Pubdate: Mon, 29 Apr 2013
Source: Oakland Press, The (MI)
Copyright: 2013 The Trentonian
Contact:  http://www.theoaklandpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2114
Author: Jeff Edelstein, The Trentonian
Page: A-4

MARIJUANA BOTH A MEDICINE AND A MENACE IN NEW JERSEY

When it comes to New Jersey's marijuana laws, Gov. Chris Christie is 
trying to have his cake and eat it too, and he's not even stoned.

But Ed "NJWEEDMAN" Forchion? Well, yeah, he's stoned, obviously, but 
it's not stopping him from pointing out the state's pot laws seem to 
be written by a "Catch-22" devotee.

In a nutshell: Marijuana is a Schedule I drug in New Jersey. Under 
state law, a drug is Schedule I if, among other things, it "has no 
accepted medical use in treatment in the United States."

Well, last I checked, California was part of the United States. Same 
with Colorado, Arizona, Maine and another 14 states where medical 
marijuana laws exist. Or course, since January 18, New Jersey is also 
one of those states that recognizes marijuana as medicine.

So the cake metaphor? It fits. New Jersey has criminal marijuana laws 
stating pot is the worst of the worst when it comes to drugs because 
it has no accepted medical value, and yet also has another law 
stating marijuana has oodles of accepted medical value.

Forchion has noticed this ridiculousness, and filed a legal brief in 
Evesham, N.J., on Friday to challenge it. Why Evesham? It's the same 
town where he was arrested last week for holding a pair of joints. He 
was a passenger in car that had a headlight out. Somehow, he got 
searched. This is how things go when you're the Weedman.

So not only is he seeking to upturn the state's laws on marijuana 
(again) he's also making it easy for other marijuana offenders to do 
their bit to clog up the state's judicial system. Set up at 
njweedman.com/challenge. pdf is a simple, printable legal brief for 
people who have been arrested on marijuana charges since the state's 
medical marijuana law went into effect. Basically, print it, fill it 
out, file it, and have your lawyer tell the judge and prosecutor that 
possession of marijuana cannot be a Schedule I offense because 
according to state law it's not a Schedule 1 offense.

"I'm not even getting mad at this," Forchion told me. "I just want 
people all over the state filing these arguments. I'm also preparing 
another brief for people who were arrested on marijuana charges in 
the last five years, even if they were convicted. It's so simple, so 
I'm putting it out there for others to fill out their names and argue 
the same thing."

Forchion noted this legal gambit of his is really no different than 
the ones he's been running forever.

"These are the same arguments I've had for years, but public opinion 
and laws have caught up to me," he noted.

Forchion would be happy with one of two events happening here: Either 
the state gets it together and takes marijuana off the Schedule I 
list, or the state recognizes medical marijuana card holders from other states.

As for the first one, there's language in the state's laws allowing 
the director of Human Services to simply make the change. 
Unfortunately, the director works at the pleasure of the governor, 
and there is no way Christie is going to let the change be made 
willingly. Christie doesn't exactly seem to be too keen on the whole 
medical marijuana thing anyway, as he's seen fit to make acquiring 
the "drug" costly, time-consuming and almost impossible.

As for the second option, well, common sense should apply here.

"If I get a prescription for Levitra in California, do I need a 
prescription for Levitra in New Jersey?" Forchion said.

Obviously, the answer is "no," as men with erectile dysfunction do 
not fear jail time for transporting their medicine across state 
lines. But medical marijuana users currently have that fear in New Jersey.

There is a third option, one that Forchion kind of hopes doesn't 
happen: Outright dismissal of his charges. Sure, he'd get off without 
even a slap on the wrist, but the laws would stay the same and other 
marijuana users - both medicinal and recreational - would continue to 
get jacked up by the current statutes, which, again, MAKE NO SENSE. 
Sorry for hollering there, but come on: Marijuana, under the current 
language of the law, should be, at worst, a Schedule V drug with the 
less severe penalties for use.

"All other states either have a medical exemption or have rewritten 
the laws," said Forchion. "Except New Jersey. New Jersey is trying to 
have it both ways."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom