TIGHTER MEDICAL-MARIJUANA BILL CLEARS PANEL

A bill to allow the medicinal use of marijuana for seriously ill
patients has been tightened to address concerns the drug could become
too widely available.

An amended version of the bill that was approved by the Senate in
February cleared the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee
yesterday by a vote of 8-1, with two abstentions. Next, Assembly
Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D., Camden) will determine whether to
post the bill for a floor vote in the Assembly.

If the amended bill clears the Assembly, it would return to the
Senate for a second vote because of the changes.

New Jersey could become the 14th state to allow medical marijuana.
Gov. Corzine has said he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

The legislation would authorize the state Department of Health and
Senior Services to issue identification cards to qualifying patients
who have been diagnosed with a "debilitating medical condition."

Under the amendments, patients and caregivers would not be allowed to
grow marijuana at home, but may instead obtain marijuana from
authorized nonprofit alternative treatment centers.

The amended bill was not available to the public yesterday, but
according to legislative staff, under the changes:

Patients would be permitted to obtain marijuana from the treatment
centers via courier or delivery.

Only the physician who is responsible for the ongoing treatment of
the condition that calls for medical marijuana could prescribe it.

The definitions of conditions for which marijuana can be prescribed
have been tightened.

New limits have been set on the amount of medical marijuana a patient
could obtain in one month.

Supporters of medical marijuana have been working to legalize its use
for years in New Jersey. This is the furthest such legislation has
advanced in the state.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D., Mercer), one of the sponsors of the
bill, said New Jersey should not make criminals out of the state's
very sick and terminally ill residents.

"It does not make sense for many of New Jersey's residents to suffer
when there is a viable way to ease their pain," Gusciora said.
"Medical marijuana can alleviate a lot of suffering, and there is no
evidence that legalizing it for medical use increases overall drug use."

Roseanne Scotti, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey, called
the bill's passage in the Assembly committee a victory.

But she was also concerned that the amendments might have tightened
controls so much as to restrict access to patients who could benefit.
She said she had not seen the amendments as of early yesterday afternoon.

"We are very supportive of having whatever safeguards in place that
need to be in place, but our concern is that we don't want the bill
so restricted that people can't get access," Scotti said. She said
marijuana should be subject to similar restrictions as other legally
prescribed medications, such as morphine or OxyContin, but no more.

Scotti said four other states require patients to obtain their
medical marijuana from approved dispensaries or co-ops: California,
Oregon, New Mexico, and Rhode Island.

Yesterday's hearing before the Assembly health committee drew a
number of patients and family members in favor of the bill, with some
shedding tears during their testimony.

Opponents, including the state Fraternal Order of Police and the
state police chiefs' association, say legalizing medical marijuana
could lead to more widespread illegal use of the drug.

John Tomicki, executive director of the League of American Families,
objected to the quick passage of the bill, saying it was rushed
through the committee without committee members or the public being
able to read the changes.

He also said the decision of whether to legalize medical marijuana
should be left to the Food and Drug Administration, not the state legislature.

"The California experience shows clearly that there will be an
increase in crime and an increase particularly in the areas in which
there are the dispensaries, and more and more municipalities in
California are passing local laws prohibiting dispensing facilities
in their community," Tomicki said.