LEGALIZE: ALLOW MARIJUANA TO BE USED FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT OF PATIENTS

Sen. Rory Respicio has introduced legislation that would allow
physicians to certify the use of medicinal marijuana to patients with
debilitating conditions. The marijuana would be dispensed from
compassionate care centers, which would be registered with and
regulated by the Department of Public Health and Social Services.

The aim of Bill 423 -- which is modeled on the laws of several states
- -- is to provide some relief to patients who will benefit from the
effects of marijuana, such as those with Alzheimer's Disease,
HIV/AIDs, cancer, Chrohn's Disease, epilepsy, glaucoma and multiple
schlerosis, among other diseases and disorders.

Medical marijuana is legal in 14 states, with New Jersey being the
latest to approve it, and a total of 27 states, and the District of
Columbia, have passed some kind of law that allows marijuana to be
used in medical treatment. And in October of last year, U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder told federal prosecutors to back away from
pursuing cases against medical marijuana patients.

For some patients, it will help mitigate pain without the side
effects that come with narcotic pain killers. For others, it will
alleviate nausea, allowing them to eat and keep their food down.

If this legislation will help patients, then it should become law,
provided that there is strict local government oversight and
regulation of medical marijuana at every level. The government needs
to ensure that any marijuana that is dispensed goes only to patients
who have been certified as having a need for the drug by a licensed
doctor. And if patients are allowed to grow their own plants, the
government needs to ensure that only the patient uses that marijuana.

This will require, in part, providing the Department of Public Health
and Social Services with additional resources and personnel to ensure
it is able to meet the requirements of the law. Elected officials
can't expect the agency -- which struggles to ensure that restaurants
and other businesses meet regulations -- to do this additional work
with its existing staff and budget.

If medical marijuana is properly regulated and controlled, and used
only by patients who will truly benefit from it, then lawmakers
should pass bill 423 and the governor should sign it into law.