May 18, 2012

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAWSUIT FILED OVER FAILED NJ MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM

April 4, 2012 By Chris Goldstein Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 4, 2012

ATTORNEYS WILLIAM H. BUCKMAN AND ANNE M. DAVIS

CONTACT: Anne Davis Esq. 732 477 4700, William Buckman Esq. 856 608 9797 or Chris Goldstein 267 702 3731

CONSTITUTIONAL LAWSUIT FILED OVER FAILED NJ MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM

Trenton- Today a lawsuit was filed against the State of New Jersey over the failure to implement the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Named in the suit are the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Commissioner Mary O’Dowd and the newly appointed director of the Medicinal Marijuana Program John O’Brien.

Civil rights attorneys William H. Buckman of Moorestown and Anne M. Davis of Brick brought the suit on behalf of a New Jersey medical patient who would qualify for cannabis access. The suit also represents one of the few medical doctors who have registered with NJ to recommend medical marijuana.

The compassionate use law was passed in January 2010 with a six-month implementation timeline. But since 2010 a series of politically motivated regulatory, legislative and bureaucratic delays have kept the program from operating at all. None of the six approved Alternative Treatment Centers have been fully permitted by DHSS to open.

“We represent a patient who suffered actual damages as a result of these delays,” said Anne Davis, “He cannot utilize the cannabis because New Jersey’s lack of a working program means he could lose his disability pension if he tested positive for cannabis.”

Davis continued, “Our neighbors with AIDS, cancer, MS and the worst of medical conditions have testified before the legislature and changed the law. Now, patients and doctors have to go to court to win the rights that they should have already been afforded.”

The lawsuit gathers more than two years of facts demonstrating that those in charge of the implementation process for New Jersey’s medical marijuana program have been unable or unwilling to put the law into place.

“Today we are filing suit to require the DHHS to do what every other citizen must do – follow the law,” said William Buckman, “We are also insisting that pursuant to the legislature’s will, sick people have access to medical marijuana without fear of arrest.”

For more information about this advisory please contact Anne M. Davis Esq. 732 477 4700, William H. Buckman Esq. 856 608 9797 or Chris Goldstein 267 702 3731

 

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NJ Gov Chris Christie Plays Medical Marijuana Doctor on Radio

March 1, 2012 By Chris Goldstein 2 Comments

3/1/2012 - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took calls and emails on NJ 101.5 last night. One of the emails asked if he would consider clemency for medical marijuana patient John Ray Wilson. In his answer Christie relied heavily on a report from his Counsel’s office.

Apparently, just one briefing from his in-house attorneys was enough to make Governor Christie an expert on the proper amounts of medical marijuana for patients and the complex disease of multiple sclerosis.

Here’s a transcript of the exchange:

NJ 101.5 - [John Ray Wilson]  was caught growing marijuana in Somerset county.  He suffers from MS …says he was growing for it for his own use for his symptoms. There was nothing really presented governor that would indicate that this guy was a drug dealer….he’s in jail for 5 years… do you disagree with that?

Christie –I do. And I’ve been briefed..

NJ 101.5 – You think John Ray Wilson was a drug dealer?

Christie –This is what I believe…I believe John Ray Wilson… that there are a lot of questions that have yet been answered about John Ray Wilson’s activity. The amount of pot that he was growing was well beyond the amount of pot you would need for medicinal use for yourself. Um yaaa know… His diagnosis um has been has brought into question…to whether he really does have MS or not. Umm I asked my counsel’s office which I said at one of my town hall meetings to review this umm and I’m not gonna talk about all the things that they raised with me. But I will tell you that based on the things that they raised with me and the report, the briefing that they gave me that I am not inclined to give any clemency to John Ray Wilson.

NJ 101.5 – So as far as you’re concerned that’s a dead issue?

Christie – I mean unless something new comes up I think he’s gotta go to jail – And stay there.

Full video from NJ101.5 here.

Prosecutors attempted to bring Wilson’s MS diagnosis into question during his trial but were unsuccessful. When he was jailed in 2010, before being released pending appeal, prison authorities set up medical treatments for Wilson’s MS symptoms.

John Wilson was prosecuted by the New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General. Usually such marijuana cultivation cases are prosecuted by the municipality.

