Pubdate: Tue, 1 Dec 2009
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Page: A5
Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Suzanne Sataline
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - United States)

NEW JERSEY LIKELY NEXT TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

New Jersey is poised to become the next state to allow residents to 
use marijuana, when recommended by a doctor, for relief from serious 
diseases and medical conditions.

The state Senate has approved the bill and the state Assembly is 
expected to follow. The legislation would then head to the governor's 
office for his signature.

Gov. Jon Corzine, the Democrat who lost his re-election bid this 
month, has indicated he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk 
before he leaves office in January. It would likely be one of Mr. 
Corzine's last acts before relinquishing the job to Republican Chris Christie.

Mr. Christie has indicated he would be supportive of such 
legislation, but had concerns that one draft of a bill he read didn't 
have enough restrictions, a spokeswoman said.

The bill has been endorsed by the New Jersey Academy of Family 
Physicians and the New Jersey State Nurses Association.

Some lawmakers oppose the legislation, saying they fear the 
proliferation of marijuana dispensaries, as in California, where 
medical marijuana is legal. "It sends a mixed message to our children 
if you can walk down the street and see pot shops," said Republican 
Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini.

Federal law bars the use of marijuana. But legislatures in several 
states, including California, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Rhode 
Island and Vermont, permit use of the drug for medical purposes. 
Attorney General Eric Holder said earlier this year that federal 
prosecutors wouldn't prosecute people complying with state medical 
marijuana laws.

The New Jersey bill would allow people with debilitating medical 
conditions to grow, possess and use marijuana for personal use, 
provided that a physician allows it after completing a full 
assessment of the patient's history and condition. The conditions 
that are stipulated in the Senate bill include cancer, glaucoma and 
human immunodeficiency viruses.

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari, a Democrat who has led the fight for the 
medical-marijuana bill, said that was not a final list. He said the 
Senate bill would have to be reconciled with whatever the Assembly might pass.

Support for the legislation stems partly from sympathy for the plight 
of John Ray Wilson, a New Jersey resident who suffers from multiple 
sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous 
system. Mr. Wilson is scheduled to go on trial in December on felony 
drug charges, including operating a drug-production facility and 
manufacturing drugs. State police said they found 17 mature marijuana 
plants growing alongside his home in 2008. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Superior Court judge who will oversee the case has barred Mr. 
Wilson from explaining to the jury that he uses marijuana for his 
multiple sclerosis instead of more conventional medicines, which he 
said he can't afford, since he has no medical insurance.

If convicted, Mr. Wilson faces up to 20 years in prison. "It 
definitely helps for pain," Mr. Wilson said. "Stress can bring MS on. 
And I'm definitely under some stress."

David Wald, a spokesman for the state attorney general, which is 
arguing the state's position, said: "We're prosecuting the law."

At least two lawmakers, including Mr. Scutari, have asked Mr. Corzine 
to pardon Mr. Wilson. "I think it's unfair," said Mr. Scutari. "To 
try to incarcerate him for years and years doesn't serve a good 
government function."

The governor's office said it wouldn't comment on pardons involving 
an ongoing case.

Mr. Wilson's case hasn't persuaded Ms. Angelini, who voted against it 
in the health committee. As the executive director of Prevention 
First, an antidrug and antiviolence nonprofit, she said she was 
concerned that the bill would open the door for more liberal drug policies.

"If the drug laws are lax," she said, "that can open it up to 
eventual drug legalization."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake