DELAY SOUGHT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

TRENTON -- Implementation of the state's medical marijuana law would
be rolled back to October under new legislation introduced by
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora.

Gusciora, one of the prime sponsors of New Jersey's Compassionate Use
Medical Marijuana Act, said his proposed 90-day delay stems from a
request by Gov. Chris Christie's administration that more time be
given to craft medical marijuana regulations.

"I think we have to be realistic," he said. "We have a change on
administration and while (former) Gov. Corzine signed the bill into
law in January there was still a lag time for the Christie
administration to get it up and running."

The bill proposed by Gusciora, D-Princeton Borough, mirrors state
Senate legislation introduced by state Sen. Nicholas Scutari,
D-Union, another sponsor of the medical marijuana law.

If adopted, the latest law would give the state time from Oct. 1 til
Jan. 1 to cement its guidelines related to the growth and
distribution of medical marijuana.

Implementation of the state's medical marijuana program was
originally expected to start in July, with actual distribution of the
marijuana via six "alternative treatment centers" slated to begin
somewhere around October.

New Jersey became the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana in
January, and according to Gusciora, the state's law is the "most
restrictive and responsible" in the nation.

"While I would have preferred fast-tracking the law, at the end of
the day we want to ensure patients who can benefit from medical
marijuana can readily access it," he said.

The legislator also said he favored recent proposals that would make
Rutgers University the hub of the state's medical marijuana growth
and allow hospitals to operate as dispensaries of the drug, saying
the move could bring Rutgers to the forefront of medical marijuana
research and cultivation.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said any proposals including
Rutgers and hospitals "are just among the options that are out there."

"There's reasonable debate going on about what is the best approach"
when it comes to implementing the state's medical marijuana law, he
said.

But some advocates ask why patients in need of medical marijuana are
being asked to wait even longer to legally obtain drugs that could
ease their symptoms.

"We don't think there's any need for a delay," said Ken Wolski, the
executive director of the Trenton-based Coalition for Medical
Marijuana-New Jersey Inc. "Our organization has actually developed
regulations that we would be happy to give the Department of Health.
We could roll it out July 1."

He also said any ideas to get Rutgers and hospitals in the mix would
likely prove "unworkable" due to the sheer amount of red tape and
regulations the entities would have to navigate to gain approval from
agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration.

"This bill was in the Legislature for five years," he said. "Everyone
had ample time to tweak this bill. We have the right law for New Jersey."