COMPASSION IN NEW JERSEY

It was a rare piece of good news for those suffering from such
diseases as cancer, AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease and muscular
dystrophy. The New Jersey Legislature on Monday legalized medically
prescribed marijuana, and Gov. Jon Corzine has promised to sign the
bill before leaving office next week.

As one woman suffering from multiple sclerosis cheered after the
vote, "I'm in heaven. It means I am no longer a criminal in the State
of New Jersey."

This show of compassion for the chronically ill comes at an important
time for New Jersey lawmakers, who failed last week to summon the
same kind of courage and empathy for gay couples. The Legislature
rejected a same-sex marriage bill that Mr. Corzine, a Democrat, said
he would have signed before handing over the State House to
Gov.-elect Christopher Christie, a Republican who has said he would
have vetoed it.

The legislation that was passed on Monday allows doctors to prescribe
marijuana the way they would controlled painkillers like Oxycontin or
morphine. New Jersey will be one of 14 states to allow the drug to
combat pain, nausea and other debilitating side effects from
chemotherapy or for seizures, muscle spasms and glaucoma. That will
give doctors in New Jersey an important option to the pharmaceutical
drugs now available to treat these serious illnesses.

Despite criticism from antidrug groups that the change would open the
door to more abuse of marijuana, the New Jersey law would not make it
easier to grow your own or puff away freely on the nearest street
corner. Doing so is very much illegal. And federal officials have
made it clear that while they won't go after patients using
marijuana, they want law enforcement officers to focus more firepower
on dangerous drug dealers in their states.

New Jersey's law is expected to be the nation's most restrictive.
That is a far cry from California, where marijuana can be used for
ailments as common as anxiety. Patients in New Jersey would have to
get an ID card that says that they have one of the authorized medical
conditions. They could obtain their supply only from government
dispensaries at a rate of two ounces per month.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, a Democrat from Princeton and a lead
sponsor of the legislation, said he hopes it will become a model for
other states. New York, Connecticut and other states that are
concerned about the well-being of their sickest citizens should take heed.