Ken Wolski is a registered nurse an executive director of The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey. Wolski has been helping Wilson with his case since it began.

“On 1/26/12 I faxed to NJ Dept. of Corrections Commissioner Gary Lanigan a copy of Mr. Wilson’s most recent MRI,” Wolski said, “This MRI clearly documents the progressive nature of his MS lesions, and is entirely consistent with his clinical symptoms.”

John Ray Wilson’s family allowed Freedomisgreen.com to review his latest MRI report. Performed on 12/1/2011 it states the following:

“The lesions are considerably more extensive than that seen in 2002. Findings are consistent with demyelinating disease as can be found in patients with multiple sclerosis.”

Wolski also pointed out that there were experts willing to come forward in this case, “Dr. Denis Petro, a Board Certified Neurologist stands ready to testify to Wilson’s diagnosis and marijuana’s usefulness for it, but Dr. Petro’s testimony was not allowed by the trial judge.”

The amount of medical marijuana patients are allowed varies from state to state. At the time Wilson cultivated the seventeen plants there was no medical marijuana law in New Jersey. He grew the plants outdoors so there may have been some reasonable planning for the crop to last into the next year’s growing season.

Wolski had this to say about the not-so-transparent briefing from the Governor’s Counsel: “Gathering secret information on citizens is no way to make a decision about whether or not they received justice in a courtroom.”

On February 16, 2012 the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee passed a resolution urging Governor Christie to grant John Ray Wilson clemency. SCR89 could still go to the Senate floor for a vote in March.

 

CMMNJ – http://www.cmmnj.org

Support John Ray Wilson on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-John-Ray-Wilson-New-Jersey-MS-Patient/104540271138

CALL or TWEET to Governor Chris Christie 609-292-6000 or @GovChristie – ask him to “Pardon medical marijuana patient John Ray Wilson!”

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

IMPORTANT - Full Text: Department of Justice Memo on Medical Marijuana

Freedom Buzz

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com


 

 

 

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Medical Marijuana Activists Set to Destroy DEA Ruling

February 16, 2012 By Chris Goldstein 3 Comments

2/16/2012 – Activists are preparing to gather at the Federal building in Trenton today to destroy a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ruling as part of a national medical marijuana protest. Members of NORML-NJ and The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey will shred a copy of The Federal Register Vol. 76 No.131 dated July 8, 2011. The document contains the DEA’s most recent denial of a petition to reschedule marijuana.

Thursday’s protest is organized by Americans for Safe Access and is taking place in cities across the country. Portland, Maine is another East Coast city participating in the “Rally for Safe Access.”

The Schedule I status under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 is the reason that marijuana is prohibited. Schedule I drugs are described as having “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States;” and lack “accepted safety for use under medical supervision;” and, have “a high potential for abuse.”

In the past 40 years voluminous criminal code has since been created at the federal and state level to enforce the Schedule I prohibition of cannabis. Suffering the worst part of this continued effort are seriously ill Americans. They live in fear of losing their lives not just to their disease, but to prison because they find relief from a medication that remains illegal.

Advocacy groups including NORML and MAPS petitioned the DEA for many years seeking to move cannabis to another schedule. The most recent denial last summer culminated a process that the DEA under several presidents, obfuscated for more than a decade.

There are two important factors in the re-scheduling debate. The first is a 1972 report entitled “Marijuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding.” Commissioned by President Nixon and Congress it was crafted by former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond Shafer who lead a group that spent almost two years on the issue. Their final recommendation was that cannabis should not be regulated under the CSA or prohibited with criminal laws.

“The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only ‘with the greatest reluctance.”

The second important factor is a ruling from an Administrative Law Judge within the DEA. In 1986 Francis L. Young said that “Marijuana is one of “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. (T)he provisions of the (Controlled Substances) Act permit and require the transfer of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II.”

In ’72 and again in ’86 the Executive Branch tossed aside serious and well-thought recommendations about cannabis policy. Instead of considering solid information millions of Americans have been arrested, trillions of tax dollars spent and untold lives lost or ruined.

