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12/8/2011 – New York City has the distinction of performing more marijuana arrests than anywhere else in the country; over 50,000 each year. This is almost double the annual arrests in the entire state of New Jersey and flies in the face of a New York State decriminalization law passed in 1979.

Reuter’s news service and WNYC are reporting this week that NYC Police said that arrests have dropped since September when Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly addressed the issue within the department. Kelly’s move followed intense media coverage of the racial disparity to the arrests (more than 90% are men of color) and the overly-harsh consequences of a pot arrest such as loss of parental rights.

Reuters story:

New York City police made 1,190 fewer marijuana arrests since Commissioner Raymond Kelly’s September 19 directive, compared to the same nine-week period a year ago, spokesman Paul Browne said.

A coalition of groups that has criticized the police force for its aggressive approach to marijuana possession called the numbers a “disappointing drop” and said New York City remains the “marijuana arrest capital of the world.”

“Unfortunately, these figures are cause for outrage, not celebration,” Gabriel Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance said in a statement. “In this economy, Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD are wasting millions of tax dollars by using illegal searches and false charges to sweep tens of thousands of black and Latino youth into the criminal justice system.” read more

WNYC reveals that serious issues continue with marijuana prohibition enforcement in the Big Apple:

“We are still seeing on a daily basis cases where our clients are being arrested and charged with misdemeanors where according to them, they never possessed marijuana in public view,” said Scott Levy, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders.  “They possessed it in their pocket, in their clothing.” read more

New York State legislators also took a strong step in June to bring New York City in line with the state’s existing marijuana decriminalization policy.  The new bill, SB5187/AB7620, remains active in Albany.

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]

Sandy Fiaola, NJ multiple sclerosis patient

6/13/11 by Chris Goldstein –  A check with the NJ Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS) today revealed that ninety (90) physicians are currently registered in a unique program for medical marijuana. New Jersey is the first in the country to require that doctors complete special requirements and register with the state to recommend cannabis.

The scheme is following a set of regulations proposed by Governor Chris Christie’s administration. After eighteen months of steady delays, the rules have not been officially finalized. The NJ Legislature took the rare move to pass a resolution stating that the regulations are working against the intent of the compassionate use law.

Physicians around the state loudly criticized the registry that requires training in addictive medicines. The former DHSS Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh testified before the NJ Senate Health Committee in March that there were no similar requirements for other drugs. This may explain why only 90 doctors out of more than 30, 000 who practice in New Jersey are participating in the medicinal marijuana program.

Under the extreme NJ regulations patients must have a registered doctor to begin the process of entering the cannabis program. The patient must also choose one of six Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) sites because they are not allowed to cultivate at home. Once the application is approved by DHSS the patient will be issued an ID card.

The number of registered medical marijuana patients in New Jersey is currently zero.  Although some multi-million dollar facilities have been approved there are none open. The ATCs are not even building their facilities after Governor Christie and state Attorney General Paula Dow started questioning the inherent (and legislatively approved) conflicts with federal law.

The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed in January of 2010, a final act in Jon Corzine’s term as governor.  The Democrat Corzine lost a second term to Republican Chris Christie in a closely contested election. During a TV debate Christie, a former US Attorney (federal prosecutor), seemed to have a change of heart saying that he supported medical marijuana in “concept.”

But since gaining office Governor Christie has taken a harder line. This approach is leaving the patients of at least ninety specially qualified NJ physicians, approved under the strictest rules in the country, without legal access to a medical therapy they need.

Some potentially qualifying patients have struggled to find doctors already registered, but the list is not public. Even more of the local NJ patients say that they have given up on the program. They have cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV or other serious conditions and access the ubiquitous underground marijuana market instead.

Therapeutic cannabis is only legal on paper in New Jersey and it may stay on the page for some time longer. Medical professionals, especially those in hospice care, can only have the personal compassion to fulfill the law – looking the other way as patients and their families risk arrest.

Grassroots link: The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ)

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]

By Vic Pinho in Jersey City, NJ – Just when you thought New Jersey’s medical marijuana program couldn’t get more perverse, the state’s top lawyer decides to inject herself into the mix.

NJ Attorney General Paula Dow’s office sent a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder late yesterday asking for clarification on the federal government’s stance on NJ’s medical marijuana program. Specifically, Dow’s letter inquired as to whether those licensed to grow or sell pot — as well as the state workers who will administer the program when it launches later this year — could face arrest.

