cannabisnews.com: NJ Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Bill





NJ Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Bill
Posted by CN Staff on February 24, 2009 at 07:30:57 PT
By Angela Delli Santi, The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Trenton, N.J. -- Chronically ill New Jerseyans could alleviate their suffering legally by smoking marijuana under a bill passed Monday by the state Senate.The proposal by Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Linden, would allow patients with certain chronic and terminal illnesses to grow six marijuana plants or have marijuana grown for them at an authorized treatment center.
"If medical marijuana can ease some of the suffering of a patient who's dying from a chronic, severe or terminal disease, state government should not stand in the way of that relief," Scutari said after the vote.The 22-16 Senate vote marked the first time the bill had advanced in the Legislature. It now goes to the New Jersey Assembly, where its fate is uncertain.If the proposal becomes law, New Jersey would become the 14th state to allow medical marijuana.Advocates say medicinal marijuana has been shown to alleviate pain and nausea in patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — when other drugs fail."For the sake of our most vulnerable, our sick and dying patients struggling for relief, now is the time for New Jersey to join the growing list of states allowing compassionate use of medical marijuana," said Roseanne Scotti of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports the bill.Critics say the bill would promote illegal drug use.Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Cresskill, said he opposed it because of unanswered questions about how authorities would oversee marijuana growing inside patients' homes.Most of the states that allow it have done so through ballot referendums. In New Jersey, the law must be changed by the Legislature.States where medical marijuana is legal are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.Only Hawaii, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Mexico legislatures passed bills to legalize medical marijuana; the other states did so through voter referendum.Scotti said in New Jersey, polls show residents support the legislation by numbers as high as 86 percent.During a 2006 hearing on the bill, celebrity Montel Williams told New Jersey lawmakers that marijuana helps alleviate chronic knee and foot pain brought on by multiple sclerosis.Williams, a registered medical marijuana user in California, said he became an activist pushing for medical marijuana laws after being stopped at a Detroit airport by an Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms officer for carrying drug paraphernalia. The charge was later dropped.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Angela Delli Santi, The Associated PressPublished:   February 24, 2009Copyright: 2009 The Associated PressRelated Articles: N.J. Senate Approves Bill Allowing Use of MMJhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24511.shtmlSenate Votes Today To Legalize Med Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24509.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on February 25, 2009 at 17:11:56 PT
charmed quark 
You have a nice Governor. I think it will work out for you.
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Comment #6 posted by charmed quark on February 25, 2009 at 16:54:46 PT
second that
Corzine gave strong unequivocal support to the bill.Maybe this will speed up approval in the lower house.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 25, 2009 at 09:11:05 PT
Thank You Governor Corzine!
Corzine: I'd Sign Medical Marijuana Bill Into NJ Law***Wednesday, February 25, 2009Gov. Jon Corzine, D-Hoboken, said on Brian Lehrer's radio show this morning that he'll sign the medical marijuana bill into New Jersey law if it passes the state Assembly, according to the Associated Press.URL: http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2009/02/corzine_id_sign_medical_mariju.html
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Comment #4 posted by MarijuanaSavesLives on February 24, 2009 at 11:57:10 PT
Yup
smiling here. thanks for that 8) and big hugs to everyone!
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on February 24, 2009 at 08:26:13 PT
R U smiling?
SICK LEAVE 
> I urgently needed a few days off work,but I knew the Boss
> would not allow me to take leave.
> 
> I thought that maybe if I acted "Crazy"
> then he would tell me to take a few days off. 
> So, I hung upside-down on the ceiling and made funny
> noises.
> 
> My co-worker (who is blonde) asked me what I was doing. 
> I told her that I was pretending to be a light bulb, so,
> that the Boss might think I was "Crazy" and give
> me a few days off.
> 
> A few minutes later the Boss came into the office and
> asked, "What are you doing?"
> 
> I told him I was a light bulb.
> 
> He said, "You are clearly stressed out."
> Go home and recuperate for a couple of days."
> 
> I jumped down and walked out of the office...
> 
> When my co-worker (the blonde) followed me, the Boss asked
> her, "..And where do you think you're going?!"
> She said, "I'm going home too. I can't work
> in the dark   
 
         
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on February 24, 2009 at 07:38:07 PT
Gasp!
Will we ever recover????
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 24, 2009 at 07:31:46 PT
Oops
This is a medical article and I accidentally used a cannabis icon.
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