Get Active Subscribe Support Us

NURSE SUPPORTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN NEW JERSEY

To the Editor:

David Evans is clearly mistaken about medical marijuana is his letter, "Marijuana: not medicine."

Evans said that "virtually all New Jersey medical organizations oppose" the N.J.  Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.

In 2002, the N.J.  State Nurses Association adopted a resolution that recognized the therapeutic value and safety of medically recommended marijuana and urged the governor and state Legislature to move expeditiously to make medical marijuana legally available to residents who can benefit from it.  The NJSNA has consistently testified in support of medical marijuana.

The NJSNA represents more than 110,000 state RNs.  Other healthcare organizations that support the use of medical marijuana include the N.J.  Academy of Family Physicians, the N.J.  Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Currently 25% of the U.S.  population lives in a state that recognizes medical marijuana.  Hopefully, New Jersey will become the 14th state to similarly protect its patients.  In doing so, it will avoid the travesty of justice in trials like the John Ray Wilson affair.  Wilson used marijuana to treat his multiple sclerosis and faces 20 years in a state prison for doing so.  Even more astonishing, the judge has ruled that Wilson may not tell the jury that he has MS --the only reason he used marijuana.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey has been holding a series of rallies outside the Somerset County courthouse in Somerville in support of Wilson.  The next rally is 8:30 a.m.  on Dec.  14, which represents the start of jury selection for the trial.  See cmmnj.org for more details.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA

Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana N.J.

Trenton