“As the state’s chief legal adviser to all of the departments in the Executive Branch, many of which are participating in carrying out the medical marijuana legislation, it is critical that I properly advise them as to the potential criminal and civil ramifications of their actions in carrying out their duties,” according to Dow’s letter.

“Accordingly, I ask that you provide me with clear guidance as to the enforcement position of the Department of Justice relative to New Jersey’s medical marijuana legislation and the scope of the entities and individuals who may be subject to civil suit or criminal prosecution,” the letter said.

These legal questions potentially raise more obstacles to implementing an already delayed program.

Read more about New Jersey at www.cmmnj.org

New Jersey Coalition Forms to Support Bi-Partisan Marijuana Decriminalization Bill

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and the New Jersey chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML-NJ) have started a new coalition to support decriminalizing marijuana: Sensible New Jersey.

A bi-partisan marijuana decriminalization bill, A4252, was introduced on June 29, 2011 in Trenton. Sponsored by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora (D) and Michael Patrick Carroll (R) the measure would remove criminal penalties for adults who posses less than 15 grams of marijuana.

Gusciora said today, “Right now, an astronomical proportion of marijuana possession charges are for under 15 grams. This is a drain on our already strained police force and our over-burdened court systems.”

New Jersey performs more arrests for marijuana than for all other drugs combined. In 2009 (the most recent data available) 22, 439 people were arrested for possessing less than 50 grams of cannabis. A conservative estimate of cost of arresting and prosecuting these marijuana offenses is about $30 million dollars annually.

Rachel Cotrino, an attorney and board member at NORML NJ said, “In addition to imprisonment, offenders of the current law face loss of driving privileges from six months to two years. This unreasonably punitive measure causes many, otherwise law abiding citizens, to lose their jobs because they cannot get to work. Offenders also face eviction from their leased premises or loss of public housing. It is time to decriminalize the individual user and remove the current penalties that stifle our community and economy.”

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) has joined the effort. Jack Cole, a 26-year veteran of the New Jersey State Police and board chairman for LEAP, said, “As a former undercover narcotics detective in New Jersey, I now know that all the time and resources I spent arresting people for marijuana offenses over the course of my career didn’t accomplish anything good. In addition to being a waste of money that should have been spent solving and preventing violent crimes, these arrests in many cases ruined otherwise productive people’s lives. The marijuana decriminalization bill is a great first step to undoing some of the damage wrought by the failed ‘war on drugs.’”

Fourteen states, including New York (1979), Massachusetts (2008) and Connecticut (2011) have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults.

“We are ready to begin this conversation in the legislature and will continue to lay the foundation for this groundbreaking effort. This is about cutting costs and ending the failed practice of criminalizing otherwise productive members of society for possessing a substance that is less dangerous than alcohol,” stated Victor Pinho, a Sensible New Jersey coordinator and NJ Chapter Coordinator for SSDP.

CONTACT: Victor Pinho – [email protected] and Evan Nison – [email protected]

Sensible New Jersey on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sensible-New-Jersey

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) launched the physician registry for the Medical Marijuana Program today. No other state has this requirement. The details emerged in draft regulations DHSS released earlier this month that were criticized by potential patients and some local physicians.The state also created a new website for the marijuana program: https://njmmp.nj.gov/njmmp/The registering of doctors and the surrounding requirements are not a part of the medical cannabis law. Instead they are part of an array of new regulatory restrictions being imposed on the most limited marijuana access legislation in the country.

3/1/2012 – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took calls and emails on NJ 101.5 last night. One of the emails asked if he would consider clemency for medical marijuana patient John Ray Wilson. In his answer Christie relied heavily on a report from his Counsel’s office.

Apparently, just one briefing from his in-house attorneys was enough to make Governor Christie an expert on the proper amounts of medical marijuana for patients and the complex disease of multiple sclerosis.

Here’s a transcript of the exchange:

NJ 101.5 – [John Ray Wilson]  was caught growing marijuana in Somerset county.  He suffers from MS …says he was growing for it for his own use for his symptoms. There was nothing really presented governor that would indicate that this guy was a drug dealer….he’s in jail for 5 years… do you disagree with that?

Christie –I do. And I’ve been briefed..

NJ 101.5 – You think John Ray Wilson was a drug dealer?

Christie –This is what I believe…I believe John Ray Wilson… that there are a lot of questions that have yet been answered about John Ray Wilson’s activity. The amount of pot that he was growing was well beyond the amount of pot you would need for medicinal use for yourself. Um yaaa know… His diagnosis um has been has brought into question…to whether he really does have MS or not. Umm I asked my counsel’s office which I said at one of my town hall meetings to review this umm and I’m not gonna talk about all the things that they raised with me. But I will tell you that based on the things that they raised with me and the report, the briefing that they gave me that I am not inclined to give any clemency to John Ray Wilson.

NJ 101.5 – So as far as you’re concerned that’s a dead issue?

Christie – I mean unless something new comes up I think he’s gotta go to jail – And stay there.

Full video from NJ101.5 here.

Prosecutors attempted to bring Wilson’s MS diagnosis into question during his trial but were unsuccessful. When he was jailed in 2010, before being released pending appeal, prison authorities set up medical treatments for Wilson’s MS symptoms.

John Wilson was prosecuted by the New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General. Usually such marijuana cultivation cases are prosecuted by the municipality.

Ken Wolski is a registered nurse an executive director of The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey. Wolski has been helping Wilson with his case since it began.

“On 1/26/12 I faxed to NJ Dept. of Corrections Commissioner Gary Lanigan a copy of Mr. Wilson’s most recent MRI,” Wolski said, “This MRI clearly documents the progressive nature of his MS lesions, and is entirely consistent with his clinical symptoms.”

John Ray Wilson’s family allowed Freedomisgreen.com to review his latest MRI report. Performed on 12/1/2011 it states the following:

“The lesions are considerably more extensive than that seen in 2002. Findings are consistent with demyelinating disease as can be found in patients with multiple sclerosis.”

Wolski also pointed out that there were experts willing to come forward in this case, “Dr. Denis Petro, a Board Certified Neurologist stands ready to testify to Wilson’s diagnosis and marijuana’s usefulness for it, but Dr. Petro’s testimony was not allowed by the trial judge.”

The amount of medical marijuana patients are allowed varies from state to state. At the time Wilson cultivated the seventeen plants there was no medical marijuana law in New Jersey. He grew the plants outdoors so there may have been some reasonable planning for the crop to last into the next year’s growing season.

Wolski had this to say about the not-so-transparent briefing from the Governor’s Counsel: “Gathering secret information on citizens is no way to make a decision about whether or not they received justice in a courtroom.”

On February 16, 2012 the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee passed a resolution urging Governor Christie to grant John Ray Wilson clemency. SCR89 could still go to the Senate floor for a vote in March.

CMMNJ – http://www.cmmnj.org

Support John Ray Wilson on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-John-Ray-Wilson-New-Jersey-MS-Patient/104540271138

CALL or TWEET to Governor Chris Christie 609-292-6000 or @GovChristie – ask him to “Pardon medical marijuana patient John Ray Wilson!”

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]

State House in Trenton – photo by C. David Freitag

9/28/2012 – Governor Chris Christie was on his favorite FM radio station last night, NJ 101.5, trying to avoid responsibility for delaying the Garden State medical marijuana law. But he may have come clean about something more serious.

Christie: “This bill was passed in a rush in January of 2010 because they wanted to get it in under the wire while Governor Corzine was still here. The bill was without much thought – they didn’t know how they were going to enforce standards or anything else. We essentially had to remake the bill by regulation because it was so poorly written…”

Ken Wolski, executive director of The Coalition for Medical Marijuana- New Jersey (CMMNJ) pointed out that  the governor is far outside of his authority.

“Governor Christie just admitted that he re-wrote the law through the regulatory process with the NJ Department of Health. This is inappropriate: advocates have been pointing this out for two years. An Executive Agency like the Department of Health is not authorized or empowered to re-write the statute and substitute its judgment with that of the Legislature.”

Back in 2010, Christie pitched a monopoly contract on all growing and distribution by none other than Rutgers University. Then he worked the Legislature for a 6-month implementation delay.  Somewhere in between the corporate pharmaceutical and medical interests in the Soprano State smelled cash in the water.

Now the New Jersey Medicinal Marijuana Program (MMP) stands as one of the worst examples of government because not one single ounce of marijuana has been made available to patients.

The New Jersey Department of Health issued a massive set of regulations in late 2010 that were absurdly overbearing. They limited THC to 10%, required that physicians join a special registry and made the dispensaries treat natural cannabis as if it were radioactive material.

Christie repeatedly went to bat for the harsh provisions from his bully pulpit at press conferences and behind the scenes by sending his Counsel into meetings at NJDOH.

