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| Montel Williams Joins Push for NJ MMJ Law |
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Posted by CN Staff on June 06, 2006 at 16:05:23 PT By Angela Delli Santi, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press 
Trenton, N.J. -- Television personality Montel Williams planned to tell a Senate panel on Thursday how marijuana relieves his chronic pain caused by multiple sclerosis, as he urges New Jersey lawmakers to join 11 other states that have enacted medical marijuana laws.Williams, 49, who was diagnosed with MS seven years ago, said he turned to marijuana to relieve debilitating knee and foot pain after trying Oxycontin and a variety of other drugs to no avail. Williams, a registered medical marijuana user in California, said he became an activist pushing for medical marijuana laws after being stopped at a Detroit airport by an Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms officer for carrying drug paraphernalia. The charge was later dropped. "For me, marijuana eases the pain in my feet - on a scale of 1 to 10, brings it from a 6 down to a 4 and keeps it there - makes it manageable so I can deal with the rest of my day," said Williams. "Why should it not be available?" Williams planned to speak at two events in Trenton: a Drug Policy Alliance-sponsored news conference supporting the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act on Wednesday and a Senate hearing on the bill on Thursday. He said he was also hoping to discuss the issue with Gov. Jon S. Corzine, though the governor's office said as of Tuesday Williams hadn't requested a meeting. Corzine said last year that he would sign a medical marijuana bill into law. Reiterating the administration's position Tuesday, Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said, "All individuals should receive the best possible medical care available. If a doctor prescribes medical marijuana, we should honor his or her judgment and do what is in the best interest of the patient." The proposal would allow certain chronically ill patients to use marijuana medicinally by smoking it, eating it or taking it in tablets. The drug would be prescribed by a doctor and the program would be monitored by the state Health Department. Under the proposal, the amount of marijuana a patient was allowed to possess would be capped at 1 ounce and patients would be issued cards identifying them as registered medical marijuana users. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Nicholas Scutari, lists cancer, glaucoma, HIV and AIDS, wasting syndrome, chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures and persistent muscle spasms as among the conditions eligible for medical marijuana usage. The legislation has long been proposed by Scutari, D-Union, but has never received a legislative hearing. New Jersey voters apparently support the concept, however. A 2002 Eagleton poll found 82 percent of New Jerseyans supported allowing access to medical marijuana. Terrence P. Farley, an Ocean County assistant prosecutor and spokesman for two state law enforcement groups, told The Associated Press last month that the bill is a veiled attempt to legalize drugs. "This is how they're trying to get marijuana legalized," said Farley, who also is director of the county anti-narcotics force. Complete Title: Montel Williams Joins Push for NJ Medical Marijuana Law Source: Associated Press (Wire) Related Articles & Web Sites: CMMNJ The Cherylheart Foundation Legalize It? N.J. Weighs Medicinal Marijuana Trenton is Next Battleground in Marijuana Fight Scarborough and Montel Discuss Medical Marijuana Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #34 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 10:53:24 PT |
| I'm so far removed from thinking like a republican maybe that's why it doesn't make much sense to me. I don't watch O'Reilly. He is so far out there that no one can possibly watch him for any reason except to fuel up their hate. He doesn't even have any etertainment value to me. I watch Keith on MSNBC. He makes sense to me and I like him. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #33 posted by whig on June 07, 2006 at 10:45:28 PT |
| Stephen Colbert is brilliant but you have to understand that he is playing a role, it isn't him that you see really but a caricature. He plays a complete idiot. Really. That's his character. He is a classic Republican idiot who takes the whole thing to the logical extreme that they would say if they wouldn't look as transparently stupid as he makes himself act. Very difficult to do well: irony. The kind of scary thing is there are actually some conservatives who don't realize that Colbert is playing with them, they think he's really on their side. I think they finally caught on after the White House Correspondents Dinner but until then they didn't get the joke. If you watch Bill O'Reilly (but I don't recommend you do so) you'll see he's every bit the idiot too except he doesn't play it for laughs. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #32 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 10:33:30 PT |
| Whig, We try to watch Stephen Colbert but he is different then Jon Stewart and I don't understand what he is saying like I do Jon Stewart. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #31 posted by whig on June 07, 2006 at 10:30:41 PT |
| Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are the leading lights of the media today. They really are. If you don't watch the news but you watch them you will know more about what is going on in the world and understand more than you could if you only watched the news. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #30 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 10:28:32 PT |
