NEW JERSEY LAWMAKERS CONSIDER A MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

TRENTON - Lawmakers debating whether New Jersey should become the 13th
state to allow the seriously ill to use marijuana got hung up last
Thursday on how patients would acquire the illegal drug.

"I think this is a question you should ask your children," Assemblyman
Reed Gusciora said in response to a question about marijuana's
availability. "I don't mean to be flip, but marijuana is out there.
Many people obtain it."

However, several lawmakers on the Assembly health panel considering
the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act said they'd be
uncomfortable passing a bill that allows patients to possess marijuana
without also providing some way for them to buy the drug.

"We need a reliable source for people to go to," said Assemblywoman
Joan Quigley. "I don't want to send them down behind the local high
school to look for weed."

Pharmacies cannot dispense marijuana so long as it remains illegal
under federal law. In California, medical marijuana markets run the
risk of being prosecuted under federal law.

Twelve states already allow the use of medical marijuana for
chronically ill patients.

Under New Jersey's proposal, patients suffering from cancer, AIDS,
multiple sclerosis and other life-threatening illnesses would be
allowed to smoke or eat marijuana or pop marijuana pills to alleviate
their symptoms.

The measure would permit certain patients to register with the
Department of Health and Human Services to legally possess and use the
drug, which has been shown to relieve nausea from chemotherapy, muscle
spasms and chronic pain and to reverse appetite loss.

"It does not make sense for many of New Jersey's citizens to suffer
when there is a viable way to ease their pain," said Gusciora, the
Mercer County Democrat who sponsored the bill.

Gusciora said there is no evidence of increased drug use in the dozen
states that already allow for medical marijuana.

However, David Evans of the Drug-Free Schools Coalition, said allowing
marijuana for medicinal use opens the door to legalization of the drug.

"Open your minds a little here and look to see if there is some other
agenda that may be using innocent, honest people to further a
political agenda," Evans said.

Republican Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll of Morris County said
it is key for doctors to be permitted to use their judgment.

"If you can go to your doctor and get a derivative of the poppy to
treat pain, why can't you get a derivative of the cannabis plant to
treat your symptoms," Carroll asked.

"If a doctor using his or her best medical judgment thinks marijuana
is the best thing for the patient, he or she should be allowed to
recommend it."

Medical marijuana bills have been introduced before in New Jersey, but
have failed to advance. Thursday's hearing was informational only; no
vote was taken.

Roseanne Scotti of NJ's Drug Policy Alliance said most states that
allow medical marijuana have fewer than 1,000 patients on their registries.

Like New Jersey, she said other states are grappling with how to
provide patients with access to the drug.

Oregon licenses grow centers, which are authorized to harvest small
amounts of the drug for a prescribed number of patients.

Rhode Island has introduced a bill to create compassionate care
centers, similar to Oregon's grow centers. New Mexico is considering
various options, she said.