But the cannabis rules were so bad that in 2011 both the NJ Assembly and the Senate passed resolutions (SCR130) declaring the regulations to be outside the “intent of the law.” The step was almost without precedent. Yet the NJ Legislature lost the resolve to make the final move and invalidate the regulations.

Jay Lassiter of Cherry Hill, NJ lives with HIV and is one of the 240 currently registered patients in New Jersey.

“I think I’m patient number 127.”

Still, Lassiter can’t get his MMP card or the legal protections of the compassionate use law just yet.

New Jersey was the first state that passed a medical marijuana law cutting off home cultivation by patients or caregivers. Instead all the patients would be forced into a state-licensed “Alternative Treatment Center (ATC).”

Just six of the ATC contracts were put out to bid by the Christie Administration. None of the ATCs have been fully permitted to open for patients. Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair, NJ is the closest to opening.

Jay’s ID card, along with 239 more, will be shipped from NJDOH to Greenleaf for the patients to pick up…if they ever get final permits.

Like most of the NJ patients who have been waiting for the law, Lassiter holds the governor responsible.

“I wish Chris Christie would take the same zeal with which he’s fought this program and apply it to my skyrocketing property taxes instead.”

CMMNJ – http://www.cmmnj.org

Contact  Governor Chris Christie 609-292-6000 or @GovChristie

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]

John Wilson (left) and Jim Miller in New Jersey

1/26/2012 – Living with multiple sclerosis has never been easy for John Ray Wilson. It will get even tougher tomorrow when he goes to jail. Like thousands of MS patients around the country John found that marijuana helped relieve his condition. But without healthcare and unable to afford medical quality cannabis on the streets Wilson grew seventeen marijuana plants behind his Franklin Township home in 2008.

Every resource in the State of New Jersey has been thrown at John from helicopters to aggressive prosecutors. This week the NJ Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeal. So at 8:30AM on 1/27  John will surrender himself at the Somerset County Courthouse to serve the remainder of his 5-year prison sentence.

This afternoon John was at home with his family, putting his affairs in order and preparing for a dinner out with friends. He was convicted just before the New Jersey medical marijuana law was passed in 2010.

“I’ve almost given up hope. I mean it’s been 2 years and there’s no patients even registered yet,” Wilson lamented.

The medical marijuana program, administered by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), has struggled under heavy regulations.

“When I do finally get out,” Wilson asks, allowing only the smallest hope in his voice, “can I have my medicine?”

Not only is the NJ marijuana program still on paper but those in prison cannot access the state-legal medicinal cannabis at all. Those on probation or parole may have a difficult time as well. Drug testing is often standard practice. Qualifying residents, even those with conditions like AIDS or MS, might still get into trouble for being a registered medical marijuana patient and testing positive for THC.

“John Ray Wilson exemplifies the fact the NJ has some of the most retroactive, ill-advised draconian marijuana laws in the country,” said civil rights attorney William Buckman who represented Wilson in the appeal.

“The notion that taxpayers should pay to lock up a sick man for 5 years is ludicrous and tragic,” said Buckman,”The governor should quickly commute his sentence.”

Governor Chris Christie could intervene. State Senator Raymond Lesniak issued a press release yesterday also renewing that call:

“I am disappointed by the recent decision of the Supreme Court to deny the appeal of John Ray Wilson. Mr. Wilson was not selling drugs on our streets. He was merely trying to alleviate the symptoms of a dreadfully painful and regressive disease. It is unconscionable that this Friday he will be behind bars.

“Three years ago, I called on Governor Corzine to commute the sentence of Mr. Wilson. After inaction with the last governor, I was hopeful Governor Christie would better understand the unfair reality of this situation. Unfortunately, Governor Christie has been just like Governor Corzine, refusing to use his and only his power to make things right when the true intentions of the law were misapplied.”

Wilson’s family, fellow patients and medical marijuana advocates plan to rally at the Somerset County Courthouse as John arrives on Friday morning.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) has been keeping up demonstrations in support of John since his original trial. The group plans to hold solidarity events for Wilson while he is in prison.

John Wilson’s case has symbolized the ongoing plight of New Jersey’s medical cannabis patients.

CMMNJ – http://www.cmmnj.org

Support John Ray Wilson on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-John-Ray-Wilson-New-Jersey-MS-Patient/104540271138

CALL or TWEET to Governor Chris Christie 609-292-6000 or @GovChristie – ask him to “Pardon medical marijuana patient John Ray Wilson!”

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]