| I think Jon Stewart is a great humanitarian. He is silly in a very good way but he means what he says. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #29 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 10:15:12 PT |
| I understand. My reason that I don't pay serious attention to politicians is because they aren't my guiding force. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #28 posted by Richard Zuckerman on June 07, 2006 at 10:11:22 PT:
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| The Office of Legislative Services told me it will take place at 1 P.M., in Committee Room 1, State House Annex, Trenton, N.J.! YOU MUST KEEP IN MIND THIS IS ONLY A "DISCUSSION" FOR THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE TO DECIDE WHETHER TO POST THIS BILL, S.B. 88, FOR A VOTE!!! Dr. Morgan, of City University of New York, author of a book about Marijuana, and attendee of at least one of the NORML Conferences the last time it was held in Washington, D.C., is also scheduled to testify!!! PLEASE CALL, WRITE, FAX, E-MAIL, THE NEW JERSEY STATE SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN JOSEPH VITALE, 87 Main Street, Woodbridge, New Jersey, 07095, (telephone number)(732) 855-7441, (fax number)(732) 855-7558, senvitale@njleg.org. New Jersey passed a law way back in 1984, but failed to carry through on establishing a "Board." You may hear more about that some time in the future. If anybody has an questions, contact me, Richard Paul Zuckerman, Post Office Box 159, Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840-0159, (cell telephone number)(848) 250-8879, after 9 P.M. Eastern Standard Time. I was up until 2 P.M. the other night, calling radio and television stations asking them to cover this event! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #27 posted by whig on June 07, 2006 at 10:05:16 PT |
| I try to see through what people are saying to figure out what is behind it, what their real motivations and beliefs and intentions are. Jon Stewart is simply a brilliant, good and caring man. He is perhaps the foremost spokesperson in the country for our perspective. He believes deeply in treating people as human beings and he is very upset and angry at the careless disregard shown for human lives by the Republicans as well as the feckless surrender and conciliation of the Democrats. Sometimes a flash of his real anger will show through and he will expose his real core for us, but usually he masks it with great and good humor and silly antics to make it fun to watch and listen. He is really a master of it. Bill Bennett is nearly the diametric opposite, he is a leading member of the neoconservative cabal and what he says is as if from Satan's mouth to our ears. It is clear what he is saying and how it is to be understood. He is channelling the aspect of God which is called Satan but which most of us misperceive because we imagine that Satan would say he is evil. No. I wanted to write in that metaphor last night to make it clearer but I held off because I didn't want to put myself in the mindset. We can't leave religion out of this because it is driving the whole thing from the Republican side. From their perspective WE ARE EVIL. Judge the tree by its fruit. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #26 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 09:32:17 PT |
| I'm sure you are right. I don't know enough about these things. I know that we are selling everything we own. They are or just sold the Indiana Toll Road and they sold a bridge in Chicago. Do we own anything anymore? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #25 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 09:29:05 PT |
| Thank you. You know something? It's easier for me to pity a person then to hate them. I pity Bill Bennett. It's sad to see. People that lord it over others are very unhappy people. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #24 posted by kaptinemo on June 07, 2006 at 09:27:44 PT:
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| The way the banking system works in this country is essentially as you said: no gold to back the currency, and that allows the Treasury to print up lots of paper...until the private banks that comprise the Fed Reserve (most of which are foreign-owned) get tired of the inflation that that rampant paper-printing causes, thus cheapening their investments. That's happening right now, and many countries are now seeking to diversify their currencies by buying more euros, which are 25% gold-backed. The dollar doesn't really have much backing it all. Wars are immensely wasteful of more than lives; engaging in war costs money. Most nations have to get loans to have wars...as does this one. Loans with ruinous interest rates. Loans that must be paid, or terrible consequences ensue for those who don't. Uncle Sam is like the guy who's maxxed out his credit cards, but has to keep up appearences by spending money he can't afford to in order to maintain an illusion. When that illusion finally ends, there'll be Hell to pay in this country. To print more 'Monopoly Money' as the Fed Reserve has been doing (it has stopped reporting how much is actually in circulation to prvent our own citizens from figuring this out) doesn't fool our creditors; the recent about-face regarding Iran may only be a gentle reminder from those creditors that they want their money, and won't loan Uncle any more so he can go and invade some other country until he gets his house in order. So, there's limits to the amount that can be printed...but those limits are set in the boardrooms of distant banks, not legislatures and palaces. All dance to the tune of the international bankers who underwrite nations. And their wars... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #23 posted by Hope on June 07, 2006 at 09:19:50 PT |
