IL, NJ Make Steps Towards MM
http://www.dailytargum.com/news/medi...ized-1.1594291
The first article has real information, plus the NJ bill has already gone through the Senate and has explicit permission from the govnah. The Illinois bill has been approved by a House committee for the first time but hasn't seen action in the State Assembly.Marijuana for medical use may be legalized in New Jersey.
The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, better known as S119 to state legislatures, passed Feb. 23 in the New Jersey Senate.
For the bill to come into effect, the New Jersey Assembly must vote to pass it, but the date of their vote is undetermined.
“We are cautiously optimistic [of it passing],” said Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey Director Roseanne Scotti.
The proposed bill allows patients and their primary caregivers to grow, possess and use small quantities of medical marijuana to treat certain illnesses, she said.
“Under the bill, individual patients will be allowed to have six plants and an ounce of medical marijuana,” Scotti said.
She said Gov. Jon S. Corzine has agreed to sign the bill should it pass the Assembly.
Scotti said she does not think there are any disadvantages that might prevent the bill’s passage in the Assembly.
“There are many seriously ill people in New Jersey for whom currently available medications are not helping to relieve symptoms,” Scotti said.
She said the bill was amended in the Assembly Health Committee to allow “alternative treatment centers” to grow the plant for patients too sick to grow it themselves.
“They would be allowed to grow the same amount for each patient,” Scotti said.
To use marijuana for medicinal purposes, patients must be diagnosed by a physician, have a full physical and have their past medical history assessed to prove a debilitating medical condition, according to the legislation.
“It has [been] proven to alleviate pain, muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting [and] wasting syndrome that comes from a lot of treat like chemotherapy, so [there are] a pretty good array of symptoms it could help,” Scotti said.
The act also lists cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, seizures, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease or any disease approved by the Department of Health and Senior Services as conditions medical marijuana may be used to treat.
The law provides safeguards against recreational abuse through other precautionary measures.
“This law was very carefully drafted by the sponsor of the legislation [and] Sen. Nicholas Scutari,” Scotti said.
Not only must patients have the diseases or conditions explicitly laid out in the text of the bill, but they must also have a doctor’s prescription and follow regulations set by the State Department of Health and Senior services, Scotti said.
Patients and their primary caregivers must register for medical marijuana use with the Senate Human Health, Services, and Senior Citizens committee, according to the bill. They would receive a registration card and without this, they would be criminalized for marijuana use.
Scotti said the bill could have financial advantages for individuals.
A lot of drugs used to treat these conditions are more expensive compared to medical marijuana, so it may be cheaper for patients, but she said she is not yet sure of any overall financial impact the bill could have.
Introduced by the Senate Human Health, Services, and Senior Citizens Committee in January 2008, the bill is now in the hands of the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee, according to the NJ state legislature Web site.
The eight New Jersey senators who sponsored the proposed bill and composed of the legislation are Sens. Nicholas P. Scutari, Jim Whelan, Sandra B. Cunningham, Raymond J. Lesniak, Brian P. Stack, Stephen M. Sweeney, Loretta Weinberg and Joseph F. Vitale, according to the site.
There are already 10 Assembly members as co-sponsors for the bill and it has garnered bi-partisan support, Scotti said.
She said there are 13 other states where medical marijuana is legal, and they are not experiencing any problems.
These 13 states where marijuana is available for qualified patients are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, according to the bill.
“I think it’s a pretty good idea, I mean, why not? All the other states are doing it,” said Derek Burr, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore. “People need it, it helps them, it’s not really that bad, [and] it should be legal.”
School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Sean Battle said he agrees and thinks the drug should be legal for legitimate reasons, but did note a potential harm.
“One disadvantage is more people [would have] the ability to sell it maybe, or abuse it rather,” he said. “But at the same time, that could be said for any over-the-counter drug.”
Member of the Marijuana Policy Project Richard Zuckerman, a New Brunswick resident, said some people might be against the use of the drug for medical purposes because they confuse it with other, more dangerous drugs.
“The courts have been saying it’s dangerous for the federal narcotic laws, but the federal narcotic laws should not be there in the first place. It’s a mild drug,” he said.
School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Cody Gorman said it has been proven that marijuana is not really a gateway drug as previously thought.
“It’s not the same as coke, if they made medicinal coke. I don’t think the side effects [of medicinal marijuana] would be anywhere near as bad,” Gorman said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_171984.html
I want to add that NJ and IL would become the 14th and 15th states with MM laws. Additionally, there are 19 conditions which have been approved for use of an MMC and I have been diagnosed with oneSPRINGFIELD, Ill. - People suffering from cancer, AIDS and other diseases could turn to marijuana for pain relief under a plan approved Wednesday by an Illinois House committee despite claims that it would be a step toward legalizing pot.
Under the legislation, people with a doctor's permission would be eligible for a state registry card allowing up to seven marijuana plants in their homes and 2 ounces of "usable cannabis." The measure is written to expire after three years.
Advocates say marijuana eases pain without the side effects of heavier drugs and reduces nausea from chemotherapy.
"There is needless suffering going on out there," said the sponsor, Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. "Everything else is a sideshow."
But Rep. Patricia Bellock, R-Hinsdale, said the bill raises serious questions. Will it be misused by people who don't really have a medical need for marijuana? Would it open the door to outright legalization of pot use in Illinois?
"It is the No. 1 drug that introduces young people to other drugs," said Bellock, who voted against the measure in the Human Services Committee.
Still, it passed 4-3 and now goes to the House floor.
Thirteen states already have medical marijuana laws that preclude a criminal conviction for use, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
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Similar legislation was approved by a state Senate committee last year, but the sponsor never found enough support to call it for a vote. That sponsor, John Cullerton, is now Senate president, so the latest proposal should have an influential supporter if it ever reaches the Senate.
Lang called it a "difficult but not impossible bill to pass" in the House, even as a three-year experiment.
Bellock said she doesn't object in principle to allowing the use of marijuana for medical reasons, but she fears this plan is too lax. She said a version where the pot is handled by pharmacists would reduce the chance of abuse.
Bellock also questioned whether Illinois could take the step while marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Technically, Illinois authorized medical marijuana in 1978. But implementation was left to the Public Health Department and it never took action, so the law has been in limbo.Lang told CBS 2 that he has not spoken with Gov. Pat Quinn about the bill, but that he expects Quinn to support it.
Democratic Reps. Cynthia Soto and Karen Yarbrough and Republican Rep. Angelo Saviano co-sponsored the legislation.. Go Illinois!
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