Modern science that investigates the natural plant and its component cannabinoids continues to re-verify the tremendous medical benefits of cannabis. The reality is that marijuana is used as a medicine every day by millions of seriously ill Americans – legal or not. That’s why medical marijuana activists say the DEA ruling is good for nothing but shredding and recycling.

More on the ASA rally locations: http://americansforsafeaccess.org/article.php?id=7062

More the CMMNJ Trenton action: http://cmmnj.blogspot.com

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com

 

 

 

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New Jersey: Camden Will Consider Medical Marijuana Centers at Land-Use Hearing

February 6, 2012 By Chris Goldstein Leave a Comment

2/6/2012 – A zoning hearing will be held before the Land-Use Board of Camden New Jersey on Monday February 6, 2012. These are normally rather dull meetings but on the agenda this week is a variance to allow one of the six state-approved medical marijuana Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs). Several municipalities around the state have already turned down the facilities. This has left the Garden State medical cannabis law completely stalled as none of the ATCs can find a home.

But in Camden there are some new factors to the attempt that could yield a different outcome. Instead of one of the multi-million dollar ATCs seeking permission this time it is an individual going before the local zoning board.  Frank Fulbrook has owned property in Camden since the 1960’s. He is also a local activist and a meticulous scholar. This writer interviewed Fulbrook in 2007 after he mapped all of the open-air drug markets in Camden – a rather large and risky task.

Fulbrook is considered an expert in the local planning code; he actually sat on Camden’s Land-Use Board for many years. Now Fulbrook has partnered up with a friend who owns a warehouse, they will seek the zoning approval on their own and then lease the space to one of the ATCs. Rather than coming in from outside the community asking to open such an innovative business Fulbrook and his partner are super-locals, which should give them a much better shot.

Even with all of these ducks in a row there are other factors. If you have never been to New Jersey you have still probably heard of Camden. The city sits across the Delaware River from Philadelphia and remains a sore spot in the state. Yes there are happy seals barking from the gleaming NJ Aquarium, a bustling Rutgers Campus and some strips of success. But recent budget cuts have escalated the violence and blight across 95% of the already impoverished community.

Governor Chris Christie and the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) have severely altered the plans for the cannabis program. Among the buffet of new restrictions was the elimination of the provisions that allowed for the home delivery of  NJ’s medicinal cannabis. This means that patients or their designated caregiver must visit the ATCs in person. Although Camden is centrally located and has ample connections to public transportation, seriously ill NJ residents may not want to venture into the dangerous city for their legal marijuana.

Another interesting note is that half of the Camden police force was recently laid off. This has led to a sharp increase in the presence of federal agents – mainly in the Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA. If the ATC is approved in Camden there may be some friction between a warehouse growing marijuana for half of South Jersey’s patients and the DEA.

Still Fulbrook is hopeful for success, “This is a good place for one of these Alternative Treatment Centers. It’s the largest population concentration in South Jersey and all roads lead to Camden. It’s hub of highways and mass transit. But there are people right in Camden that have serious medical problems like HIV/AIDS …there are a lot of people right here who can benefit from marijuana as medicine. And this can create jobs.”

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) is planning to have advocates at the hearing to testify.

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com

 

 


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PA Congressional Hopeful Supports Marijuana Reform and Occupy Philadelphia

February 3, 2012 By Chris Goldstein 1 Comment

Marijuana reform signs at Occupy Philadelphia 10/10/2011 - Photo by Chris Goldstein

2/2/2012 - A progressive activist is getting national attention after announcing his run for US Congress in Pennsylvania’s 13th District. Nathan Kleinman, 29, is seeking the Democratic nomination from incumbent Allyson Schwartz. Kleinman has been consistently involved with Occupy Philadelphia on the front lines of many protest actions and in the General Assembly process.

Some of of Kleinman’s talking points as a potential candidate include ending marijuana prohibition and re-thinking the drug war.

A recent Times-Herald article pointed out:

Kleinman said he plans to stump on civil liberties issues, including marriage equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans, and advocates complete decriminalization of marijuana and drug policy reform. He said Schwartz has let down her constituents by being silent on topics that matter. read full

No stranger to politics, Kleinman worked on several high-profile campaigns and did a stint as a legislative assistant for a PA state representative. Still, this is his first run for office.

