STATE PICKS SITES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA CENTERS

Webster "Dan" Todd Jr., brother of New Jersey's first female governor,
Christie Whitman, is now a pioneer in his own right: he sits on the
board of one of the first legally-sanctioned medical marijuana
providers in the Garden State.

The 72-year-old former Assemblyman said his son, William, is the
driving force behind the creation of Compassionate Sciences, Inc., one
of six nonprofit agencies the state health department announced Monday
would produce and sell the drug later this year. The facility will be
run at a location yet to be determined in either Burlington County or
Camden County.

Todd Monday called himself a "great believer" in medical marijuana,
noting that one of his close friends is suffering with a great deal of
pain from multiple sclerosis. "I watch him go through this with no
comfort and no hope," he said. "It's difficult to understand how that
can happen in this country."

The announcement of who will run the six "alternative treatment
centers" is a big step forward in the tortured process of implementing
a law Gov. Chris Christie has said he doesn't like, though he supports
allowing medical marijuana.

Christie also is locked in a battle with the Democrat-led Legislature
on how the program should run, with lawmakers close to repealing the
rules and making him start over. Senate sponsors say they would rather
delay the program's summer launch than allow what they describe as
overly restrictive regulations to hinder patient access.

No mention was made of the clash Monday.

"This is pioneering territory for the state of New Jersey. We are now
one step closer to providing patients with debilitating conditions
relief from chronic pain," Health Commissioner Poonam Alaigh said.
"The successful applicants presented comprehensive and high quality
proposals including sound financial plans and appropriate security
measures."

Other Jersey VIPs on the long-awaited list include David Knowlton, who
chaired Christie's health department transition team. A former deputy
health commissioner under Gov. Thomas H. Kean, Knowlton is president
and CEO for the NJ Health Care Quality Institute, a think-tank in West
Trenton. He sits on the board of Compassionate Care Foundation Inc.,
that will open a center in Bellmawr, Camden County.

"I collaborated in brainstorming the design and I talked to the team,
but I did not speak with any principal in government, including the
governor's office or the health department," Knowlton said.

Meadowlands Hospital executive Anastasia Burlyuk sits on the board of
Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation Inc., which plans to
open a facility in New Brunswick.

The other winning applicants are Foundation Harmony, opening a center
in Secaucus; Greenleaf Compassion Center, Montclair; and the
Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center in Manalapan.

Despite the high profile status of some of the center board members,
"The public should have complete confidence in this process," state
health spokeswoman Donna Leusner said. "Two of the five members of the
selection committee do not work for the department" and "signed
certifications stating that they had no conflict or bias for or
against any of the applicants." Employees from the departments of
Agriculture and Community Affairs also participated, she said.