TIME TO EXHALE

USING marijuana for medicinal purposes has been legal in New Jersey
for more than a year. But the Christie administration's move to graft
excessive regulations overtop the strong state law has stalled the
drug's legal availability.

While we are extremely frustrated by the snail's pace and disagree
with some of the new limitations, we can only welcome any move forward
on this issue. Terminally ill New Jerseyans whose diseases wrack their
bodies with pain have waited far too long for relief.

This week, the state Department of Health and Senior Services
announced the roster of nonprofit agencies it has approved to grow and
sell the drug. There will be six "alternative treatment centers"
located throughout the state, including North Jersey outposts in
Secaucus, run by Foundation Harmony of Cliffside Park, and in
Montclair, run by Greenleaf Compassion Center.

Health Department officials said they expect the legal dispensaries to
be up and running by this summer. We hope so. This department has been
ready and willing to ignore settled law, including new requirements to
post nutritional information in chain restaurants and limits on
religious exemptions for required childhood vaccinations.

It's high time to end that losing streak and enact the medical
marijuana program.

But in this case, it's not solely up to state health officials. The
Legislature has balked at the Health Department's implementation
rules, which lawmakers said are inconsistent with the intent of the
law. The department is attempting to impose rules that would prevent
home delivery of the drug and sharply limit its potency. Medical
marijuana advocates almost uniformly oppose these onerous rules. While
the department compromised with the bill's Assembly sponsor, its
champions in the Senate haven't yet been brought on board.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, the original sponsor of the
legislation and an outspoken critic of the administration's handling
of the dispensing process, said he is still seeking compromise with
the governor on the issue. However, Scutari remains skeptical of the
criteria used to select the treatment centers and wants to be sure the
facilities were chosen under "a fair, open and competitive process."

Further, Scutari continues to be troubled by regulations regarding no
home delivery and the limit to potency, the latter a requirement not
listed in any of the other 13 states with medicinal medical marijuana
programs. Regarding the home delivery prohibition, Scutari said it
seemed "a penalty for the sickest people."

Ideally, we'd like to see a medical marijuana program implemented in a
form much closer to the original intent of the law. Yet we would also
like to see legislators and the governor move forward with all
deliberate speed.

The process, even by New Jersey political standards, has been more
painstaking than it should have been. It is time for the state to
concern itself again with the people who need the benefits medical
marijuana can provide. They are the reason the law was adopted in the
first place.

USING marijuana for medicinal purposes has been legal in New Jersey
for more than a year. But the Christie administration's move to graft
excessive regulations overtop the strong state law has stalled the
drug's legal availability.

While we are extremely frustrated by the snail's pace and disagree
with some of the new limitations, we can only welcome any move forward
on this issue. Terminally ill New Jerseyans whose diseases wrack their
bodies with pain have waited far too long for relief.

This week, the state Department of Health and Senior Services
announced the roster of nonprofit agencies it has approved to grow and
sell the drug. There will be six "alternative treatment centers"
located throughout the state, including North Jersey outposts in
Secaucus, run by Foundation Harmony of Cliffside Park, and in
Montclair, run by Greenleaf Compassion Center.

Health Department officials said they expect the legal dispensaries to
be up and running by this summer. We hope so. This department has been
ready and willing to ignore settled law, including new requirements to
post nutritional information in chain restaurants and limits on
religious exemptions for required childhood vaccinations.

It's high time to end that losing streak and enact the medical
marijuana program.

But in this case, it's not solely up to state health officials. The
Legislature has balked at the Health Department's implementation
rules, which lawmakers said are inconsistent with the intent of the
law. The department is attempting to impose rules that would prevent
home delivery of the drug and sharply limit its potency. Medical
marijuana advocates almost uniformly oppose these onerous rules. While
the department compromised with the bill's Assembly sponsor, its
champions in the Senate haven't yet been brought on board.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, the original sponsor of the
legislation and an outspoken critic of the administration's handling
of the dispensing process, said he is still seeking compromise with
the governor on the issue. However, Scutari remains skeptical of the
criteria used to select the treatment centers and wants to be sure the
facilities were chosen under "a fair, open and competitive process."

Further, Scutari continues to be troubled by regulations regarding no
home delivery and the limit to potency, the latter a requirement not
listed in any of the other 13 states with medicinal medical marijuana
programs. Regarding the home delivery prohibition, Scutari said it
seemed "a penalty for the sickest people."

Ideally, we'd like to see a medical marijuana program implemented in a
form much closer to the original intent of the law. Yet we would also
like to see legislators and the governor move forward with all
deliberate speed.

The process, even by New Jersey political standards, has been more
painstaking than it should have been. It is time for the state to
concern itself again with the people who need the benefits medical
marijuana can provide. They are the reason the law was adopted in the
first place.