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1/11/2012 – A spokesperson at the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), Donna Leusner, said that there are one hundred and nine physicians registered with the state’s medicinal marijuana program.  This is an increase of just nineteen since the last check on the list in June 2011.

The Garden State is requiring the nation’s first registry for doctors who wish to recommend cannabis therapy. The separate registry for seriously ill patients is not open yet. Qualifying NJ patients do not have any protection from arrest or prosecution if they are caught with marijuana.

The finalized regulations for the “Medicinal Marijuana Program” were released by NJDHSS in December 2011. The doctor registry was not written into the law, but it is part of these new regulations. Patients, scientists, doctors, nurses and medical professionals testified several times before Legislative and DHSS hearings that the registry was unnecessary and contained requirements that would discourage participation.

Ken Wolski, a registered nurse and Executive Director of The Coalition  for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) wrote about the chilling effect of the registry.

” The physician registration program is even more limiting. A new requirement says that physicians must certify that they have completed medical education in Addiction Medicine and Pain Management within the past two years. Physicians must include the course title that covers these two areas, or they will be rejected from the registry.

This is a curious add-on. Marijuana is approximately as addictive as caffeine. Physicians should not be required to take a course in addiction medicine for recommending a substance with documented low addiction potential.” read full

The former DHSS Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh testified before the NJ Senate Health Committee in March 2011 that no similar requirements existed for doctors dispensing other drugs, even narcotics like morphine.

There are more than 28,000 physicians in New Jersey. The low number of registered doctors participating in the cannabis registry so far is seen as a problem by advocates and patients. The NJ Board of Medical Examiners, The NJ Department of Consumer Affairs and DHSS are tasked with providing information to doctors about the cannabis program.

The physician registry for medical cannabis began in October 2010. The list of the registered doctors is currently not public, leaving many patients wondering how they will access the program when or if it becomes operational. DHSS spokesperson Donna Leusner said that the possibility of publishing the doctor list is “under review.”

Two years after the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law, the controversial physician registry is the only part of the NJ program that appears to be online.

None of the six Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) that will grow and dispense the cannabis have received their final permits from the state. Several have recently failed in their bids for municipal land-use variances. This means that there is no legal marijuana available in New Jersey.

The severely restrictive regulations have put qualifying residents in a Catch-22: Until one of the ATCs actually opens their doors the specially qualified doctors will not be able to register patients with the state.

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]

Editor Chris Goldstein was quoted in this press release today –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/25/2011
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ)
www.cmmnj.org

New Jersey Attorney General Meets With Medical Marijuana Advocates

Trenton – New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow sat down with the Coalition for Medical Marijuana NJ (CMMNJ) on May 24th at her office in Trenton.  The AG and her staff held the meeting to hear concerns from local advocates about the compassionate use marijuana program that has now been suspended by Governor Christie.

Ken Wolski RN, the executive director of CMMNJ, was grateful for the interaction.

“Attorney General Paula Dow and First Assistant Phillip Kwon took time out their demanding schedules to listen to some very serious issues for New Jersey’s medical marijuana law,” said Wolski, “Qualifying patients continue to wait for this program and we hope that some of their concerns were heard. The Office of the Attorney General plays a key role in the implementation and administration of the compassionate use law.”

On April 22, 2011 Dow sent a letter to the Department of Justice in Washington DC requesting clarification about the medical marijuana law. Several US Attorneys have recently issued letters in other states with a clear description of how federal authorities will prosecute medical marijuana facilities, even if they are permitted under state law. In Washington, Montana and other states the letters were accompanied by DEA raids of local medical cannabis dispensaries.

NJ Attorney General Paula Dow stated in the meeting that she sent a follow-up letter to the US Department of Justice, addressed to US Attorney General Eric Holder, on May 23, 2011.

Paul Fishman, the US Attorney for New Jersey, has not sent any communication regarding the NJ medical marijuana law before or after Dow’s requests. A spokesperson at the US DOJ said the April 22nd letter from New Jersey had been received and was under review.

Chris Goldstein, the media coordinator at CMMNJ also attended the meeting.

“Not a single person in New Jersey has been able to register for medical cannabis, despite many promises from Governor Christie,” said Goldstein, “But I think that we had a meaningful exchange of new ideas with Attorney General Dow. The intent of The Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act is to grant legal access to seriously ill residents. There are some methods that the AG’s office can explore to actively protect New Jersey’s medical cannabis patients today.”

New Jersey passed the first compassionate use law in the country that forces patients into a centralized system of just six Alternative Treatment Centers to access all of their state-legal cannabis. There are no provisions in the NJ law to allow patients or caregivers to cultivate cannabis on their own. The law was supposed to have been fully implemented in the summer of 2010 but has suffered numerous delays.

CMMNJ’s Ken Wolski is looking forward to meeting with the one state official who has exercised the most influence over the medical marijuana law: Governor Chris Christie.

“It is long past time for Governor Christie to actually meet with patients and advocates in our state to discuss the compassionate use law.”

2/6/2012 – A zoning hearing will be held before the Land-Use Board of Camden New Jersey on Monday February 6, 2012. These are normally rather dull meetings but on the agenda this week is a variance to allow one of the six state-approved medical marijuana Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs). Several municipalities around the state have already turned down the facilities. This has left the Garden State medical cannabis law completely stalled as none of the ATCs can find a home.

But in Camden there are some new factors to the attempt that could yield a different outcome. Instead of one of the multi-million dollar ATCs seeking permission this time it is an individual going before the local zoning board.  Frank Fulbrook has owned property in Camden since the 1960’s. He is also a local activist and a meticulous scholar. This writer interviewed Fulbrook in 2007 after he mapped all of the open-air drug markets in Camden – a rather large and risky task.

Fulbrook is considered an expert in the local planning code; he actually sat on Camden’s Land-Use Board for many years. Now Fulbrook has partnered up with a friend who owns a warehouse, they will seek the zoning approval on their own and then lease the space to one of the ATCs. Rather than coming in from outside the community asking to open such an innovative business Fulbrook and his partner are super-locals, which should give them a much better shot.

Even with all of these ducks in a row there are other factors. If you have never been to New Jersey you have still probably heard of Camden. The city sits across the Delaware River from Philadelphia and remains a sore spot in the state. Yes there are happy seals barking from the gleaming NJ Aquarium, a bustling Rutgers Campus and some strips of success. But recent budget cuts have escalated the violence and blight across 95% of the already impoverished community.

Governor Chris Christie and the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) have severely altered the plans for the cannabis program. Among the buffet of new restrictions was the elimination of the provisions that allowed for the home delivery of  NJ’s medicinal cannabis. This means that patients or their designated caregiver must visit the ATCs in person. Although Camden is centrally located and has ample connections to public transportation, seriously ill NJ residents may not want to venture into the dangerous city for their legal marijuana.

Another interesting note is that half of the Camden police force was recently laid off. This has led to a sharp increase in the presence of federal agents – mainly in the Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA. If the ATC is approved in Camden there may be some friction between a warehouse growing marijuana for half of South Jersey’s patients and the DEA.

Still Fulbrook is hopeful for success, “This is a good place for one of these Alternative Treatment Centers. It’s the largest population concentration in South Jersey and all roads lead to Camden. It’s hub of highways and mass transit. But there are people right in Camden that have serious medical problems like HIV/AIDS …there are a lot of people right here who can benefit from marijuana as medicine. And this can create jobs.”

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) is planning to have advocates at the hearing to testify.

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]

As New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie continues to stonewall, delay and deny voter-approved medical marijuana legislation, women like Irvina Baker go without alternative treatments to serious illnesses. This New York Times piece is an excellent example of how our elected officials decide how laws will or will not be implemented, based on their own political agenda, and not the will of the people.

Irvina Booker makes a most unlikely criminal. She lives in constant pain, disabled by multiple sclerosis and arthritis, a grandmother whose limited mobility depends on her walker, her daughter and marijuana.

Irvina Booker at her home in Englewood, N.J. She expressed frustration about the lack of access to medical marijuana.

“I never smoked it before I got sick, and I don’t smoke it for fun,” said Ms. Booker, 59, who lives in Englewood, N.J. She would not divulge how she obtains her marijuana, but said, “I don’t want to be sneaking around, afraid someone is going to get arrested getting it for me.”

