ROOTING FOR MEDICAL POT BILL TO FAIL A JERSEY PATH TO SUCCESS

There's a real New Jersey flavor -- and not in a good way -- to the
continuing struggle to implement the state's medical marijuana law.

Restrictive rules imposed by Gov. Chris Christie threaten access to
and the quality of the drug, weakening the ability of the measure to
bring pain relief to chronically and terminally ill patients. Some
critics of the rules have grown so frustrated that some are now
talking about scrapping the measure altogether and starting fresh.
Others, however, equally unhappy with the delay, are now suggesting
that the law -- with the Christie rules in place -- be allowed to move
forward because of the expectation that it will fail, forcing some
easing of the regulations.

There may be some twisted logic in there, but only in contrast to the
rest of the debate. Christie wants to avoid the experiences of states
where lax regulations have prompted widespread of abuse of legal
marijuana, with California the obligatory poster child. But such laws
have worked better elsewhere -- examples that never seem to be cited
here.

Of particular concern is a provision that medical pot would only be
available to patients after other treatments have failed, leaving wide
open the question of what constitutes a comprehensive set of "other
treatments" and how "failure" is to be determined.

A MISS for the maddening delays in bringing patients
relief.

MISS: Penny saved, more spent

A penny doesn't buy much anymore -- but it still gets you 12 minutes
of parking time near the Division Street post office in Somerville.
But not for much longer. The borough is uprooting the last of the
penny meters, as officials say the maintenance costs aren't worth the
minimal money they generate -- especially since they're often broken
and rarely enforced. That's understandable. But to hear officials
describe it, it sounds as if they're doing some sort of favor for
residents by ridding the community of these money-losing anachronisms.
But all the borough is really doing here is installing newer, more
expensive meters to generate more revenue. Let's at least be clear
about that.

HIT: Welcome call

It was good news for New Jersey consumers -- especially those still
using old-school landline telephones -- when the state Senate this
week held a bill that would further deregulate the state's cable and
telecommunications industry. We can presume supporters realized they
didn't have enough votes. And we hope this means an end for now of the
deregulation push. Industry advocates say restrictions are outdated
and that approval would spur more investments. What they really want
to do is jack up rates where they can -- and the old landlines are a
main focus since they're one of the few services that haven't already
been deregulated.