Freedomisgreen.com caught up with Nate yesterday; he was brimming with excitement while planning the next steps for the campaign. “It was really amazing when  the first people came out to sign the petition…there’s so much support. That’s why we’re going to win this.”

More info at –  http://www.nateforcongress.com/ on Twitter @nateforcongress

 

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

IMPORTANT - Full Text: Department of Justice Memo on Medical Marijuana

Freedom Buzz

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com



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NJ Gov Christie Last Hope for Medical Marijuana Patient

January 26, 2012 By Chris Goldstein 2 Comments

John Wilson (left) and Jim Miller in New Jersey

1/26/2012 - Living with multiple sclerosis has never been easy for John Ray Wilson. It will get even tougher tomorrow when he goes to jail. Like thousands of MS patients around the country John found that marijuana helped relieve his condition. But without healthcare and unable to afford medical quality cannabis on the streets Wilson grew seventeen marijuana plants behind his Franklin Township home in 2008.

Every resource in the State of New Jersey has been thrown at John from helicopters to aggressive prosecutors. This week the NJ Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeal. So at 8:30AM on 1/27  John will surrender himself at the Somerset County Courthouse to serve the remainder of his 5-year prison sentence.

This afternoon John was at home with his family, putting his affairs in order and preparing for a dinner out with friends. He was convicted just before the New Jersey medical marijuana law was passed in 2010.

“I’ve almost given up hope. I mean it’s been 2 years and there’s no patients even registered yet,” Wilson lamented.

The medical marijuana program, administered by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), has struggled under heavy regulations.

“When I do finally get out,” Wilson asks, allowing only the smallest hope in his voice, “can I have my medicine?”

Not only is the NJ marijuana program still on paper but those in prison cannot access the state-legal medicinal cannabis at all. Those on probation or parole may have a difficult time as well. Drug testing is often standard practice. Qualifying residents, even those with conditions like AIDS or MS, might still get into trouble for being a registered medical marijuana patient and testing positive for THC.

“John Ray Wilson exemplifies the fact the NJ has some of the most retroactive, ill-advised draconian marijuana laws in the country,” said civil rights attorney William Buckman who represented Wilson in the appeal.

“The notion that taxpayers should pay to lock up a sick man for 5 years is ludicrous and tragic,” said Buckman,”The governor should quickly commute his sentence.”

Governor Chris Christie could intervene. State Senator Raymond Lesniak issued a press release yesterday also renewing that call:

“I am disappointed by the recent decision of the Supreme Court to deny the appeal of John Ray Wilson. Mr. Wilson was not selling drugs on our streets. He was merely trying to alleviate the symptoms of a dreadfully painful and regressive disease. It is unconscionable that this Friday he will be behind bars.

“Three years ago, I called on Governor Corzine to commute the sentence of Mr. Wilson. After inaction with the last governor, I was hopeful Governor Christie would better understand the unfair reality of this situation. Unfortunately, Governor Christie has been just like Governor Corzine, refusing to use his and only his power to make things right when the true intentions of the law were misapplied.”

Wilson’s family, fellow patients and medical marijuana advocates plan to rally at the Somerset County Courthouse as John arrives on Friday morning.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) has been keeping up demonstrations in support of John since his original trial. The group plans to hold solidarity events for Wilson while he is in prison.

John Wilson’s case has symbolized the ongoing plight of New Jersey’s medical cannabis patients.

CMMNJ – http://www.cmmnj.org

Support John Ray Wilson on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-John-Ray-Wilson-New-Jersey-MS-Patient/104540271138

CALL or TWEET to Governor Chris Christie 609-292-6000 or @GovChristie – ask him to “Pardon medical marijuana patient John Ray Wilson!”

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

IMPORTANT - Full Text: Department of Justice Memo on Medical Marijuana

Freedom Buzz

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com


 

 

 

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Five Ways To Get Medical Marijuana Working in New Jersey

January 16, 2012 By Chris Goldstein 1 Comment

cmmnjsign

Medical marijuana sign by activist Jim Miller on the steps of the NJ State House- *photo by Diane Fornbacher

COMMENTARY from Chris Goldstein 1/15/2012 – It has been two years since the compassionate use law passed in New Jersey. There was some hope in Trenton that day. But now there have only been delays, basement hearings and promises broken.  Not a single sprout of legal marijuana yet.

