MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW COULD TURN N.J. INTO A NEW KIND OF MEDICINE CHEST

The economy is terrible.

We need a shot in the arm. A new invention, perhaps, since New Jersey
is the home of Thomas Edison and all.

Maybe it is not a shot in the arm that will do it, but a puff on the
dragon. You know, some crazy weed. Some pot.

Marijuana.

Yes, New Jersey is about to Get the Wind. Those jive sticks are about
to make their way to a special pharmacy near you, selling loco weed
by the kilo.

So I never thought my work as a business and legal columnist would
collide over this one: the legal and business impact of medical
marijuana on New Jersey's economy. But where there is smoke, there
is, potentially, fire.

Take note, entrepreneurs: This could be a big one.

Just as New Jersey pharmaceutical companies spawned a multi-billion
dollar pharmaceutical service industry, we could be on the brink of
the creation of a Reefer Revolution here in New Jersey.

In January of this year, then Gov. Jon Corzine signed a measure
making New Jersey the 14th state to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.

But please stay focused on your summer vegetable garden; you cannot
start growing pot in your backyard.

The bill restricts access to the substance to patients with specific
illnesses such as cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS,
seizure disorders, Lou Gherig's disease, severe muscle spasms,
muscular dystrophy, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease and
any terminal illness if a doctor has determined the patient will die
within a year.

In order to receive a prescription, a physician must recommend a
patient, who must be a state resident. The N.J. Department of Health
then issues an identification card, and the holder of the card cannot
be prosecuted for possessing marijuana.

Take note, this law has restrictions. Aside from preventing
individual marijuana farming, it must be sold through licensed
"alternate treatment centers." If you are a caretaker purchasing the
substance for someone else, you must undergo a criminal background check first.

New Jersey is expected to unveil its medical marijuana program by the
end of this year or early 2011. According to Assemblyman Reed
Gusciora (D-Mercer), other states that have legalized marijuana have
allowed patients to buy the substance on their own while their
legislatures worked out the logistics of the program.

But it is not just the legal issues that are attracting attention.

This could be big business as well.

According to some reports, one gram of marijuana will sell for
approximately $20; two ounces, the monthly limit for patients in our
state, will be approximately $500 or more; and a tincture, or
marijuana-infused drop for tea and other drinks and foods may yield
$30 per ounce or so.

So in addition to the new "alternative treatment centers" cropping
up, so to speak, there will be security requirements at facilities,
and insurance issues.

Lots of work for lots of people from lots of smoking lots of weed.
Doctors to prescribe. Lawyers to keep their farming and smoking
clients out of jail. And all of the other workers who will service
this "budding" industry.

Call it sugar weed or the white haired lady.

Whatever it is, it will be a purple haze of business and legal
issues. Sparks will fly, if nothing else.