N.J. TEACHING HOSPITALS CAMPAIGN TO BE SOLE DISPENSERS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

TRENTON -- New Jersey's teaching hospitals are campaigning to be the
sole dispensers of medical marijuana in the state by touting their
secure buildings, connection to patients, and "legitimacy" in the
community, according to a proposal obtained by The Star-Ledger.

The New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals' pitch is the leading
proposal Gov. Chris Christie's administration is considering as it
wrestles with implementing the controversial law within the next six
months, said state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), one of the law's sponsors.

"The program not only will make New Jersey a model for the nation in
how to implement a safe and sane medical marijuana program, it could
bring significant new dollars to the teaching hospitals to fund
graduate medical education therein addressing New Jersey's physician
manpower shortage," according to the proposal.

The plan assumes Rutgers University's School of Environmental and
Biological Sciences would be the lone farmer supplying the marijuana
crop to the 16 largest of the 40 teaching hospitals. They would
include Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick,
Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, and University Hospital
in Newark, according to the proposal.

The patients registered by the hospital would place orders online and
pick them up at the in-house pharmacy. The product itself would be
sold in prescription pill bottles, with specific strains like "White
Widow" and "AK-47" renamed to eliminate reference to "pot culture
terminology," the proposal said.

J. Richard Goldstein, a physician and the council's executive
director, said the proposal would benefit chronically-ill patients,
many of whom rely on hospital clinics, as well as the state, "which
is rightly concerned about abuse. We already handle all classes of
legal drugs so this is no different."

The teaching hospitals also stand to gain "a significant funding
source" to invest in training new doctors, Goldstein said.

The council released a report earlier this year saying New Jersey is
facing a shortage of nearly 3,000 family doctors and specialists in
the next decade because the state has a reputation of being a
"hostile" place to run a practice.

"All proceeds would be dedicated to improving the physician supply or
for research" demonstrating how the cannabis plant best reduces pain,
muscle spasms, nausea and other debilitating symptoms, the report said.

But before the proposal can gain any traction, it must win the
support of Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) and Assemblyman Reed
Gusciora (D-Mercer), who sponsored the original law and would need to
amend or draft new legislation. The law calls for six nonprofits to
grow and dispense the drug as decided by a competitive regulatory
process overseen by the state Department of Health and Senior Services.

The changes Christie envisions would exclude involvement by
entrepreneurs and the economic benefits many communities have reaped
in California and Colorado.

Scutari said he likes the concept but he feels uncomfortable with the
monopoly the state would be handing Rutgers and the hospitals.
Scutari said he would consider drafting legislation that would give
Rutgers and the hospitals first dibs on the program and allow other
entities to join the market perhaps two years later.

"I don't like it being a monopoly forever," Scutari said.

He also worries the teaching hospitals might be located in some areas
that might be hard for patients to reach.

But Scutari does favor the idea's association with doctors and
research. "If you allow it to come from a single source, you can
gauge impact in a scientific way, and make recommendations for
dosage," Scutari said.

Goldstein said he would agree to ending the monopoly, but hopes the
legislators give a longer window, perhaps five years, to allow
hospitals to recoup some of the money invested in the operation,
creating the web site or purchases in technology.

Even after the state designs its medical marijuana plans, the
planning is far from done. The hospitals and the university would
need permission by the federal government to possess and dispense
what is still an illegal drug.

A number of federal agencies "could easily make it impossible for us
to stay in business," according to the proposal.

Michael Drewniak, Christie's spokesman, declined to discuss the
council's proposal.

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA: COMING TO A HOSPITAL NEAR YOU?

The New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals is proposing that
medical marijuana be dispensed from the 16 largest teaching hospitals
in New Jersey once a new law takes effect. Here's where that would
happen if the plan is approved by Gov. Chris Christie and lawmakers.

North: Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack; Jersey City
Medical Center, Jersey City; Morristown Memorial Hospital,
Morristown; Mountainside Hospital, Montclair; Newark Beth Israel
Medical Center, Newark; Overlook Hospital, Summit; Saint Barnabas
Medical Center, Livingston; Saint Joseph's Regional Medical Center,
Paterson; Saint Michael's Medical Center, Newark; University Hospital, Newark.

Central: Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune; Monmouth Medical
Center, Long Branch; Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center,
New Brunswick; Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick.

South: Cooper University Medical Center, Camden; Kennedy Memorial
Hospital, Stratford.

Source: "A Model for the Nation," N.J. Council of Teaching Hospitals.