BILL COULD EASE WAY FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

A New Jersey assemblyman, saying he feels a "moral obligation" to help
alleviate the pain and suffering of "deathly ill" people, plans to
introduce legislation to make it easier for medical marijuana
businesses to get local zoning approvals.

Since October, governing bodies in Maple Shade, Westampton, Upper
Freehold, and Camden have rejected plans for pot farms and marijuana
dispensaries. The votes were taken after crowds of residents at town
meetings expressed fears of increased crime and a stigma against their
communities.

Those fears are unfounded because strict state regulations will
require the marijuana operations to be secure, said Assemblyman Declan
O'Scanlon (R., Monmouth). The bill he plans to introduce next week
would assist the state's six medical marijuana operations in getting
up and running.

"My goal is to help people get through their fears and reset the
debate to get this necessary and efficacious drug into the hands of
people that need it," O'Scanlon said.

His bill would classify marijuana growers as farmers under the state's
Right to Farm Act, which, according to the Agriculture Department's
website, would protect them against "nuisance actions and unduly
restrictive municipal regulations."

The bill says "no county, county board, or municipality may prohibit
or restrict" a medical marijuana operation as long as it provided
round-the-clock guards or an alternate security plan approved by a
local board. It also would allow a pot farm on preserved farmland.

"These growing centers will have more security than your CVS on the
corner," O'Scanlon said. "I'm not going to let people off the hook for
choosing to be ignorant."

Officials on zoning and land use boards in Maple Shade, Westampton and
Camden had barred the pot farms, saying their zoning laws had not
contemplated such businesses. The Upper Freehold Township Committee
voted against accepting any applications from marijuana growers
because, it said, federal law outlaws such businesses.

New Jersey is among 14 states that allow medical marijuana. The U.S.
Department of Justice has issued memos saying it will not prosecute
the operations as long as they comply with their state's
regulations.

When a reluctant Gov. Christie gave the medicinal marijuana program
the go-ahead last summer, he said he had looked into the issue and
believed such operations would not be in jeopardy.

The law was enacted two years ago, but only one of the state's six
preliminarily approved marijuana operations has received a green light
from local boards. Montclair in Essex County has given its permission
for a pot farm.