In a humane world, medical marijuana — i.e., the use of pot to mitigate certain debilitating conditions — would be accepted as a matter of course, a normal part of treatment.
But in most states, New Jersey included, it is illegal.
State Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, is looking to change that. He’s sponsored legislation — S-119, New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act — that, according to The Star-Ledger,
would require the state Department of Health and Senior Services to evaluate requests from physicians who recommend marijuana to their patients to help alleviate a “debilitating medical condition,” defined as cancer, glaucoma, HIV and AIDS, or chronic illnesses that cause “wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain, seizures and severe and persistent muscle spasms.”
Patients the health department deems worthy would receive a state identification card verifying their enrollment. Patients, and their primary caretakers who do not have a history of drug convictions, “shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution or penalty” provided they possess the card and no more than six marijuana plants and 1 ounce of “usable marijuana.”
The legislation is scheduled for a hearing Monday, which will feature testimony from a couple of local residents — Gerry and Don McGrath of Robbinsville — who will tell the Senate Health Committee “about how their son, Sean, regained his appetite and reduced his suffering before he died from cancer four years ago.”
“I strongly believe that once members of the Senate Health Committee listen objectively to stories like ours on Monday, they will vote yes on the bill, bringing it closer to becoming law and help those currently suffering in New Jersey,” Don McGrath said.
I’m hoping that a reasonable discussion can be had, though it’s more likely the antidrug fearmongers will take over. Read some of these papers on the medical marijuana issue from the Drug Policy Alliance.
Hank Kalet 
In an intelligent world, we would have learned from (alcohol) Prohibition that trying to regulate what a human being VOLUTARILY puts in their body is their own choice. Drug addiction is a medical problem. It becomes a criminal problem when the drugs are \”illegal\”. Stupidity!Absolute stupidity. Insanity.You want to remove drug gangs — foreign and domestic? You want to stop gun violence? You want to restore order and tranquility to the inner cities?Decriminalize ALL drugs. Nuke the DEA (and all the other unConstitutional three letter agencies that are in effect the private militias that the Dead Old White Guys warned about.) Nuke the FDA. Nuke the BATF (Oops, that has FOUR letters!)Let WalMart sell any drug people want to buy. Meth, cocaine, MJ, etc etc etc. At everyday low prices. First, since WalMart doesn\’t want to be sued, drugs will be pure. No kids dying from overdoses because the drug was double strength. Or ODing from multiple underdoses trying to get high. OR, drug cut with rat poison. No, WalMart will sell USP grade pure drugs. No kids dying when they experiment with illeagal drugs.Second, since WalMArt cares about its image, it will do a great job of \”customer education\”. I can see drug counselors in the pharmacy department. (Did you ever buy a dngerous product at WalMart? Ever see anything electrical without the UL label?)Third, since WalMart does global distribution cheap, currently illegal drugs will be cheap. (Think twice the price of aspirin.) No profit in drugs means a whole lot of drug dealers are going to have to find \”honest work\”. Drug warrior cops too!Fourth, all the money that society spends now and all the costs it incurs now can be focused on a true cure. Fifth, when you nuke the FDA, you\’ll also break the back of the Big Pharma monopoly on new drugs. And, it won\’t take two decades to bring a drug to market. And, drugs will no longer have to be blockbusters to make it to the market. \”Orphan Drugs\” will flow because there won\’t be a billion dollar price tag to get to market cause by the FDA.FINALLY, we will restore diginty to sick people and liberty to everyone. (Look at the violations of the Fourth Amendment and the collateral damage of drug raids!)Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting differnet results. We\’ve been supposedly fighting the \”drug war\” for 50 years. Worse result. Drug use doens\’t change. We do.Repeal ALL drug laws NOW! Get the gooferment out of the problem. It is the problem.
I agree that marijuana should be legal and possibly some other drugs. But there are some drugs that are so harmful, so toxic, so immediately addictive that they should probably never be legal. Sure, alcohol might fit that description but the difference is that alcohol has been a part of various cultures and religions for thousands of years. A panel of scientists and medical experts should weigh in on this issue. It would still be illegal to sell these newly legal drugs to minors. It would still be illegal to drive, operate heavy machinery, do almost any job, fly a plane, do neurosurgery under the influence of any drug, alcohol included. If you go to work sloshed enough times, you will be fired, assuming you don\’t kill yourself and someone else on the way to work.Oh wait, it\’s the gooferment\’s fault. Boo hoo, boo hoo, I have hemorrhoids, it\’s the gooferment\’s fault. Boo hoo, boo hoo, I have agida, it\’s the gooferment\’s fault.Oh yeah, let\’s leave it all to the wonderful folks at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart will just import all these drugs from COMMIE CHINA. COMMIE CHINA with its lax quality control standards will of course allow the drugs to be laced and tainted with rat poison, melamine, iron fillings, antifreeze, etc.
In the Libertarian utopia where all drugs are legal at your local Wal-Mart, if you are severely injured and disabled by a driver who was high on methamphetamines, tough luck unless you have the money for the lawyers, money for the privatized for profit Wal-Mart judges, money for the privatized for profit Wal-Mart judicial system. If you are poor or if you are even middle class you will not have enough money for Wal-Mart justice.
In the non-Libertarian utopia currently where all drugs are severly regulated and some drugs are illegal to get safely at your local Wal-Mart, if you are:* killed in a drug turf war, tuff luck.* die or are severely injured by over strength or cut with rat poison drug, tuff luck.* a minority targeted by police, posibly with planted evidence, and you are killed injured or becomes bubba\’s girlfriend in the man\’s prison where you get aids, tb, or just brutalized, tuff luck.* a victim of drug related crme, tuff.* pay taxes for this insane drug war or to keep human beings in skrools or their subsequent instance prison, tuff.etc. etc. etc.* loose your Fourth Amendment rights under the guise of keeping you safe, tuff!!1Yeah, and the current \”legal system\” does so much for the little guy. IF you\’d try some Libertarian principles, you might like them. I guess we have the largest prision population because those are all \”bad people\”.I find it humorous that you can let people die for decades due to the DEA, FDA, and all the other insane agencies. BUT scorn any idea that upsets your precious big gooferment applecart.Sorry, but I trust WalMart to sell clean drugs more than my local drug gang and at a price that addicts can afford. If you don\’t like WalMart, how about Walgreens – RiteAid – Stop\’n\’Shop? Trust them better?The essence is that USP and UL and Consumers Union will do a far better job of keeping us safe and healthy that any disinterested gooferment hack.Just envision that your doctor, your pharmacist, and your insurance company are advising you on your health. Wanna bet we\’d see a whole lot more vitamins and inexpensive preventative measures being taken?In your first sentence, I saw a gleam of hope for reasonableness. So let\’s start there. Get the gooferment out of the drug biz and let\’s reap some of the benefits.Please!