On Monday, the state Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a first-ever hearing for New Jersey on legalizing marijuana. Can we just cut through all of the usual nonsense and legalize it once and for all? It's going to happen, at some point. Medicinal marijuana is already in place in New Jersey - albeit grudgingly on Gov. Chris Christie's part. Public support for full legalization is growing; a summer Fairleigh Dickinson PublicMind poll showed 49 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed. [continues 441 words]
The end of the second prohibition era draws near. The disastrous consequences of the misbegotten "War on Drugs," with its focus on marijuana, are now widely recognized. More humane approaches to drug use are being implemented as states ease restrictions. But not if the bitter-enders prevail - as witness Gov. Chris Christie's struggle with the issue in the most recent GOP debate. President Nixon declared war on drugs in 1971, placing the counter-culture's favored drug, marijuana, on Schedule I of controlled substances. Since then, countless lives have been ruined, not so much by the drug itself, but by the legal regime that followed. [continues 658 words]
Third Way and Anzalone Liszt Group conducted a poll from Sept. 25-29 indicating that 51 percent of people approve of marijuana being legalized. I am of the minority opinion based on three reasons: For certain people with addictive personalities, the use of marijuana can lead to hard drugs like heroin. My late brother started with marijuana and eventually became a heroine addict; Kids today face a "dumbing down" with the processes of creativity and critical thinking because of their attachment to the computer. Studies indicate that the use of marijuana reduces the brain's capacity; When in Vietnam, I had access to marijuana and other drugs and some soldiers used them as a form of escape. I'm fearful that people will use it as a way to function without thinking things through, another form of escape. Joseph Wardy RANDOLPH [end]
With the recent resignation of the CEO of Compassionate Care Foundation Inc., operator of Egg Harbor Township medical marijuana dispensary, it is clear that New Jersey's faux dispensary system is on the verge of crumbling altogether. Gov. Chris Christie has presented the false and deceptive image of an operational medical marijuana program to the citizens of New Jersey. In reality, Christie has betrayed his most vulnerable constituents by covertly plotting with the pharmaceutical, prison, drug testing and drug rehab industries to prevent the program from ever getting off the ground. [continues 224 words]
State Assemblywoman Betty Lou DeCroce claims that legalizing and regulating marijuana would result in introducing "another illicit drug" to society ("Just say no to legalizing marijuana," May 15). Hardly. Despite decades of prohibition, marijuana is immersed in our society. According to state-specific data compiled by the federal government, nearly one out of ten New Jersey residents acknowledge having consumed pot within the past year. It is time we reflect this reality by regulating the substance accordingly. Criminalizing the plant and those who consume it has failed to limit the public's use of the substance or their access to it. But it has resulted in tens of thousands of criminal arrests. In 2010, nearly 22,000 New Jersey citizens were arrested for minor marijuana possession offenses - a total that was among the highest of any state in the nation. This ongoing prohibition financially burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, and disproportionately impacts communities of color. [continues 82 words]
TRENTON - When it was passed by the Legislature and signed into law it was called the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Three years later it's hard to find the compassion. The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey brought its appeal to media at the Statehouse, where activist/patient Jay Lassiter spoke the obvious: "New Jersey's medical marijuana program is not where it should be three years into its implementation." He called it "over-regulated, over-taxed and inaccessible" for patients in the lower two-thirds of the state. This might be just another story in government incompetence except for the people in need. In many cases they are terminally ill. [continues 810 words]
TRENTON -- With New Jersey in need of an economic boost, medical marijuana advocates say the state should not overlook the lift the drug can provide when it's expected to become legally available at the end of the year. The newly minted medical marijuana law will allow New Jersey to begin cashing in on what is a nearly $2 billion market for states with similar laws, Thomas Leto, president of the U.S. Medical Marijuana Chamber of Commerce, said at a news conference Wednesday. [continues 417 words]
We could use this space to decry the politics and cynicism that led to the use of marijuana for medical purposes being legal by statute but not legal in practice for a year and a half. But we've been down that road before, chiding the Christie administration for its obvious delay tactics in implementing a law that was signed by Jon Corzine just before Chris Christie replaced him as governor. So today we will praise Christie for coming around and instead of putting up more roadblocks, agreeing to knock them down and finally see to it that patients suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma and other ailments - many of them terminal and painful - can legally use marijuana to relieve their symptoms. [continues 407 words]
I am writing this letter in regard to the final weeks of the public comment period for the New Jersey's medical marijuana program. I choose to write to the Press instead of the state, which would rather manipulate the sick and seriously ill residents of New Jersey than help them. New Jersey patients and residents need to know so they can continue to call their elected representatives. As a multiple sclerosis patient for the past 14 years and medical-marijuana user for more than half of them, I am disgusted that New Jersey regulations will include room for seeds and branches, leaves and other vegetation, etc., within the 2 ounces per month al-lowed to qualifying patients. [continues 174 words]
Gov. Chris Christie and his administration are denying patients suffering severe pain from cancer, postherpetic neuralgia, which has no known cure, and other severe pain sufferers, relief from their pain. He is not a doctor; he is a politician making medical decisions. It is like having a shoemaker fix you car. He is not qualified to make medical decisions. A doctor knows his individual patient's pain. A doctor also knows what strength and best means to administer the medical marijuana -- eating or smoking. [continues 65 words]
TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie said he will fight to prevent his administration's proposed medical marijuana regulations from going up in smoke, despite pressure from state lawmakers to make changes. The governor said he fears watering down the rules would essentially create "a de facto legalization of marijuana" in New Jersey. Changes here could lead to duplicating flawed medical marijuana systems in place in California and Colorado, Christie said during a press conference on Tuesday. There are currently a total of 13 states that allow medical pot. [continues 518 words]
The New Jersey Health Department feels it necessary to cap the THC content of medical marijuana at 10 percent to prevent patients from getting "addicted." Because it contains THC, which can make you high, marijuana is classified by the DEA as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Meanwhile, 100 percent pure synthetic THC, marketed under the brand name Marinol, is listed as a Schedule III drug, meaning it has a currently accepted medical use and a low to moderate potential for abuse. Marinol may be prescribed by doctors and is available at pharmacies throughout the Garden State. I would love to hear the Health Department explain the logic behind this. Anders Froehlich SAN RAFAEL, CALIF. [end]
New Jersey is having a devil of a time trying to provide very sick people with the comfort medical marijuana can provide, and that is a shame. As long as the debate ensues, those who need the drug are not going to get it. The state Legislature passed and outgoing governor, Jon Corzine, signed a bill in January clearing the use of pot for medicinal purposes. New Jersey was breaking no new ground here; 13 other states do this. The bill's passage followed personal appeals before the Legislature from very ill people, many of whom admitted to smoking pot illegally to make their last days as bearable as possible. [continues 378 words]
TRENTON -- Medical marijuana advocates successfully convinced some state legislators Monday that Gov. Chris Christie's administration had overreached in its attempt to limit New Jersey's new medical marijuana law. Two committees, one in the state Senate and the other in the Assembly, passed resolutions declaring that proposed regulations would not fulfill the intent of the law, which was signed as one of the last acts of Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine when he left office in January. Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, shepherded one resolution through the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on a 6-1 vote. She said that medical marijuana might have been a better alternative to the morphine given to husband as he died. [continues 393 words]
SOMERVILLE -- A Franklin man with multiple sclerosis was sentenced today to five years in prison for growing marijuana that he has said was used for medicinal purposes. The sentence handed down to John Wilson is the minimum prison term that he could have received. Wilson's attorney, James Wronko, said he will file a motion to stay the sentence pending an appeal. Superior Court Judge Robert Reed, who handed down the sentence, said that Wilson in six months could be eligible for the the New Jersey Intensive Supervision Program in which certain offenders, sentenced to state prison, are given an opportunity to work their way back into the community under intensive supervision. [continues 203 words]
Law Called Discriminatory TRENTON -- Lawmakers are close to giving judges to ability to waive enhanced prison sentences now mandated for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, and the change could free some nonviolent offenders from incarceration. Backers of the change say eliminating the often three-year mandatory prison term would be fair, given that 19 of 20 people sentenced under the law are black or Latino because far more area in dense cities is covered. And they say it would save the state much-needed cash, with almost one in five inmates now serving mandatory drug sentences. [continues 799 words]
Student athletes caught drinking or using drugs or tobacco will be given extra chances to get on the right track and return to teams in Mountain Lakes and West Morris Regional. The two districts revised their athletic codes of conduct this fall mandating student-athletes who violate the rules undergo drug and alcohol assessment by either a school's assistance counselor or a private facility in order to eventually return to a team. At least half-a-dozen local districts have in recent months taken a second look at their athletic codes of conduct, which hold students accountable for their behavior both in and out of school. [continues 690 words]
To the Editor: Your column ("Brave call on marijuana from Carroll, Pennacchio," Fred Snowflack column, Feb. 25) in support of the medical marijuana legislation which passed the Senate on Feb. 23 highlights the need for the Assembly Health Committee to post Assembly Bill No. 804, the Compassionate Use Act, for a hearing as soon as possible. Seriously ill people in New Jersey can't wait any longer for the Assembly to move this important bill to the governor's desk. Each year thousands of New Jerseyans are diagnosed with life threatening illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis. The symptoms and suffering caused by these illnesses can be devastating; especially when for some patients, currently available medicines do not offer relief. For these patients, medical marijuana may offer hope for relief from terrible symptoms such as pain, nausea, loss of appetite and wasting. [continues 141 words]
Men Spared Prison; Long Valley Roommate Was Growing Marijuana Two former Long Valley residents who were charged in February, along with a third roommate, with running a marijuana harvesting operation in their attic were spared prison sentences Friday by a judge who gave them probation, community service and ordered them to write essays. Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan ordered John Coates III of Great Meadows and John A. O'Connell of Succasunna, both 24, to read "Judgment at Nuremberg," a 1957 play by Abby Mann that was adapted into the Academy Award-winning 1961 film about Nazi war criminals brought to justice for their crimes against humanity. [continues 470 words]
Kahli Murphy of Parsippany has always been a hard-working man. When he played defensive tackle for the 1996 Dover High School Tigers, the state champion football squad, he was a hard-working player. When he works a job in a restaurant, he tries to be the best employee there. And when he was a junkie, he tried to be the best addict he could be. "My addiction was 'more,'" Murphy said. "That was the underlying malady. Whatever I could get my hands on at the time, I wanted more." [continues 1266 words]
