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.
