A SAFE PRESCRIPTION FOR MARIJUANA USE

Marijuana in the medicine cabinet?

That could become a legal reality in New Jersey, where a Senate panel
this week voted 6-1 in support of the Compassionate Use Medical
Marijuana Act, which now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

If the bill should become law, New Jersey would join 13 other states
that allow the medical use of marijuana to ease the pain and symptoms
associated with such debilitat ing illnesses as multiple sclerosis,
cancer, AIDS and glaucoma.

Unfortunately, the stereotypical image of a pothead has obscured the
proven medical benefits of marijuana. A 1999 study by the Institute
of Medicine found that "nausea, appe tite loss, pain and anxiety ...
all can be mitigated by marijuana."

A growing number of respected medical groups have come out in favor
of medical use of marijuana. They include the New Jersey State Nurses
Association, the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians and the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's southern and northern New Jersey chapters.

On a personal level, the testimony of individuals afflicted with
serious illnesses has brought into focus the medical benefits of marijuana.

Gerry McGrath, a registered nurse who lives in Robbinsville,
testified how marijuana made the last days of her son Sean's life
more bearable before he died of cancer in 2004.

But critics of allowing marijuana for medical reasons point to a
number of concerns such as claims that cannabis is addictive, that it
leads to use of harder drugs, that it impairs driving ability and
that it sends the wrong message to children. And some allege that
medical marijuana is just a front for drug legalization.

They are all valid concerns. But the Compassionate Use Medical
Marijuana Act does not legalize or allow the casual use of the
substance. Instead, it treats it like a pharmaceutical drug, much
like other pain medications that must be prescribed by a bona fide
doctor. The legislation also restricts the amount of marijuana a
patient may possess and sets up a registration system of those
allowed to use the drug for medical reasons.

Despite the action by the Senate panel this week, New Jersey is still
a long way from adopting the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act
that was first introduced in 2005. The Assembly has yet to move its
version out of committee, but the bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Reed
Gusciora, D-Princeton Borough, received a generally positive hearing last May.

We encourage our legislators to move the bill forward and for Gov.
Jon Corzine to sign it. There are people in pain who are counting on it.