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Governor Chris Christie

Compassionate Christie No More?

Christie

The bumps in the road for New Jersey’s medical marijuana program have been well documented.  The program was initially approved by exiting Governor Corzine on his last day in office four years ago.  Current Governor Chris Christie was never a fan of medical marijuana and tried every strategy at his disposal to delay the start of the program.

In the last year however, it seemed Governor Christie was softening his stance and attempting to get himself in line with the views of the rest of the country.  He vowed to stay out of the way of the laws and  New Jersey finally had a dispensary open in Montclair about a year ago.  Although there are very strict parameters set to qualify for medical marijuana, the Garden State appeared to be on the right track.  Over the summer, New Jersey residents Meghan and Brian Wilson brought a new medical marijuana discussion to the state.  Their daughter suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a rare but extreme form of epilepsy.  As many parents are finding out across the country, marijuana is emerging as one of the most reliable treatments for the condition as traditional medications provide many side effects and do not eliminate the seizures effectively.

A few months back, Governor Christie approved some legislative changes to the medical marijuana program after a public confrontation in a diner where the Wilson’s begged the governor to help their daughter survive.  These changes now permit the Wilson’s daughter to receive treatment with cannabis.  Unfortunately the strains and necessary information the Wilson’s need are not currently available in New Jersey.  They are now pushing the New Jersey legislature to pass a new bill that would allow them to get the necessary medication they need out of state.  This has angered Christie, who has reverted back to his more rigid anti medical marijuana stance.  In regards to the new bill Governor Christie resorted to what sounded like bully tactics.  In what seems to be an oversimplification, the Governor said “See this is what happens. Every time you sign one expansion, then the advocates will come back and ask for another one.  Here’s what the advocates want, they want legalization of marijuana in New Jersey. It will not happen on my watch, ever. I am done expanding the medical marijuana program under any circumstances. So we’re done.”

The Wilson’s may see it a bit differently as their daughter’s quality of life is on the line.  They do not see themselves as an engine to push legalization.  Brian Wilson responded to Governor by saying  “There’s no outpouring of people signing up for this program’ because who wants to spend $200 on sign-up fees plus the countless doctors fees, not covered by insurance, to participate in a program that cannot serve the current client base?”  Medical marijuana may be a difficult political issue for the conservative Christie as he already has a problem with the Republican base for being too liberal.  Unfortunately, on his way to a White House bid the Governor may be alienating everyone as few people are against medical marijuana these days.

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New Jersey Dispensary Finally Serves Patients Medical Marijuana

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After what has felt like a soap opera, New Jersey patients have finally now been able to legally access medical marijuana.  The former Governor, Jim Corzine signed off on legislation permitting medical marijuana during his final days in office.  However, Governor Christie and other lawmakers have delayed the program with as many bureaucratic and administrative delays as they could muster.  After that, local townships refused to grant zoning permits.

Although officially legal, medical marijuana would remain in a stalemate until Montclair finally decided to consider the needs of patients and granted Greenleaf Compassion Center its zoning permit.  On Thursday, after years of frustration and delays, Greenleaf’s doors finally opened to patients.  At first supplies will be limited and patients will only have the option to purchase in half ounce increments.  Greenleaf president Joseph Stevens expects supply to be a non issue soon and recently said “everything’s been going great”at the center.

New Jersey has some of the strictest rules in the nation for patients to receive a medical marijuana prescription.  So far there are only 300 patients registered.  However, the program will grow and more patients will be granted relief as time goes on and more conditions are recognized in the program.  Additionally, there may soon be six dispensaries in the Garden Staten as five other collectives have received approval.  New Jersey is one of the most populous states in the nation.  We believe and hope they will show other states in the northeast and east coast how to run medical marijuana dispensaries.  We all know who New Jersey’s big brother and it may only be a matter of time now before the Big Apple approves medical marijuana.