| Because you are a loving and caring person. They aren't. Bennet isn't. They like to see the people they dislike or disagree with hurt and humiliated. He doesn't deserve your sympathy, of course. But he get's it, or a bit of it, just because of the kind of people you are. I'd choose someone like you over someone like him as my friend any day. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #22 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 09:08:50 PT |
| They'll just print more money if they want to keep the drug war going. No gold standard means they can do what they want I think. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #21 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 09:07:09 PT |
| I got that too. Jon Stewart is really silly but when he is serious he sure can throw out good and hard questions. I almost felt sorry for Bennett. He looked lost. The sad thing is they are lost. There is only one God and HE isn't a republican. HE isn't any political party but I think you'll will get my point. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #20 posted by kaptinemo on June 07, 2006 at 08:59:10 PT:
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| Friends, it's becoming painfully obvious to all who know the bare basics of reading balance sheets that we can't afford this idiotic 'War on (Some) Drugs' any longer. When the economy was going great guns, and prisons were sprouting up like particularly rotten fungus, the DrugWarriors never had to tighten their belts. (But you have to wonder, since the Meldown of 2000, just how much of that was false prosperity thanks to wild speculation which finally came to a screeching halt, like what happened before the Great Depression.) Now, every State in the Union is facing financial straits that don't look encouraging. In State legislatures around the country, prioritization...no, let's call it what it is, triage...is becomng the order of the day. DARE programs being cut were the first signs of reversals in the political fortunes of the DrugWarriors. Now pundits like Froma Harrop a few weeks ago are drawing a bead on those who benefit the most from this abominable 'war' and calling them out for what they are: leeches sucking the taxpayer's blood and getting fat when everyone else is punching another notch in their belts to tighten them. Prison stuffed to the gills didn't reduce crime. Ever harsher penalties and mandatory minimums didn't reduce crime. Giving police ever greater powers to abridge our rights didn't reduce crime. Why? Because the 'crimes' they were meant to affect were created in the halls of the very legislatures, who then propose even more nonsensical means of dealing with the mess they made. Madness begets madness, it would seem. Those politicians who realize the Fed DrugWar (and therefore, their own State 'me-too' version) is running out of monetary steam are also aware that a great many people don't believe in the DrugWarrior canto. They are beginning to see that there is much political capital to be made in showing how far out ahead of the herd they are in calling for changes in drug laws. It obviously has wide-spread support amongst the population, given the recent polling results. And it allows them to appear to be fiscally responsible' by calling out the DrugWarriors as spendthrifts who cannot justify their continued expenditures. I harbor no illusions that any politician wouldn't look to make political advantage out of calling for drug law reform for purely self-serving reasons. But the very fact that some are is encouraging. It proves the feasibility of the idea in stark terms, not based upon its' moral rectitude, but on the bottom line of fiscal realities. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #19 posted by whig on June 07, 2006 at 08:54:00 PT |
| I watched the Daily Show last night too, Bennett had an interesting part where he said about himself, "we aren't bigots, that's been settled" and tried to close that whole line of discussion. But watching at home I could see through the whole gesture, it was actually an admission that he is, and he closes it off because he knows it and doesn't want to be exposed. He and those like him are always demanding and expecting to be treated with respect for their obvious good intentions, when their intentions are in fact anything but good and deserving of respect. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #18 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 08:13:46 PT |
| I hope that this gets a good reception. It's really hard to have any serious hope since we have been hammered so hard during this administration. We desperately need to win something. I hope the organizations know how important it is if they want to keep people interested in our issue. I personally take on tasks that I feel I can complete and that is the way most people are. Time is way to precious to waste on a losing battle. I am not speaking for anyone but myself. Cannabis should be ok by now for adults. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #17 posted by OverwhelmSam on June 07, 2006 at 08:13:34 PT |
| "This is how they're trying to get marijuana legalized," said Farley, who also is director of the county anti-narcotics force. You're damned right we are working on legalizing marijuana. Get over it already Assistant DA (Dumb Ass). [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by Gary Storck on June 07, 2006 at 07:51:38 PT |
