PROPONENTS PUSH FOR POT PROGRAM TO BEGIN

TRENTON - Princeton resident Vanessa Waltz thought the New Jersey
Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act would be flourishing by now.

The law allows for New Jersey residents suffering from cancer, AIDS,
Crohn's disease and other serious conditions to obtain and use
therapeutic cannabis with a doctor's prescription.

But two years after Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed the medical pot act
into law, the program remains inactive.

Waltz said she has Stage 3 cancer, and is out of work.

"My job is fighting my cancer," she said. "If the marijuana program
began operating, it would give me a great sense of relief."

Waltz and other medical marijuana advocates attended a news
conference outside the Statehouse Wednesday, calling on Gov. Chris
Christie and the Legislature to make fixes that will allow the
program to start.

The latest obstacle has come from local officials, who have been
enacting ordinances to block marijuana farms and dispensaries from
doing business in their towns.

Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, R-Monmouth, has proposed legislation
that would extend Right to Farm Act protections to the development of
medical marijuana cultivation and distribution centers, thereby
curbing local interference.

But Christie has panned O'Scanlon's idea, saying last week he "will
try to enforce the law and implement it, but I will not do it by
forcing municipalities to take these facilities."

Like Waltz, Stephen Cuspilich is a sufferer waiting for relief. He
has Crohn's disease.

"I think it's a joke," Cuspilich said of the stalemate. "It's been
two years, and it's not up and running."

Cuspilich, a resident of Southampton, Burlington County, said he
smokes marijuana to cope with his disease and insists he should be
afforded legal protections.

"If they think patients are waiting, they're wrong. I treat the law
as if it's already passed. I use cannabis on a regular basis. It's
either that or take five prescriptions that I don't want to use
because of the side effects," he said.

The news conference was organized by the Coalition for Medical
Marijuana New Jersey.

Ken Wolski, the organization's executive director and a registered
nurse, said Christie "has delayed and obstructed this law since he
took office."

But the Legislature has also dropped the ball, Wolski said, accusing
members of the Senate and Assembly of "abandoning the seriously ill
residents that this law was passed to protect."

Wolski said a work-around is available to thwart the prohibitions on
marijuana commerce put in place by local governments.

The answer is amending the New Jersey law to allow for home
cultivation, Wolski said. He said language to allow micro-plots of up
to six plants was taken out of the bill when legislative committees
were vetting it in 2009.

Toms River resident Jim Miller, a co-founder of the coalition, said
changes to the law also should address the quantity and potency of
pot that will be allowed to individuals in New Jersey. Miller said
the law is too restrictive.

Jay Lassiter, a Cherry Hill resident who is HIV-positive, said delays
are mostly attributable to Christie. Other advocates noted that
Christie once assured them that the program would be operating by the
end of 2011.

The governor's lack of leadership and indecision over the past two
years has created a climate of fear," Lassiter said. "It's incredibly
disappointing."

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About the law

The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was passed by
the state Assembly by a 48-14 vote and by the Senate 25-13 on Jan.
11, 2010, and signed into law by then-Gov. Jon S. Corzine seven days
later. After two years, no patient identification cards have been
issued and no treatment centers are open.