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New Jersey to Consider Legalizing Medical Marijuana
Tom Hester Jr. | Newsday | 05/09/06

TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey would become the 12th state to legalize marijuana for people with debilitating medical conditions under a bill slated to be discussed next month by state lawmakers.

Sen. Joseph Vitale, chairman of a Senate health panel, said he's scheduled a June 8 discussion to hear from experts on the bill proposed by Sen. Nicholas Scutari. Vitale said he supports the concept, but has questions.

"It's really an effort to provide some sort of relief for people and some compassion," said Vitale, D-Middlesex.

The legislation has long been proposed by Scutari, D-Union, but has never received a legislative hearing.

Though 11 states allow medical marijuana, in June 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal government can prosecute people who use marijuana no matter what a state law says.

Terrence P. Farley, an Ocean County assistant prosecutor and spokesman for two state anti-drug law enforcement groups, said the bill is a veiled attempt to legalize drugs.

"This is how they're trying to get marijuana legalized," said Farley, who also is director of the county anti-narcotics force.

Scutari said he has no hidden agenda.

"We're walking in the front door to attempt the legalization of a substance that has been utilized for pain relief for centuries," he said. "This is about compassion for people who are at their weakest or on their death beds."

The Assembly hasn't scheduled any hearings on the bill, but Gov. Jon S. Corzine said last year that he would sign a medical marijuana bill into law.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently reiterated its opposition to medical marijuana. The American Medical Association, National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society and National Multiple Sclerosis Society reject its use. An April report by federal Department of Human Services agencies found no data supported marijuana for general medical use.

The National Academy of Sciences has found marijuana can help patients with chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS wasting.

Scutari's bill lists cancer, glaucoma, HIV and AIDS, wasting syndrome, chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures and persistent muscle spasms as among the conditions eligible for medical marijuana usage.

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nornerator

Wooo Another!

Dear God I hope Michigan is next on the list for legalizing Medical Marijuana.

I feel like the movement is on a roll this year

TheNewGuy

I'm not sure whats happening myself. I mean, you have the Mexico U-turn, the FDA's statement that it still doesn't think that smoked marijuana (why the hell do all of these organizations pretend that vaporizers don't exist?) can be beneficial...then you have this, the Nevada thing and the Denver thing. I'm not sure if the movement is going forward, backward, or staying where it is.

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"Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~P.J. O'Rourke

Buzzby

Mexico's U-turn may turn into a 360º. There is an effort in the legislature to override President Fox's veto.

The response to the FDA's statement in the press has run 95% negative. Everyone is saying that it was a purely political move and had nothing to do with science. They bring up the 1970 report commissioned by Richard Nixon and the 1999 IOM report as examples of how the government simply ignores anything positive or neutral about marijuana.

I think we're making headway. I think the country is disillusioned with the Republican Party and that there will be a major turnover in the next Congressional election and the Presidential election in '08. I would hope that a new regime would be more responsive to the 80% of Americans who favor medical marijuana. Once federal law is changed to allow medical marijuana patients and suppliers an exemption from marijuana laws, more states will feel free to legalize medical marijuana.

Since pro-legalization forces don't have the money to spend on huge advertising campaigns, our best bet is to get marijuana accepted as a useful medication for many illnesses and hope that this results into a more relaxed attitude about recreational marijuana.

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nacrypt

Bingo!

Also, I think that there has been a pretty significant shift in public opinion stemming from the vote in Denver, especially among pot users who were completely unaware of the legalization process until it happened. This awareness has changed the nature of the discussion in many places.

The Mexico thing brought the issue of drug policy back to CNN and other major news sources. I think most people on this forum agree that any attention on the drug issue is good because once debate is started the position which suggests continuing marijuana prohibition indefininately becomes very hard to support. Supporters of prohibition must keep their head in the sand to say that marijuana prohibition actually accomplishes anything useful (besides police/court/jail job security).

I wish they had not included all the other drugs in the Mexican bill, because while Lou Dobbs railed on about cocaine and heroin, he did directly attack marijuana. People like marijuana! It is bigger among the youth than any trend other than the Internet and pop music, which not suprisingly, are very complementary with marijuana. The Drug Czar also said on CSPAN, "marijuana is the only drug that people publicly stand up for." Gee, I wonder why?