MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL OK'd

TRENTON - The state Senate voted Monday to legalize the use of
marijuana for medicinal purposes, taking a huge step toward making New
Jersey the 14th state in the nation to allow residents with serious
debilitating conditions to use it for relief.

"We aren't talking about thrill-seekers or drug addicts here. We are
talking about very sick people who are in desperate need of relief,"
said Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, the bill's sponsor. "These people
are not criminals and it does not behoove us as a society to treat
them as such."

The legislation passed by a 22 to 16 vote. The Assembly has yet to
consider the bill, although Gov. Jon S. Corzine has said he would sign
it if it made it to his desk.

Sen. Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd Dist., voted in favor of the
bill.

The measure would give residents, with a doctor's recommendation, the
ability to obtain a registration card from the state Department of
Health and Senior Services to use marijuana for medicinal purposes
without the possibility of arrest, prosecution or penalty.

Those approved by the state could possess up to six marijuana plants
and one usable ounce of marijuana, grown at home or obtained from an
alternative treatment center, a facility that would be designated to
grow and distribute the drug. Patients under the age of 18 could also
seek eligibility from the state with the permission of a parent or
guardian.

The measure set off a range of emotions from those on both sides of
the issue. Supporters, both Democrats and Republicans, said the
legislation would give healthcare professionals options in treating
their patients pain and suffering. Many of those patients are facing
terminal diseases.

But opponents said the lack of regulation over the use of marijuana,
with no prescriptions needed and little oversight over registrants
growing the plant, could make it too easily available, opening the
door to wide-ranging abuses.

Sen. Fred Madden, who previously served as acting superintendent of
the New Jersey State Police, said he thinks the legislation is so
broadly written that someone with a migraine or a back strain could
get access to a supply of marijuana.

"For the people that really need it, I'd love to be able to support
it," said Madden, D-4, of Washington Township. "But I can't in good
conscience."

"I believe that if it's truly medicinal that it should go through the
(Food and Drug Administration)," added Sen. Marcia Karrow,
R-Warren/Hunterdon. "It should be dispensed through a pharmacy for
those in pain and suffering, through a safer venue, with
prescriptions, packaged safely and hitting the right target area."

Scutari said that the state registry would give law enforcement the
ability to monitor growers, should an issue arise. Patients who apply
to the state would also need a doctor's recommendation for the
treatment of condition that causes severe or chronic pain, severe
nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms.

That would include someone with cancer, glaucoma, HIV or
AIDS.

"We're not talking about the legalization of pot," said Sen. Jim
Whelan, D-Atlantic, also a bill sponsor. "But rather about giving
suffering New Jerseyans a small bit of comfort in what could be their
final days."

The Senate's passage of the "New Jersey Compassionate Use of Medical
Marijuana Act," was a major victory for supporters who canvassed the
Statehouse Monday.

"It's a matter of life and death for me," said Stephen Cuspilich, a
resident of Willingboro Township, Burlington County, who was diagnosed
with Crohn's disease in 1994, which causes inflammation of the
digestive tract.

Cuspilich said approval of the bill would allow him to cut out five of
the six prescription medications he takes each day to relieve the pain
and symptoms caused by his disorder, many which have health impacts
that he said are wearing away at his body.

But opponents, who believe approval of the bill will result in the
legalization of additional drugs, said the Senate passage was only one
step in a long process. The Assembly, where all 80 members are up for
re-election in November, has yet to consider the bill.

Terrence Farley, of the group Safe Approved Medicine for New Jersey,
made up of law enforcement officials and other opponents of the bill,
said he will continue pressing legislators to vote against the bill.
"Marijuana is not medicine," Farley said.

While federal law prohibits marijuana use, Alaska, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington permit its use for
medical purposes. Arizona doctors are permitted to prescribe marijuana.

A companion to the bill (S-119) has been introduced in the Assembly
and referred to the Health and Senior Services Committee where it has
yet to be considered.