Like many people who contend that marijuana eases pain and appetite loss from serious diseases, Ms. Booker cheered in January 2010, when New Jersey legalized its use in cases like hers. But a year and a half later, there is still no state-sanctioned marijuana available for patients, and none being grown, and there is no sign of when there might be.

In the last few months, officials in New Jersey, as well as several other states, have said that mixed signals from the Obama administration have left them unsure whether their medical marijuana programs could draw federal prosecution of the people involved, including state employees.

A Justice Department memorandum issued late last month left unanswered questions, and Gov. Chris Christie has not said how he will proceed. But medical marijuana advocates say that in New Jersey, at least, the state law is stringent enough not to run afoul of federal policy, and that the governor’s true goal has been to block the program.

“You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure that out,” said State Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, a Democrat. “He’s used every tactic he can to delay and deny.”

The governor, a Republican, and his aides have insisted that every delay has been a genuine attempt to make the program work properly.

“In light of the Obama administration’s memorandum, the governor’s office is performing its due diligence to ensure implementation of the program is not in conflict with federal law and does not put state employees charged with directing the program at risk,” Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for Mr. Christie, said.

Read more.

I receive Google alerts every day for “women and marijuana” as part of my ongoing research for Freedom is Green. It’s usually a strange compendium of criminal reports (including two women who were found pantless in their car after St. Patrick’s day. Ladies, reign it in!), political and legal issues, and scientific reports.

One thing for sure: the alerts have been increasing in size and strangeness. Today, I read about the trial of one of the biggest marijuana crop busts in Australia’s history, spearheaded by a man who planned on using the funds for a massive anti-abortion campaign (to the tune of $69 million.)

Michael Bennet Gardner Sr. argued in his defense because, apparently, he possessed certain memories that would aid his cause:

Mr Gardner told the court he was in a unique position to argue against abortion as he could remember his time in the womb.

He said women who had abortions carried demons with them for the rest of their lives and argued society was doomed for allowing them to take place.

“Abortions are an act of treason against the reasons our men fought and died on the cliffs of Gallipoli,” Mr Gardner said.

He made his submissions wearing a ragged shirt that was missing the back panel, saying it was an ancient Jewish custom for grieving people to tear their clothes.

He apparently believes in shackling his children and forcing them into hard labor as well as torturing animals. So there you go. Radical conservatism and flagrant nutjobs aren’t beyond the use of marijuana to further their cause.

The right and the left continue to collide and intermingle in Connecticut, where Connecticut voters overwhelmingly support the use of medicinal marijuana with a doctor’s prescription, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Great news, right?

Well, this same group also strongly supports the death penalty, calling a legislative proposal to abolish it a “bad idea” by a margin of 62-31 percent.

We seem like a nation (or a world) of a fractured and mercurial belief systems that changes from day to day. No surprise.

I’ll continue to monitor and relay the varied stories…though the pantsless women types always have a special place in my heart.

Here’s a little excerpt. (Note their refusal to don pants even after instructed by the cops. Rebel.):

Two women wearing nothing but shirts were found by a Baldwin Borough police officer inside of a gray Ford Focus stuck on the railroad tracks along Streets Run Road near Route 51 at around 2:59 a.m. on Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day.

When the officer approached the Focus, he smelled the strong odor of alcohol, according to his report.

The officer requested numerous times that the driver—Andrea M. Vennare, 23, of 233 Albany St. in Pittsburgh’s Ridgemont neighborhood—get dressed so that he could put her through field-sobriety tests, but Vennare refused. Eventually, Vennare failed all field-sobriety tests and a breath-analyzer test before being arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Vennare said that she accidentally drove onto the railroad tracks.

Before being taken to the Baldwin police station, Vennare and the other woman in the Focus—a 22 year old who has not been charged with any offenses—both finally put on their pants.

See? Happy ending.

On April 15th the District of Columbia will move ahead with their medical cannabis system by publishing regulations in the DC Register.  But the nation’s capital is following a similar path as New Jersey: Both are attempting to provide just a handful of centralized cultivation and dispensing centers without any provisions for patients to cultivate at home. DC and NJ have also delayed the implementation of their medical marijuana laws for over a year, the extra time has seen what should be simple regulations have evolve into complex even draconian rules.

