Medical marijuana use may be legalized

Marijuana for medical use may be legalized in New Jersey.
The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, better known as S119 to state legislatures, passed Feb. 23 in the New Jersey Senate.
For the bill to come into effect, the New Jersey Assembly must vote to pass it, but the date of their vote is undetermined.
“We are cautiously optimistic [of it passing],” said Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey Director Roseanne Scotti.
The proposed bill allows patients and their primary caregivers to grow, possess and use small quantities of medical marijuana to treat certain illnesses, she said.
“Under the bill, individual patients will be allowed to have six plants and an ounce of medical marijuana,” Scotti said.
She said Gov. Jon S. Corzine has agreed to sign the bill should it pass the Assembly.
Scotti said she does not think there are any disadvantages that might prevent the bill’s passage in the Assembly.
“There are many seriously ill people in New Jersey for whom currently available medications are not helping to relieve symptoms,” Scotti said.
She said the bill was amended in the Assembly Health Committee to allow “alternative treatment centers” to grow the plant for patients too sick to grow it themselves.
“They would be allowed to grow the same amount for each patient,” Scotti said.
To use marijuana for medicinal purposes, patients must be diagnosed by a physician, have a full physical and have their past medical history assessed to prove a debilitating medical condition, according to the legislation.
“It has [been] proven to alleviate pain, muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting [and] wasting syndrome that comes from a lot of treat like chemotherapy, so [there are] a pretty good array of symptoms it could help,” Scotti said.
The act also lists cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, seizures, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease or any disease approved by the Department of Health and Senior Services as conditions medical marijuana may be used to treat.
The law provides safeguards against recreational abuse through other precautionary measures.
“This law was very carefully drafted by the sponsor of the legislation [and] Sen. Nicholas Scutari,” Scotti said.
Not only must patients have the diseases or conditions explicitly laid out in the text of the bill, but they must also have a doctor’s prescription and follow regulations set by the State Department of Health and Senior services, Scotti said.
Patients and their primary caregivers must register for medical marijuana use with the Senate Human Health, Services, and Senior Citizens committee, according to the bill. They would receive a registration card and without this, they would be criminalized for marijuana use.
Scotti said the bill could have financial advantages for individuals.
A lot of drugs used to treat these conditions are more expensive compared to medical marijuana, so it may be cheaper for patients, but she said she is not yet sure of any overall financial impact the bill could have.
Introduced by the Senate Human Health, Services, and Senior Citizens Committee in January 2008, the bill is now in the hands of the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee, according to the NJ state legislature Web site.
The eight New Jersey senators who sponsored the proposed bill and composed of the legislation are Sens. Nicholas P. Scutari, Jim Whelan, Sandra B. Cunningham, Raymond J. Lesniak, Brian P. Stack, Stephen M. Sweeney, Loretta Weinberg and Joseph F. Vitale, according to the site.
There are already 10 Assembly members as co-sponsors for the bill and it has garnered bi-partisan support, Scotti said.
She said there are 13 other states where medical marijuana is legal, and they are not experiencing any problems.
These 13 states where marijuana is available for qualified patients are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, according to the bill.
“I think it’s a pretty good idea, I mean, why not? All the other states are doing it,” said Derek Burr, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore. “People need it, it helps them, it’s not really that bad, [and] it should be legal.”
School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Sean Battle said he agrees and thinks the drug should be legal for legitimate reasons, but did note a potential harm.
“One disadvantage is more people [would have] the ability to sell it maybe, or abuse it rather,” he said. “But at the same time, that could be said for any over-the-counter drug.”
Member of the Marijuana Policy Project Richard Zuckerman, a New Brunswick resident, said some people might be against the use of the drug for medical purposes because they confuse it with other, more dangerous drugs.
“The courts have been saying it’s dangerous for the federal narcotic laws, but the federal narcotic laws should not be there in the first place. It’s a mild drug,” he said.
School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Cody Gorman said it has been proven that marijuana is not really a gateway drug as previously thought.
“It’s not the same as coke, if they made medicinal coke. I don’t think the side effects [of medicinal marijuana] would be anywhere near as bad,” Gorman said.

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6 comments

Voice of the people

Sat Mar 14 2009 08:37

as joe sits back, takes a drag on his cig and washes it down with a beer.
Its because of idiots like joe here who feel they have it all figured out, try doing
some reading up on the subject.

JB

Fri Mar 13 2009 13:33

I SMOKE MAAAAAD WEED! Legalize it!

Your name

Sun Mar 8 2009 00:00

I submit that under the 1947 New Jersey Constitution, Article 1, Paragraphs 1 and 7, we have or should have a protected State Constitutional Right to have, use, and even cultivate Cannabis/"Marijuana" in our own home! The Alaska Supreme Court held that the Alaska State Constitution conferred similar protection in the 1970s in case of r Ravin v. State. The federal courts recognize a zone of privacy known as "curtilage" of which police are required to recognize in Cannabis/"Marijuana" cases. At the Ballot Box, on Election Day, we can vote for those people running for election whom support Cannabis/"Marijuana" decriminalization. In the Jury Box, if you ever get the opportunity to perform your civil duty of sitting as a juror, you have the UNREVIEWABLE authority, more powerful than the U.S. President, to find for a litigant in a civil or criminal case if you believe the law is unfair, the litigant has been unfairly treated, or for any other reason, perhaps the most important reason of which might be "...to alter or reform the [Government] when required for the public good" under 1947 New Jersey Constitution, Article 1, Section 2!! Has anybody read the Jury Rights Day Proclamation of September 5, 1999, by then-N.J. Governor Christine Todd Whitman? You can get a copy of it from the State Archives located only a few buildings away from the State House, in Trenton, New Jersey, right next door to the New Jersey State Library!!!! [Of course, with our economy on the brink, we should consider getting out of the big cities for a time in the event of riots.].

tODD

Thu Mar 5 2009 17:44

Just a matter of time. Opponents - drink up and smoke that tobacco faster. Once you (the older generation) die off then we can have marijuana made legal for ALL.

Joe

Thu Mar 5 2009 11:13

There is no war on marijuana. Just idiots who abuse it.

Greg

Wed Mar 4 2009 14:35

Finally people will be able to get the medicine they need. Its time to end this fruitless, expensive, drug war.

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