New Jersey: Medical Marijuana Bill signed into law
Posted on January 16th, 2010 by Cam Wright (Dakta Bourbon), Filed under Legalization, Medical, News. No Comments »
SERIOUSLY ILL patients in New Jersey, those who suffer from debilitating ailments like multiple sclerosis or cancer, won a victory in the State House this week.
Lawmakers approved a controversial bill that allows doctors to prescribe marijuana for medicinal purposes. Governor Corzine signed the law on Tuesday, making New Jersey the 14th state to allow medical marijuana. It was the most significant legislation to come out of the lame-duck session.
It is a godsend for patients like Mike Oliveri, who grew up in Oradell and moved to California in 2008 to take advantage of that state’s medical marijuana law. Oliveri, who has muscular dystrophy, says marijuana is the most effective medicine to ease pain in his legs and back and to calm his stomach.
“I took every medication known to man before I took weed,” he said this week.
We welcome this legislation. It is an appropriate acknowledgement of marijuana’s unique pain-relief properties and a compassionate allowance for New Jerseyans whose suffering may be eased by it.
The bill included several amendments, as legislators sought to tighten up the rules surrounding when and how patients could obtain the drug. The version signed into law is the most restrictive in the country, according to its sponsors. Unlike other states, New Jersey does not allow patients to grow their own supply. It limits monthly purchases to two ounces. Compare that to Oregon’s 1998 law, which allows patients to possess up to 24 ounces a month and own as many as 24 plants.
Doctors may only prescribe the drug to patients who have state authorization to receive it. The state will keep count of registered users. Every other year, the health commissioner will issue a report on those numbers and assess whether there are enough distribution centers. Currently, the law establishes six centers; two each in the northern, central and southern regions of the state. They will be state licensed, but privately run.
The law also limits which illnesses qualify patients for legal prescriptions, including HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, inflammatory bowel disease, seizure disorder and Crohn’s disease. But it allows state health officials to expand that list.
Medical marijuana advocates say the list is too restrictive and amounts to legislators making medical decisions. Governor-elect Chris Christie said the dynamic list could provide a loophole and undermine the law’s ability to limit the drug.
Lawmakers and the public should keep close watch over any possible expansion of the list. But we support allowing the Health Department to expand it as needed.
The science surrounding pain relief is evolving, as is doctors’ understanding of how pain management can be facilitated by medical marijuana and can help patients heal. Giving health officials final say over what illnesses qualify leaves medical judgment in the hands of experts, not lawmakers. But the department must proceed with the utmost care.
The fact is, marijuana is still an illegal substance in all but a handful of situations. And those targeted by this law are hardly looking for illicit recreation. They are hurting and seeking relief.
It’s right to give doctors the flexibility they need to best care for their patients.
Source http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/81430132_Medical_marijuana_an_act_of_compassion.html
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