GreenSurfer
Well-Known Member
For nearly two decades, Ken Wolski the executive director of the Lawrence-based Coalition for Medical Marijuana has been pushing for New Jersey to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.
Mr. Wolskis wish came true Monday as the state Assembly and the state Senate approved the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to sign the legislation into law this week before leaving office.
Once the bill is signed into law, New Jersey will become the 14th state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. The other states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
New Jersey has the distinction, however, of being the only state among the 14 states that forbids home cultivation of medical marijuana. The drug must be obtained through a state-authorized alternative treatment center, Mr. Wolski said.
I feel great. This bill has been five years in the making. I have been working on this (bill) for a long time, said Mr. Wolski, who is a registered nurse. The bill originally was introduced in January 2005 by state Sen. Nick Scutari, he added.
The bill approved this week removes the penalties for the possession and use of up to 2 ounces of marijuana when a New Jersey-licensed physician recommends it for one of the qualifying medical conditions, Mr. Wolski said. Those medical conditions include cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Crohns disease.
Marijuana is a safe, effective medicine for a wide variety of diseases and conditions. We are all only one diagnosis away from needing it, Mr. Wolski said.
Under the new law, the physician must have an ongoing responsibility for the patients care, Mr. Wolski said. Patients will be issued ID cards by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.
Patients may designate a caregiver to assist them with obtaining and using the marijuana. The caregiver also must register with the DHSS. The marijuana may be obtained from alternative treatment centers, which will be set up in the north, central and southern parts of the state, Mr. Wolski said.
Initially, there will be two centers in each region, he said. The centers will be regulated by the DHSS and the state Department of Law and Public Safety, which will monitor the amount of marijuana dispensed at the centers.
Mr. Wolski said he became sensitized to the medical uses of marijuana about 15 years ago after he met James Burton, who had fled the United States for Holland after serving a one-year prison sentence for growing marijuana. The Dutch allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes.
The two men met in a coffee shop while Mr. Wolski was on vacation in Holland. They struck up a conversation, and Mr. Burton explained he had discovered marijuana was useful in combating his glaucoma, Mr. Wolski said. Intrigued by that information, Mr. Wolski said he researched the topic.
Mr. Wolski became acquainted with Jim and Cheryl Miller, of Silverton, in 2002. Ms. Miller, who had multiple sclerosis, used marijuana to cope with painful muscle spasms. Shortly before Ms. Miller died in 2003, Mr. Miller and Mr. Wolski joined forces and organized the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey.
(The coalition) is grateful that the legislators finally acknowledged that marijuana is medicine, and that patients in New Jersey who use it with a doctors recommendation should not fear arrest and imprisonment, Mr. Wolski said.
Mr. Wolskis wish came true Monday as the state Assembly and the state Senate approved the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to sign the legislation into law this week before leaving office.
Once the bill is signed into law, New Jersey will become the 14th state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. The other states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
New Jersey has the distinction, however, of being the only state among the 14 states that forbids home cultivation of medical marijuana. The drug must be obtained through a state-authorized alternative treatment center, Mr. Wolski said.
I feel great. This bill has been five years in the making. I have been working on this (bill) for a long time, said Mr. Wolski, who is a registered nurse. The bill originally was introduced in January 2005 by state Sen. Nick Scutari, he added.
The bill approved this week removes the penalties for the possession and use of up to 2 ounces of marijuana when a New Jersey-licensed physician recommends it for one of the qualifying medical conditions, Mr. Wolski said. Those medical conditions include cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Crohns disease.
Marijuana is a safe, effective medicine for a wide variety of diseases and conditions. We are all only one diagnosis away from needing it, Mr. Wolski said.
Under the new law, the physician must have an ongoing responsibility for the patients care, Mr. Wolski said. Patients will be issued ID cards by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.
Patients may designate a caregiver to assist them with obtaining and using the marijuana. The caregiver also must register with the DHSS. The marijuana may be obtained from alternative treatment centers, which will be set up in the north, central and southern parts of the state, Mr. Wolski said.
Initially, there will be two centers in each region, he said. The centers will be regulated by the DHSS and the state Department of Law and Public Safety, which will monitor the amount of marijuana dispensed at the centers.
Mr. Wolski said he became sensitized to the medical uses of marijuana about 15 years ago after he met James Burton, who had fled the United States for Holland after serving a one-year prison sentence for growing marijuana. The Dutch allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes.
The two men met in a coffee shop while Mr. Wolski was on vacation in Holland. They struck up a conversation, and Mr. Burton explained he had discovered marijuana was useful in combating his glaucoma, Mr. Wolski said. Intrigued by that information, Mr. Wolski said he researched the topic.
Mr. Wolski became acquainted with Jim and Cheryl Miller, of Silverton, in 2002. Ms. Miller, who had multiple sclerosis, used marijuana to cope with painful muscle spasms. Shortly before Ms. Miller died in 2003, Mr. Miller and Mr. Wolski joined forces and organized the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey.
(The coalition) is grateful that the legislators finally acknowledged that marijuana is medicine, and that patients in New Jersey who use it with a doctors recommendation should not fear arrest and imprisonment, Mr. Wolski said.