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Medical Marijuana Industry News September 14, 2012

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New Bills In Congress Would Allow States to Decide Medical Marijuana…

As detailed often on marijuana.net, one of the biggest concerns for the medical marijuana industry is that is in a state of legislative limbo.  Patients are often left to wonder if they will have access to their medication.  Additionally, dispensaries face many difficulties operating in under the current system.  For the most part they are prevented from utilizing bank accounts or credit unions.  This results in high levels of marijuana and cash on premises, and dramatically increases the likelihood of being robbed.  Additionally, these businesses cannot benefit from the tax code or deduct expenses, making their survival challenging.  Several new laws in Congress have been introduced that would actually address these concerns.  Three different bills, HB 1983, HB1984, and HB1985, would allow dispensaries to take advantage of electronic banking, tax deductions, and would allow states to decide if they wish to permit medical marijuana by re-scheduling marijuana.  While similar bills have failed previously, there seems to be more bi-partisan support than ever for re-hauling the government’s approach toward medical marijuana.  While support was previously higher from Democrats, they have now been joined by fiscally conservatives who no longer want to see funds wasted on DEA raids.  Additionally, there is a growing call for returning many rights back to the states.

 

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Two Marijuana Dispensaries to Open in Vermont…

The federal crackdown and raids on marijuana dispensaries may not be producing the intended outcomes, especially in the Northeast.  In recent months, Connecticut has approved a measure to permit medical marijuana and even under the well known Republican Governor, Chris Christie (who does not support the program) New Jersey is close to dispensing marijuana to patients.  There is momentum across the country as Detroit, the state of Washington, Colorado, and Oregon will see their residents vote to regulate and legalize even recreation marijuana use.  A successful ballot initiative has also given residents of Arkansas the opportunity to vote on enacting a medical marijuana program.  In Vermont, two marijuana dispensaries have been given the green light to open.  One of the dispensaries will be located in Burlington while another will open its doors in Waterbury.  Vermont legalized medical marijuana in 2004 but patients are responsible for growing and cultivating their own medicine.  Patients in Vermont can possess up to 2 ounces and own 3 plants.  Last year Vermont lawmakers passed a new law that would allow up to 4 dispensaries to open.  The two dispensaries are expected to open in 6 months with additional applications to fill the other 2 openings under review.

 

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Seattle’s Children’s Alliance Supports Marijuana Legalization Initiative…

Supporting marijuana reform was previously career suicide in the public arena. Over the past few years there have been surprising supporters of marijuana reform including televangelist Pat Robertson and Progressive Insurance Chairman Peter B. Lewis.  However, an even more surprising group of supporters have revealed themselves.  A Seattle based non-profit group named The Children’s Alliance has come out in support of Initiative 502, which if passed by Washington State residents, would legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana in a way that is similar to how alcohol is handled.  The group’s main focus is on protecting children’s futures.  Although whites and African Americans consume marijuana at similar rates, non whites are significantly more at risk for being arrested for it.  Often these arrests are of teens and having a criminal record can seriously jeopardize their ability to get a job, housing, or gain college acceptance.  Jon Gould, Deputy Director of The Children’s Alliance said “The status quo is not working for children, particularly children of color. Public policy ought to move us further toward racial equity and justice, and Initiative 502 is one step forward to that.”

 

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Confusion in New Jersey Continues To Leave Residents Scratching Their Heads

scratching head picWe at marijuana.net have spoken at length about all of the exciting news regarding national marijuana reform.  We have also discussed the bureaucratic delays that have frustrated patients and activists, especially as no plausible explanation is provided for all the red tape.  Again we find ourselves talking about New Jersey. Yesterday we posted an article …continue reading

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Chris Christie’s Mixed Message on Compassion

christieDuring a recent speech at the Brookings Institution Chris Christie made statements that called for an end to the war on drugs.  In fact he called it a failure and even referenced his pro-life views.  At one point during the speech he said “If you’re pro-life, as I am, you can’t be pro-life just in …continue reading

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