| The reason Gov. Corzine is on record in support is because during the last election, Jim Miller called in to a radio show with him and his GOP opponent Doug Forrester. Jim asked if they would sign the bill if elected. Forrester said yes first, and Corzine followed. One small step for Jim to make the call, one HUGE step for NJ patients in knowing that Corzine will sign. A little creativity can go a long way! GO NJ! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #15 posted by goneposthole on June 07, 2006 at 07:45:57 PT |
| I'd prefer that they would read the handwriting on the wall, face the music, and let the truth be told rather than listening to their litany of neverending drug war lies and lying. "I'm as free as the breeze and I'll do as I please, just a bummin' around" [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #14 posted by FoM on June 07, 2006 at 07:33:57 PT |
| Isn't that the truth. Last night on the Daily Show Jon Stewart had on Bill Bennett. I think Bennett will be on again tonight. He was talking about the Gay Marriage Amendment and he was nicely read the riot act by Stewart. What a waste of time and now it appears it won't go thru thank goodness. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on June 07, 2006 at 07:28:36 PT:
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| programming! This is getting monotonous! Terrence P. Farley, an Ocean County assistant prosecutor and spokesman for two state law enforcement groups, told The Associated Press last month that the bill is a veiled attempt to legalize drugs. "This is how they're trying to get marijuana legalized," said Farley, who also is director of the county anti-narcotics force. BEEP! CLICK! WHIRRR! RE-PEAT! RE-PEAT! I wonder if prohibs have a memory card in their heads that can be replaced; they always, always, ALWAYS say the same things, over and over and over again. They have such a limited repertoire of bilge to spew that it becomes embarassing after a while to read it. This shtick is getting so very very old. C'mon you prohibs! Can't you come up with any newer, more entertaining lies? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #12 posted by mai_bong_city on June 07, 2006 at 07:02:40 PT |
| "This is how they're trying to get marijuana legalized," said Farley, who also is director of the county anti-narcotics force. say it with me now......Chuck You, Farley!!!!!! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by whig on June 06, 2006 at 22:07:41 PT |
| Right. The problem with the guest-worker proposal is that they want to keep and create more second-class people that can be mistreated by employers, hired at discriminatory wages and given fewer benefits and legal protections, to break the backs of the American workers and keep the plantation running for the benefit of the owners. Immigrants need to have the legal right to be here and to work under the same conditions as anyone in order to prevent this divide and conquer from being used against the entire working class. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by runderwo on June 06, 2006 at 21:42:22 PT |
| For those of you who have posted on the immigration debate: http://www.reason.org/commentaries/dalmia_20060501.shtml I found the mention of the 1996 reforms especially enlightening. If his numbers are true, that knowledge essentially reversed my opinion on the issue. If they are clearly already paying their own way, they should have the option to swear allegiance and become a citizen. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by jose melendez on June 06, 2006 at 19:36:06 PT |
| hi FoM! thanks again for everything, everyone. we are there . . . [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by FoM on June 06, 2006 at 19:33:07 PT |
| I just wanted to say Hi to you. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by jose melendez on June 06, 2006 at 19:29:50 PT |
| http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=8D0B5AB9-A1D3-4083-8AF1-B3DD59D4E4BE
The local (DeLand, FL) Fox affiliate ran this story, not one dispute as to mmj efficacy, just covered the break in. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 06, 2006 at 19:25:11 PT |
| http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6903 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on June 06, 2006 at 18:45:26 PT |
| Norml has a podcast now. http://www.normlaudiostash.com/ My hat is off to Mr. Jim Miller and his wife Cheryl. They started it in NJ, but they did it for everyone, everywhere. Much gratitude. Toke. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 06, 2006 at 18:44:52 PT |
| It sure has been a hard time coming in NJ. Cheryl would be so proud. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by Gary Storck on June 06, 2006 at 18:27:23 PT |
| The DPA sponsored press conference will include Jim Miller. June 7 is the third anniversary of his late wife Cheryl's passing from complications of MS, so I'm sure he'll have a lot to say. It's great to finally see mmj moving in NJ. It's sad Cheryl isn't around to see what she helped start come before the NJ legislature, but it has come a long way from the early days when her and Jim were the only thing going for mmj in NJ. Let's hope they get it done before it's too late for too many other Cheryl's! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by Toker00 on June 06, 2006 at 18:25:25 PT |
| I wrote his show. Asked if they might follow the Kubby story and do a report. I guess they decided not to. Like I could change their minds. If the decision was only up to Montel, and not his providers, I think he might have done a show about Kubby, though. They sent me a couple of e-mails totally void of the Kubby subject. I let 'em go. He has stood up before, looks like he'll stand up again, when he can. Kool. Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 06, 2006 at 16:21:51 PT |
| I appreciate Montel standing up like he has. [ Post Comment ] |
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