The DCist reported today:

The medical marijuana program sketched out by District officials will be more restrictive than similar programs in other states. Only five dispensaries and 10 cultivation centers will be allowed, and each will pay significant fees for licenses and registration. Only patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis will qualify, and will be limited to two ounces a month. Home cultivation will not be permitted, which has rankled advocates and raised a tough question — where exactly will cultivation centers get seeds to grow the marijuana they will then provide to dispensaries? No clear answers have yet emerged, but at a February townhall on the program, one advocate hinted that plants seized by the Metropolitan Police Department may well be a source. (There’s still the unsettled issue of how the feds will respond to the program; a recent raid in Montana and an IRS investigation into the taxes of the country’s largest dispensary in California have some local advocates worried. read more

Still, Washington DC is planning for five dispensaries in a city of approximately 600,000 residents. New Jersey is putting in just six Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) sites to serve a state with nearly 10 million people.

Applications to run the DC dispensaries are set for publication on April 17th, unless there is a federal government shutdown. The District of Columbia relies on federal funding for its municipal operations.

Read more Canna-Business news at Freedomisgreen.com

No Permit for Low Cost Marijuana Supplier in NJ

Ronda Rousey speaks out (actually shouts out, if you listen to the interview below) on medical marijuana after fellow fighter Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana. Due to his attention deficit disorder, Diaz has a medical marijuana card in California, but unfortunately, it doesn’t supersede commission policy.

Rousey fights back by saying that Diaz’s privacy is being invaded and the repercussions are severe and unfair.

“They have just as much of right to say that ‘you know what? We don’t believe that athletes should be promiscuous so we’re going to start testing for genital herpes and genital warts,’” said Rousey. “‘We’re going to start testing women for birth control because we don’t think you be having premarital sex. They don’t have a right to do it. It has nothing to do with sports.”

Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Keith Kizer disagrees.

“The drug is banned because of the damage it does to the person taking it. It could make you lethargic, slow your reflexes, and those are dangerous things in a combat sport,” Kizer told the L.A. Times in 2009.

Call me crazy but I get the distinct impression that this man’s reflexes are just fine:

Ronda Rousey’s Interview:

Source: Yahoo!Sports

 

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

Okay, so like Miley had a birthday party last week and Kelly Osbourne (a BFF) gives her a cake with a picture of Bob Marley on it, whose like some dead Jamaican rapper or something. Which was really funny and sooo Kelly. So then like, Miley makes a joke to her friends:

“You know you’re a stoner when your friends make you a Bob Marley cake.”

And like now, everyone thinks she’s a stoner! What? Come on – that’s just SO silly.

Here’s why:

A. She worked for Disney. D-I-S-N-E-Y. They’re all about family values and friendly mouses and stuff. Next thing you’ll be telling me, Tinkerbell is a crackhead. (Which she can’t be, because they don’t make pipes that small…hello!)

B. She’s a tween role model. SO many young girls look up to her. (Not like Jamie Lynn Spears who is totally slutty with a capital S.) Do you really think Miley would ruin her image by being a stoner? Celebrities have to be smart and do the right thing or helllllooo, they’d be out of a job, people!

C. Miley smokes salvia, which is much classier than pot. It even sounds classier.

D. Miley is like an uber-brainiac and only dopes smoke weed.

Let Miley tell you in her own words:

“I almost feel like people think of me as dumb…I’m like, I’m smarter than you think. You know, I understand what you’re trying to do. It’s all a mind game and what not.”

See? What did I tell you? Right from the horse’s mouth! Hardly the words of a stoner.

Well, Kelly Osbourne (BFF) sure came to her defense on Twitter:

“U guys if @MileyCyrus is not recording/filming/touring she is works everyday how could she possible do all that if she was a stoner! #think.’ (sic).”

Hello, right? OMG, I couldn’t have said it better myself, typos and all.

So y’all, give Miley a break. Cuz like she’d SO give you a break if you said something stupid.

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished actor and director with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can often be seen surfing or singing karaoke at the local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

Other blogs:

on Opensalon.com

Hot Buttered Media

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished actor and director with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can often be seen surfing or singing karaoke at the local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

Other blogs:

on Opensalon.com

Hot Buttered Media