Pubdate: Tue, 9 Jun 2009 Source: Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ) Copyright: 2009 Newark Morning Ledger Co Contact: http://www.nj.com/starledger/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/424 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) PROPER PRECAUTIONS ON MARIJUANA BILL As New Jersey lawmakers consider taking the bold step of legalizing marijuana for medical use, they're showing an abundance of caution about the details. An Assembly committee made major changes to the bill approved by the state Senate earlier this year. It would make New Jersey the 14th state to allow marijuana to be grown and prescribed for medicinal purposes, but under the strictest conditions of any of those states. To use marijuana legally, a patient would have to have one of five specific diseases; get a recommendation from his or her doctor and permission from the state health department; obtain the drug from an approved grower and only in amounts of an ounce or less per month. Those stringent provisions should eliminate concerns that this bill amounts to back-door legalization of a recreational drug. Still, Assembly members facing re-election in November may be reluctant to give opponents any chance to label them as "soft on drugs." We hope they give voters more credit for recognizing that using marijuana to relieve the side effects of chemotherapy or the symptoms of other serious diseases should not be a crime. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake