May 18, 2012

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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

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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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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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Seniors Drive Support for New Jersey Medical Marijuana

December 5, 2011 By Chris Goldstein 1 Comment

Robert Platshorn Senior Cannabis Activist (Silver Tour) at NORMLCON 2010 - photo by NORML/David Sygall

12/5/2011 – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the entire New Jersey Legislature got a big green wake-up call from voters last week. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll found overwhelming support for medical marijuana (86%) and a majority (58%) strongly favoring the decriminalization of cannabis possession. So what is driving the continued groundswell for cannabis reform?

Freedomisgreen.com spoke with Rutgers Professor David Redlawsk, who managed the poll. Redlawsk said that the results for medical marijuana showcased unprecedented level of public support.

Asked if any other issue came close Redlawsk replied, “I don’t think we’ve run across anything that positive in any issue we have looked at… A recent example is that we’ve polled in the 70s [percent range] for what has been dubbed the ‘Millionaire’s Tax.’” [Read more...]

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New Jersey Medical Marijuana Patient Released

October 7, 2011 By Chris Goldstein Leave a Comment

John Ray Wilson in 2010

10/6/2011 - John Ray Wilson has been granted bail by the New Jersey Appellate Division pending his final appeal to the State Supreme Court. Although the New Jersey Deputy Attorney General Russell Curley requested $150,000 cash, the judge set $15,000 and allowed a posting of 10 percent.

His family moved quickly to secure Wilson’s release. In a phone call this week John said he was glad to be home, “My grandma needs a lot of help right now, so at least I can be there for her.”

In January 2010, just as the NJ medical marijuana law was passed, Wilson was convicted of growing 17 cannabis plants. Wilson lives with multiple sclerosis and without health insurance. He has always maintained that the marijuana was cultivated for his personal medical use.

This is the second time that Wilson has been incarcerated and bonded out as his case continues through the courts.

MS is one of the few recognized medical conditions under the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Cannabis treats muscle spasticity in MS patients and been shown to slow the progression of the disease.

New Jersey’s medical marijuana program remains in trouble. Delays and added restrictions imposed by Governor Chris Christie have kept state-sanctioned cannabis from being grown or distributed. Patients with qualifying conditions have only the illegal, underground market for access.

Wilson may not use cannabis while on bail and has gone back to using bee-sting therapy.

The NJ Appellate Division ruled that “manufacturing” marijuana can never be considered for personal use (medical or otherwise).

Legal observers note that granting bail may hint that the state’s highest court may take up the case.

“We think that the appellate decision is misguided,” said Wilson’s attorney William Buckman, “we are hoping that the Supreme Court will set the record straight that New Jersey doesn’t want to put sick people or simple individual marijuana users into prison at the cost of $35,000 a year.”

Read more at Freedomisgreen.com

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

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What to do During a Police “Knock and Talk”

September 26, 2011 By Beth Mann 11 Comments

Esteemed criminal defense and civil rights lawyer Bill Buckman offers up another reasons to be wary of speaking to the police, particularly if suspected of growing marijuana:

Here in NJ, police euphemistically call one of their marijuana related operations a “knock and talk”, though it can often be anything but. When police suspect that marijuana may be grown in a household, they organize multiple agencies to “respond” on a predetermined date and time to the location – a show of force. (Indeed during cross examination police have conceded that a “ knock and talk” is organized just as a forcible search warrant raid would be.)

It usually goes down like this: Police have only a mere suspicion that folks are growing marijuana in their homes. Maybe they have been tipped off by informants at a growing supply store (which, of course, sell an entire range of legal articles) or maybe the police have done an illegal drive-by thermal imaging of a house to see if heat from some kind of grow situation exists.

(As an aside, its illegal for police to do a thermal imaging scan of a home without a warrant. But if they do perform one and then intimidate the owners to “consent to a search,” the illegality often goes by the wayside, as the law will see the consent as “ curing” the illegality.)

In any event, for the “ knock and talk,” police show up in force. Some go to each entry or exit of the residence. (Query if its just a knock and talk, by virtue of what right would cops have to stop anyone from leaving the house and refusing to talk. None, really). Yet too often faced with intentional, intimidating show of force, people often “consent” to let police in their homes. At that point, cops usually talk the occupants into signing a “consent to search form” by misleading them. Once signed, the form will allow police to search all areas of the residence and every nook and cranny, totally tossing the contents about if the police wish.

The best advice to deal with a “knock and talk” is to simply not open the door and certainly not to allow police the consent to search the home. When speaking with police, one should be extremely hesitant to sign anything, like a consent from, without a lawyer present. Since police have no search warrant when conducting a knock and talk, it is not necessary to open the door. One could speak through the door if he or she wishes. Stories are legion about how, once inside the house, police allege that they smell marijuana and can then get an actual warrant.

The “knock and talk” is a bit of NJ legal schizophrenia. Because of proven abuses with racial profiling, police need a reasonable basis to even ask to search a car. But, our Supreme Court has reasoned, the home was not the site of such abuses – despite the inherently intimidating and abusive nature of the “knock and talk.”

Lastly, it bears repeating that purchasers of growing equipment, even online, have been regularly subjected to “knock and talks.” In fact, to help shed light on the issue, it would be helpful to start gathering details of “knock and talks” that netted nothing other than legal indoor growing materials.

 

Bill Buckman is hailed as one of the most skillful, tenacious and dedicated criminal-defense attorneys in New Jersey. He is also a seasoned civil rights lawyer with a comprehensive list of successful cases that have received nationwide attention. Mr. Buckman has kept a constant focus on the relationship between the individual and large organizations, particularly government. To find out more about Mr. Buckman or his services in and around Moorestown, New Jersey, please visit his website.

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