MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES FILED SUIT

Medical marijuana advocates have gone to court to force the state to
help patients participate in research studies on the drug.

Monica Jelonnek, a Morristown woman who has multiple sclerosis, and
the New Jersey chapter of the National Organization to Reform
Marijuana Laws, filed suit in Superior Court in Hackensack on
Wednesday. They want a judge to order state health commissioner Fred
Jacobs to appoint a state review board to approve patients for
federally approved medical marijuana studies.

A 1981 state law calls for the appointment of such a review board,
but it was never implemented.

"There are many patients, and the plaintiff, who would benefit from
inclusion in federal studies" of the safety and effectiveness of
medical marijuana, said Fred DiMaria of Lodi, an attorney and
chairman of NORML-NJ.

Marijuana has been shown by various studies to alleviate symptoms of
muscle spasticity in MS patients, the suit said. But it is illegal
for a patient in New Jersey who otherwise qualifies for federal
clinical trials of marijuana to possess the drug. A bill being
considered in the legislature would legalize the drug for use by some patients.

Donna Leusner, a spokeswoman for Jacobs, said Friday the state health
department does not comment on pending litigation.