Terminal patients we work with die off while chronic patients constantly scour the underground market for medical-quality cannabis. Sadly, these patients who risk arrest every day can only expect to have better choices on the streets even if the state-authorized Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) eventually open their doors.

Governor Chris Christie and his administration have attempted to experiment with every aspect of the medical marijuana program. Politicians, bureaucrats and businesspeople (in typical Jersey style) have over-indulged the Executive Branch. A pot monopoly for Rutgers; calling in the Feds; the granite wall of regulatory authority – We’ve seen it all. The end result is a failure to fully implement the law.

Among advocates there is talk of some options to truly jump-start the program for patients. In a more perfect Garden State here’s how the Governor, the Legislature and the respective state agencies could work towards a law that seriously ill residents still desperately need.

Stop the doctor registry and start the Patient Registry

Part of the regulations issued by the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) require the nation’s first registry for physicians. Only these listed docs are allowed by the state to recommend medical marijuana. Doctors, nurses, medical professionals and patients testified many times in Trenton last year as to the problems with this structure. No similar requirement is mandated for drugs like morphine. Opened in October 2010 just 109 doctors have signed up out of almost 30,000 that practice in New Jersey.

But the patient registry was never opened. This means that seriously ill individuals have no legal protections related to marijuana. Unfortunately residents with qualifying medical conditions are still part of the more than 26,000 marijuana arrests in NJ each year.

The regulations currently require that patients have a registered physician and choose one of the six ATCs to even apply for the patient registry card.  But the doctor registry list is not being made public by DHSS and none of the ATCs have opened. This leaves patients with no options. The unique and problematic physician registry could be discontinued or suspended in favor of a streamlined process for DHSS to begin issuing the patient registry cards. Patients could then be offered the legal protections that the state has long promised. The changes required are procedural language changes within the regulations. The logistics of actually issuing the cards to patients is relatively easy.

In other words: Can we stop treating medical pot as if it were highly addictive, radioactive machine gun bullets?

Grant Patients Immunity

If they could have the registry cards then patients could be offered immediate immunity from arrest and prosecution for possessing up to two ounces of marijuana. (Two ounces is the monthly supply allowed under the law – the lowest in the nation.) The current regulations only protect a registered NJ patient if their marijuana product was purchased at an authorized ATC. But the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act already includes guidelines for appropriate possession and use. This could be generally applied to any marijuana, especially during this extended time that the ATCs have not been able to open. Such immunity would free the police, courts, doctors, patients and their families from having to continue dealing with an expensive and senseless criminality. Again this would only take a few changes to the regulations. This legal protection for seriously ill residents was the core intent of the compassionate use law.

In other words: Can we please finally just follow one simple rule – stop putting handcuffs on sick and dying people for having a few joints?

Allow home cultivation

New Jersey passed the first compassionate use law in the country that did not include provisions for patients or their caregivers to grow cannabis. Language to allow micro-plots of up to 6 plants was stripped away from the legislation at the last minute by the Assembly Health Committee. The vision for the program was that seriously ill residents would rely on the regional Alternative Treatment Centers for all of their marijuana. But NJDHSS and the six hand-picked ATC operators have struggled to open leaving NJ patients with no marijuana at all. The regulations from the Christie Administration further restricted the choices patients would have in their therapy. The far-reaching rules limit THC to just 10%, exclude edible preparations other than lozenges and limit each ATC to growing just three strains of cannabis.

Americans enjoy an array of consumer choices in their medical care, from their professionals to their products. But qualifying NJ residents do not currently have any cannabis, let alone a variety. Patients should have access to the strengths, strains and delivery methods that provide the best relief. Amending the NJ compassionate use law to include the original language allowing patients and caregivers to cultivate small plots of cannabis would lift the immediate barrier on patient access.  It would also give patients and doctors greater security in knowing that cannabis therapy will be tailored for specific patient needs.

In other words: The freaking US Department of Justice –THE Feds – even have a more lenient policy on individual patients growing their own compared to NJ…wtf??

