NEW JERSEY, OUTGOING GOV. CORZINE EXPECTED TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The Garden State is set to bloom with weed.

Outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to sign legislation before
leaving office next week making New Jersey the nation's 14th state to
legalize medical marijuana.

Legislators approved a law Monday allowing chronically ill patients to
buy up to 2 ounces of pot a month at state-monitored
dispensaries.

"I don't think we should make criminals out of our very sick and
terminally ill," said Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton),
co-sponsor of the bill.

Corzine, who supports the legislation, is expected to sign it into law
before turning over power to incoming Republican Gov. Chris Christie,
a former federal prosecutor who has voiced concerns over the bill.

The law authorizes the state Department of Health to issue patients
with "debilitating medical conditions" like cancer or AIDS the right
to legally possess marijuana.

Unlike other states where medical marijuana is legalized, patients
will not be allowed to grow their own.