medical marijuana – Hank Kalet

Smoke it if you need it

When the state passed its medical marijuana law, the intent was simple: Let those suffering from specific ailments benefit from the properties — its ability to calm nerves, increase appetite — of the drug.

The law, signed by then-Gov. Jon Corzine, was opposed by then-candidate Chris Christie. But it passed with bipartisan support and became law.

Then Corzine lost to Christie, who instead of trying to repeal the law, made it his mission to limit its usefulness by drafting rules making access difficult.

The state Legislature is pushing back — at least so far. A resolution overturning Christie’s rules has passed the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee and the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and now goes to the full Assembly and Senate for votes.

I’m hoping the resolution is approved, and the intent of the original legislation is restored. But it is clear that the battle over how the medical marijuana system will be handled in the state will go on — and on and on.

Send me an e-mail.
Read poetry at The Subterranean.
Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.

Let the jury hear all the evidence

The judge in this case appears to have ruled correctly, but the law as it exists creates an imbalance. The defendant, Franklin Township resident John Ray Wilson, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, cannot testify about his disease — even though doing so would show jurors that the marijuana crop at issue was not grown for sale. By preventing such testimony, as his lawyer points out, the jury “could readily speculate that he was operating an illegal commercial grow operation and must have done so for years to develop a market for the marijuana.”

Omitting Wilson’s disease would keep him from addressing the issue of continuous use, one of the elements of operating a production facility. He would not be able to testify this was the first and only crop he has tried to grow, Wronko said.

Barring the medical-use argument, “is basically tying our hands unfairly,” Wronko said in court.

The court, however, was concerned that introducing the ailment would create a level of empathy that could lead to jury nullification — a jury ruling in favor of the defendant despite the law because it perceived the law to be unfair.

Jury nullification, however, is not a bad thing. Juries are the people’s representatives in the court, and should be given as much information as possible, allowing them to review mitigating circumstances and to not only judge the specific case at hand but whether the law itself achieves a public good.

Jury nullification in this case, rather than being a usurpation of the legislative function by the court, would act as a voice of the people, and possibly spur the Legislature to legalize so-called medical marijuana.

Instead, the judge has removed an important piece of the narrative, leaving Mr. Wilson to look like just some random drug producer, making it more difficult than it should be for him to defend himself.

Medical marijuana clears a hurdle, but loses a shoe

I’d like to call this vote on the state’s medical marijuana bill a victory for compassion, but I’m afraid that the restrictions added to it may just make it too restrictive to have the desired effect:

Responding to criticism that the original bill was too lax with the distribution and oversight of the drug’s distribution, Committee Chairman Herb Conaway (D-Burlington) said only licensed “alternative treatment centers” would be allowed to grow, process and dispense the drug to people whose treating physicians recommend they need the drug to ease pain, mobility and nausea. The original bill, passed in the Senate, would have allowed people to grow their own limited supply of marijuana.

The bill permits only the patients themselves to physically obtain the drug, or if they cannot, a courier will deliver it to them, according to the amended bill.

“This bill will be the most restrictive in the nation,” said Sen. Joseph Scutari (D-Union), who added that even he thinks the new bill may be too narrow and restrictive.

Let’s see if it gets out of the Assembly and what happens when the two houses attempt to bridge what are some rather significant differences.

Another step toward sane pot laws

The stars may be aligning on the issue of medical marijuana. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today (I first saw this on OpenLeft) that enforcement of the nation’s drug laws would be state matters, opening up the possibility that New Jersey’s medical marijuana law — should it get through the Senate and be signed by the governor — will have the real force of law.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is sending strong signals that President Obama – who as a candidate said states should be allowed to make their own rules on medical marijuana – will end raids on pot dispensaries in California.

Asked at a Washington news conference Wednesday about Drug Enforcement Administration raids in California since Obama took office last month, Holder said the administration has changed its policy.

“What the president said during the campaign, you’ll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we’ll be doing here in law enforcement,” he said. “What he said during the campaign is now American policy.”

Under the Clinton and Bush administrations, state medical marijuana laws were rendered meaningless.

The federal government has fought state medicinal pot laws since Californians voted in 1996 to repeal criminal penalties for medical use of marijuana.

President Bill Clinton’s administration won a Supreme Court case, originating in Oakland, that allowed federal authorities to shut down nonprofit organizations that supplied medical marijuana to their members. Clinton’s Justice Department was thwarted by federal courts in an attempt to punish California doctors who recommended marijuana to their patients.

President George W. Bush’s administration went further, raiding medical marijuana growers and clinics, prosecuting suppliers under federal drug laws after winning another Supreme Court case and pressuring commercial property owners to evict marijuana dispensaries by threatening legal action.

This policy never made much sense — neither from a medical nor from a law-enforcement point of view.

Assembly’s turn on prescription pot

The Star-Ledger is reporting that Gov. Jon S. Corzine plans to sign legislation approved by the state Senate on Monday that would legalize so-called “medical marijuana” — or pot used by terminally ill or patients in chronic and debilitating pain to allow them a more comfortable and normal existence.

The governor apparently told radio announcer Brian Lehrer on WNYC this morning that he thought the legislation could be crafted to provide relief while also offering safeguards.

The bill passed the Senate on Monday, but is unlikely to get through the Assembly until after November’s election, during what is called the lame-duck session. That’s when legislators tend to handle controversial proposals (repeal of the death penalty, for instance).

I wish the Assembly had as much courage on this as the governor is showing. Like all 80 Assembly members, the governor is up for re-election, but he faces what is expected to be a difficult battle.