Educate doctors, patients and medical professionals

New drugs and medical therapies are often marketed by for-profit companies. There are TV ads, billboards and suit-clad representatives visiting doctors’ offices with free pens and notepads. Think about the approach taken for profit-pills like Viagra. But medical marijuana in New Jersey (as it is in many states) is a not-for-profit enterprise and does not have a slick general marketing campaign. Although the six NJ Alternative Treatment Centers have tens-of-millions of dollars in start-up capital they have not planned to use any of it on public or professional awareness at this time.

The NJDHSS, Board of Medical Examiners, NJ Medical Society, State Nurses Association and other groups could fill in this information vacuum. These groups could hold seminars, compile relevant cannabis information into a statewide public journal and publish education materials. This would help residents, towns and medical professionals benefit from the medical cannabis program.

In other words: How hard would it be to go out there and talk about all of the amazing clinical research on cannabis and cannabinoids? Speaking from some experience, it might even be a little fun…

Advocate to local townships and municipalities

Politicians and state agencies could easily educate townships as to the benefits and details of the Medicinal Marijuana Program. Presentations or panels could be run during events like the League of Municipalities conference. Awareness events like Town Hall Meetings on the topic could be run by the Governor, DHSS or supporting elected officials. They could invite some of the dozens of qualifying residents, hospice nurses, doctors or other advocates who testified with solid information on the topic to speak with them or address questions.

Eighty-six percent of NJ residents support the medical marijuana law – this is the greatest level of support for any legislation in NJ. But there is a lack of information about the nuts-and-bolts of how the law is supposed to work or who it serves. Just like any other new program, the medical marijuana issue deserves the full effort of the state. Towns and municipalities deserve the tools to make effective decisions about the ATCs and their local patient population. Local governments have a special responsibility for this program, as these ATCs must serve an entire region of patients from their local base of operations.

In other words: At our Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey information booth at the NJ League of Municipalities Conference  the most common question we get about medical marijuana (we clock hundreds of these per day; no kidding)  “Do you have any free samples?”

Final Note

There really is only one way forward for New Jersey’s program: Governor Christie and the new state MMP director John O’Brien need to meet with qualifying medical marijuana patients. Listening to them, face to face, about what they need for the law to work is the best path to success.

Chris Goldstein is on the Board of Directors at The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey and NORML- NJ. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com

 

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

 

 

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Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens in Maine

January 11, 2012 By Chris Goldstein Leave a Comment

from maine.gov's medical cannabis section

1/11/2012 - Wellness Connection of Maine opened their facility in Hallowell this week and has permits to open two more facilities this year. When fully operational the group will be the largest medical marijuana provider in the state.

WGME reported yesterday:

Mayor Charlotte Warren says she’s heard no complaints about this dispensary locating in Hallowell.  The mayor says “They’ve met with our Chief of Police, they’ve met with the city manager.  I feel very confident that they run a tight ship.  They know what they’re doing.  And I don’t have concerns about that.” read more

There are only eight permits for medical marijuana dispensaries in Maine. The limits created fierce competition. Berkeley Patients Group of California spun off an arm called Northeast Patients Group to get a piece of the new market but eventually internal relationships went sour. Controversy over start-up funding and business interests became public after a lawsuit last year.

Former NBA player Cutino Mobley tried for a marijuana dispensary license in Rhode Island. Then he turned up some funding for the Northeast operation in Maine. With the new money and name Wellness Connection weathered the lawsuit by the former backers in California and moved ahead.

Still their plans are to operate the first year at a significant financial loss.

In July estimates filed with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the group said it expected to serve 540 patients and lose $1.75 million. read more

From a patient perspective Maine has one of the most robust medical cannabis programs in the country. Home cultivation is allowed and so are caregivers, who maintain a solid network. Last year the Medical Marijuana Patient Privacy Protection Act passed making registration with the state voluntary and preventing municipalities from over-regulating medical cannabis.

The dispensaries in Maine are seen as a compliment to overall patient access and not as the sole-source for medical marijuana.

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com

 

 

 

 

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New Jersey: 109 Doctors Register for Medical Marijuana

January 11, 2012 By Chris Goldstein 1 Comment

1/11/2012 - A spokesperson at the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), Donna Leusner, said that there are one hundred and nine physicians registered with the state’s medicinal marijuana program.  This is an increase of just nineteen since the last check on the list in June 2011.

The Garden State is requiring the nation’s first registry for doctors who wish to recommend cannabis therapy. The separate registry for seriously ill patients is not open yet. Qualifying NJ patients do not have any protection from arrest or prosecution if they are caught with marijuana.

The finalized regulations for the “Medicinal Marijuana Program” were released by NJDHSS in December 2011. The doctor registry was not written into the law, but it is part of these new regulations. Patients, scientists, doctors, nurses and medical professionals testified several times before Legislative and DHSS hearings that the registry was unnecessary and contained requirements that would discourage participation.

Ken Wolski, a registered nurse and Executive Director of The Coalition  for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) wrote about the chilling effect of the registry.

” The physician registration program is even more limiting. A new requirement says that physicians must certify that they have completed medical education in Addiction Medicine and Pain Management within the past two years. Physicians must include the course title that covers these two areas, or they will be rejected from the registry.

This is a curious add-on. Marijuana is approximately as addictive as caffeine. Physicians should not be required to take a course in addiction medicine for recommending a substance with documented low addiction potential.” read full

The former DHSS Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh testified before the NJ Senate Health Committee in March 2011 that no similar requirements existed for doctors dispensing other drugs, even narcotics like morphine.

There are more than 28,000 physicians in New Jersey. The low number of registered doctors participating in the cannabis registry so far is seen as a problem by advocates and patients. The NJ Board of Medical Examiners, The NJ Department of Consumer Affairs and DHSS are tasked with providing information to doctors about the cannabis program.

The physician registry for medical cannabis began in October 2010. The list of the registered doctors is currently not public, leaving many patients wondering how they will access the program when or if it becomes operational. DHSS spokesperson Donna Leusner said that the possibility of publishing the doctor list is “under review.”

Two years after the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law, the controversial physician registry is the only part of the NJ program that appears to be online.

None of the six Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) that will grow and dispense the cannabis have received their final permits from the state. Several have recently failed in their bids for municipal land-use variances. This means that there is no legal marijuana available in New Jersey.

The severely restrictive regulations have put qualifying residents in a Catch-22: Until one of the ATCs actually opens their doors the specially qualified doctors will not be able to register patients with the state.

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com

 

 

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New York City Marijuana Arrests Still Highest in Nation

December 8, 2011 By Chris Goldstein Leave a Comment

Empire State NORML logo

12/8/2011 - New York City has the distinction of performing more marijuana arrests than anywhere else in the country; over 50,000 each year. This is almost double the annual arrests in the entire state of New Jersey and flies in the face of a New York State decriminalization law passed in 1979.

Reuter’s news service and WNYC are reporting this week that NYC Police said that arrests have dropped since September when Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly addressed the issue within the department. Kelly’s move followed intense media coverage of the racial disparity to the arrests (more than 90% are men of color) and the overly-harsh consequences of a pot arrest such as loss of parental rights.

Reuters story:

New York City police made 1,190 fewer marijuana arrests since Commissioner Raymond Kelly’s September 19 directive, compared to the same nine-week period a year ago, spokesman Paul Browne said.

A coalition of groups that has criticized the police force for its aggressive approach to marijuana possession called the numbers a “disappointing drop” and said New York City remains the “marijuana arrest capital of the world.”

“Unfortunately, these figures are cause for outrage, not celebration,” Gabriel Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance said in a statement. “In this economy, Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD are wasting millions of tax dollars by using illegal searches and false charges to sweep tens of thousands of black and Latino youth into the criminal justice system.” read more

WNYC reveals that serious issues continue with marijuana prohibition enforcement in the Big Apple:

“We are still seeing on a daily basis cases where our clients are being arrested and charged with misdemeanors where according to them, they never possessed marijuana in public view,” said Scott Levy, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders.  “They possessed it in their pocket, in their clothing.” read more

New York State legislators also took a strong step in June to bring New York City in line with the state’s existing marijuana decriminalization policy.  The new bill, SB5187/AB7620, remains active in Albany.

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

Maryjane’s Corner

Sensible Science

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris@freedomisgreen.com


 

 

 

 

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