Pubdate: Fri, 13 Dec 2013
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2013 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Jan Hefler

NEW MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL PASSES COMMITTEE

A bill that would allow medical marijuana patients in New Jersey to 
purchase cannabis from licensed out-of-state dispensaries cleared the 
Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee Thursday.

The vote was 7-4, allowing the bill to advance to the floor of the 
Assembly in the next few weeks.

Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D., Union), who sponsored the medical 
marijuana reciprocity bill, said it would ease the way for children 
with severe epilepsy to obtain cannabis in an edible form to curb 
their life-threatening seizures. Currently, the three dispensaries in 
New Jersey only sell the smokable type of marijuana, while the edible 
variety is being available at dispensaries in Colorado and a few 
other states, she said.

Stender introduced the bill after she was contacted by a Scotch 
Plains couple who recently purchased an ounce of cannabis for their 2 
1/ 2- year-old child, Vivian Wilson, at a South Jersey dispensary but 
found they could not give it to her. Brian and Meghan Wilson tried 
reducing the cannabis to an oil similar to that sold in Colorado, but 
said they ran into difficulty finding a lab that would test it.

An identical bill, sponsored by Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D., Union), is 
expected to be introduced in the Senate next week. Gov. Christie has 
vowed he will veto it, saying it expands a tightly regulated program. 
The bill also would allow out-of-state licensed patients to buy 
cannabis from a New Jersey dispensary while visiting the state, but 
in limited quantities.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom