30/letters-to-the-editor/12922-medical-marijuana-just-say-not-guilty


NJ Weedman arrives in New Jersey from his Calif. home for his trial on pot charges
http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-06/news/31300574_1_trial-on-marijuana-charges-marijuana-laws-new-trial-date

Weedman Upset His Trial is Postponed
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/burlington/146428495.html

NJWeedman to use nullification defense in pot possession trial
http://www.examiner.com/article/njweedman-to-use-nullification-defense-pot-possession-trial


CMMNJ's response to the lawsuit filed on 4/4/12:

There is no question that Governor Chris Christie has done, and continues to do, irreparable harm to the most vulnerable patients in New Jersey by his unwillingness to implement the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (Act).

This Act passed into law over two years ago and yet not a single patient has even received an ID card to identify them as a qualifying patient, and not a single Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) has yet received a permit to operate.

The New Jersey Hospice Foundation estimates that there are 35,000 hospice patients currently living in this state.  These patients all have a diagnosis of six months or less to live and all these patients automatically qualify for medical marijuana under the terms of the Act.  In the past two years then, 140,000 hospice patients have died without the pain relief and quality of life improvement that only medical marijuana could bring to them.  Not a single one of these patients was able to legally obtain medical marijuana.

These 140,000 patients were needlessly and irredeemably harmed by the Christie administration and patients continue to be harmed every day.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey (CMMNJ) is not a part of the lawsuit being filed on behalf of patients in this state, and we see lawsuits as a last resort.  Nevertheless, we support any method that will bring about a prompt and meaningful implementation of the Medicinal Marijuana Program in New Jersey.  We certainly understand the motivation behind this lawsuit.

CMMNJ has tried talking to Chris Christie.  I personally confronted the governor at a Town Hall meeting in Ewing Township shortly after the proposed regulations (regs) were published by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) in Oct., 2010.  I asked the governor if we could not get his cooperation in modifying these regs so that they would result in a workable program.  The governor said no, the regs would stay the way they were.

During the public comment period for these regs, numerous patients, advocates and ATC operators implored the DHSS to make the regs to enact this law more reasonable, but when the final regs were adopted, there was not a single change to the 100-plus pages of DHSS regs.

The Christie administration has engaged in, and attempted to engage in, inexcusable obstruction of this law.  The governor tried to implement a different law than the one that passed on two occasions—he tried to get Rutgers University to be the sole producer of medical marijuana in New Jersey and when they refused, he tried to limit the ATCs to only two centers instead of the six that the law called for.  The entire state legislature rebelled and condemned his regs as not consistent with the legislative intent.

The governor has put one roadblock after another in front of this law—a law he said he does not agree with.  Nevertheless, the governor took an oath to uphold the laws of the state of New Jersey and CMMNJ believes he is not being true to his oath when it comes to the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.  www.cmmnj.org
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618, 609.394.2137 ohamkrw@aol.com

CMMNJ April 2012 Agenda & March Minutes

Monthly Public Meeting Agenda

Lawrence Township Library, Room #3

Tuesday, April 10, 2012; 7:00 PM -- 9:00 PM

7:00 PM: Call meeting to order. Approve March 2012 minutes. Discuss:

Medicinal Marijuana Program & ATC update:

Egg Harbor ATC receive permit as expected?

Montclair ATC facing more hurdles?

DHSS release list of registered physicians as promised?

Judiciary Committee approves SCR89 (Resolution to Free John Wilson), but measure falls one vote short in full Senate vote on 3/15/12.

Update of ongoing efforts to educate congressmen in D.C re: medical marijuana trial for veterans with PTSD. See also Facebook page: Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access

NJ Medical Marijuana current court cases (see below media coverage):

Eric Hafner, on-going Middletown, NJ case.

Rally for Ed (NJWeedman) Forchion, Burlington Co. Court, Mt Holly, April 10, 2012 @ 8 am.

Colleen Begley’s case also in Burlco.

Upcoming events: 4/20 Strike—no buying anything, all day.

NORML NJ meeting at 7 pm on the 2nd Monday of each month, Joe’s, Trenton.

Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, 4/26-28/12, Tucson, AZ.

Treasury report: Checking: $2753; PayPal: $3339.

CMMNJ meetings are the second Tuesday of each month from 7 - 9 PM at the Lawrence Twp. Library, 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246. All are welcome. Snacks are served. (Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement of our issue.) For more info, contact:

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

219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618

(609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com www.cmmnj.org

Monthly Public Meeting Minutes

March 13, 2012

7:00 PM: Call meeting to order. February 2012 minutes approved. Discussion:

Reviewed events of National Medical Marijuana Week, 2/12-18 (phone calls to White House and Congress); Rally at Trenton Federal Bldg., 2/16/12 followed by CMMNJ testimony at Senate Judiciary Committee on SCR 89 (Free John Wilson); SCR 89 released to full Senate.

Letter from John Wilson in state prison read at meeting. John is grateful “for continued support.” He thinks he will be in prison at least a year before he is eligible for a program. He is at minimum security Jones Farm and says it is “not so bad…pretty stress free. My health is OK at this time with only minimal symptoms.” He sends his greetings to all and says he “can’t thank them enough.” (His mother reports he received a dose of Avonex, an MS medication.) Write to John at: John Wilson 716024B, Jones Farm, P.O. Box 7100, West Trenton, NJ 08628

Camden Zoning Board rejected Compassionate Sciences ATC, 6 – 0, on 3/5/12. Update from Frank Fulbrook: Camden says ATC “not a good fit.”

Adam Levy from Compassionate Care Foundation said his ATC is OK in Egg Harbor. Adam expects to receive a DHSS permit to open on 4/1/12, and to have medical marijuana available to patients in NJ by October 2012.

Eric Hafner rally 3/12/12 at Middletown Court. See: http://wobm.com/rally-raises-awareness-for-medical-marijuana-use-for-ptsd/

Recent events: CMMNJ Board meeting, 3/3/2; Nick Mellis joined CMMNJ Board. Metuchen MS Self-Help Group lecture and discussion, 2/21/12.

Upcoming events: Rally to support Ed (NJWeedman) Forchion at Burlington Co. Court, Mt. Holly, April 10, 2012.

4/20 Strike—no buying.

NORML NJ meeting at 7 pm on the 2nd Monday of each month, Joe’s, Trenton.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Trenton, 3/17/12.

Seventh National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, 4/26-28/12, Tucson, AZ.

Treasury report: Checking: $2965; PayPal: $3339.

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

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

Recent Media Coverage and Blogs:

Alternative Treatment Centers:

No justifiable need to delay medical marijuana in New Jersey, 3/23/12

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2012/03/no_justifiable_need_to_delay_m.html

Medical marijuana boss: Gov. Christie's pot program delay is sabotage, 3/23/12

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/medicial_marijuana_boss_gov_ch.html

Tangle with state delays opening of Montclair medical marijuana dispensary, 3/27/12

http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/144467815_Tangle_with_state_delays_Montclair_becoming__medical_marijuana_capital_of_New_Jersey_.html

One NJ Medical Marijuana Provider Ready To Give Up On Much-Delayed Program

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/03/23/one-nj-medical-marijuana-provider-ready-to-give-up-on-much-delayed-program/

Christie says he can’t force municipalities to take medical marijuana treatment facilities

http://cmmnj.blogspot.com/2012/03/christie-says-he-cant-force.html

Developers of marijuana center stress openness, 3/14/12

http://www.shorenewstoday.com/snt/news/index.php/egg-harbor-twp/eht-general-news/22362-developers-of-marijuana-center-stress-openness.html

Plumsted opens possibility for medical marijuana site 3/15/12

http://exa.gmnews.com/news/2012-03-15/Front_Page/Plumsted_opens_possibility_for_medical_marijuana_s.html

Corporation Aims to Co-Opt Medical Marijuana, Make Billions

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/02/corporation_aims_to_co-opt_medical_marijuana_make.php

Medical Marijuana Court Cases:

Open Letter to Monmouth County Prosecutor on Behalf of Eric Hafner

http://cmmnj.blogspot.com/2012/03/open-letter-to-monmouth-county.html

Middletown court case postponed for man claiming medical marijuana use 3/27/12

http://www.app.com/article/20120327/NJNEWS/303280022/Middletown-court-delays-medical-marijuana-case

Drug suspect plans medical marijuana defense in Middletown 3/12/12

http://www.app.com/article/20120312/NJNEWS/303120044?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150731950384245_23093750_10150732897984245

Pot Protester Must Wait For Day In Court, 3/16/12

http://trtnj.com/news/pot-protest-middletown-medical-marijuana/

Don't criminalize patient for using medical marijuana, 3/21/12

http://www.app.com/article/20120322/NJOPINION02/303220006

Keep Medical Marijuana Patient Eric Hafner Out Of Jail, 3/19/12

http://www.theweedblog.com/medical-marijuana-patient-needs-your-help-in-new-jersey/

Drop Charges Against Medical Marijuana Patient 3/18/12

http://www.ahherald.com/opinion-mainmenu-30/letters-to-the-editor/12795-drop-charges-against-medical-marijuana-patient

Rallying for Medical Marijuana Use, 3/12/12

http://middletown-nj.patch.com/articles/hafner-rallies-for-medical-marijuana-use

Senate to Vote On John Ray Wilson Resolution This Thursday

http://www.elizabethinsideout.tv/2012/03/14/senate-to-vote-on-john-ray-wilson-resolution-this-thursday/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Christie Thinks The Jersey MS “Pot Guy” Should Remain Behind Bars [AUDIO]

http://nj1015.com/john-ray-wilson-should-be-in-jail-christie-says/

NJ Gov Chris Christie Plays Medical Marijuana Doctor on Radio

http://www.freedomisgreen.com/nj-gov-chris-christie-plays-medical-marijuana-doctor-on-radio/

NJ Senate fails to act on resolution seeking commutation for man convicted of growing marijuana, 3/15/12

http://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_Senate_fails_to_act_on_resolution_seeking_commutation_fo

r_man_convicted_of_growing_marijuana__.html?page=all

It's high time Christie started to care, 3/12/12

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&id=35193:12tornoe

NJWeedman Hits The Road In Weedmobil For Filming Of Documentary, Asks For Donations, 3/25/12

http://www.ballerstatus.com/2012/03/25/njweedman-hits-the-road-in-weedmobil-for-filming-of-documentary-asks-for-donations/

YouTube: MedCanCupLA 2012 – Ed Forchion on current court case

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZcp5pr1_Cc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Research:

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Vol. 41, Issue 4, Pgs. 768-778, April 2011:

Is There a Legitimate Role for the Therapeutic Use of Cannabinoids for Symptom Management in Chronic Kidney Disease?

http://www.jpsmjournal.com/article/S0885-3924(10)00979-6/fulltext

Open Letter to Monmouth County Prosecutor on Behalf of Eric Hafner

219 Woodside Ave.

Trenton, NJ 08618

March 19, 2012

Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw, Jr.

Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office

132 Jerseyville Avenue

Freehold, N.J. 07728

Re: Eric Hafner, D.O.B. 5/16/1991

Dear Prosecutor Warshaw:

Eric Hafner is a 20-year old man who is currently a California resident. Mr. Hafner suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He has a valid recommendation to use marijuana for this condition from Dr. William Eidelman, a licensed California physician. Unfortunately, Mr. Hafner was arrested recently in New Jersey for using marijuana as medicine and he faces trial in Middletown Township, NJ.

In January 2008, Mr. Hafner was under the medical care of a different physician who prescribed the anti-anxiety drug Xanax for him. Two months later, the physician doubled the dosage of Xanax in an unsuccessful attempt to control the painful symptoms of PTSD that Mr. Hafner was experiencing. Not only was this pharmacologic intervention unsuccessful, but it left Mr. Hafner with an intolerable adverse effect, i.e., inability to function. Mr. Hafner understandably abandoned this treatment and researched alternative treatment modalities. His research led him to medical marijuana. He found marijuana to be most effective in treating the symptoms of his PTSD, with none of the adverse effects of the prescribed medication.

Marijuana has long been recognized as being useful in the treatment of chronic pain, nausea associated with chemotherapy, the wasting syndrome of AIDS, and the increased intraocular pressure of glaucoma. Less well known is marijuana’s safety and efficacy for a wide range of mental and emotional conditions, including PTSD.

Currently 16 states and the District of Columbia have removed the penalties for the possession and use of varying amounts of marijuana when a physician recommends it. In fact, New Jersey passed into law the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act in January 2010. However, New Jersey’s Medicinal Marijuana Program is still months away from operating. New Jersey has the most restrictive medical marijuana law in the nation, so it is not surprising that PTSD is not yet considered a qualifying condition here. The state health department (DHSS) is empowered by the legislation to add qualifying conditions to its program at any time. However, the DHSS has chosen to wait a minimum of two years before it will even consider adding qualifying conditions like PTSD. Whether PTSD is a qualifying condition here is really a moot point--not a single patient in New Jersey has yet received the legal protection that the law was supposed to convey.

The use of marijuana as medicine has broad support among both health care professionals and the general public. Some 80 state and national health care organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, and the American Public Health Association support immediate, legal patient access to medical marijuana. Nearly half of all doctors with opinions support legalizing marijuana as a medicine according to a survey conducted for the American Society of Addiction Medicine. A recent survey by the Eagleton Institute showed that 86% of New Jersey voters support the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. A number of the states and foreign countries that allow medical marijuana specifically allow it for PTSD.

Basic compassion and common sense demand that we allow seriously ill patients, like Mr. Hafner, to use whatever medication provides safe and effective relief. It would be a terrible wrong to punish Mr. Hafner--or any medical marijuana user--for seeking relief from a painful and difficult-to-treat medical condition. In Mr. Hafner’s case, it is a medical condition that is frequently associated with suicide.

Thank you for your compassionate consideration of this matter.

Sincerely yours,

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA

Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org

609.394.2137 ohamkrw@aol.com

See: "Cannabis Eases Post Traumatic Stress” By Tod Mikuriya, MD, published in O'Shaughnessy's, spring 2006, available at: http://www.mikuriya.com/cw_ptsd.html

The federal government’s obstruction of marijuana research for PTSD is noted at:

http://cmmnj.blogspot.com/2011/11/ptsd-marijuana-study-for-veterans.html

Recent international conferences on medical marijuana sponsored by Patients Out of Time, are available at: http://www.medicalcannabis.com/about.htm

For a compilation of recent research on medical marijuana see:

http://norml.org/library/recent-research-on-medical-marijuana