cannabisnews.com: Trenton is Next Battleground in Marijuana Fight





Trenton is Next Battleground in Marijuana Fight
Posted by CN Staff on May 14, 2006 at 08:06:21 PT
By Kim Predham
Source: Ocean County Observer 
Toms River, NJ -- With the announcement that a medical marijuana bill will be discussed by the state Senate in June, residents and officials in Ocean County — which has become an improbable battleground for the issue — are once again gearing up for a fight.Supporters like Jim Miller, a Dover Township resident whose wife used marijuana to relieve the symptoms of her multiple sclerosis, hailed the decision to hold a June 8 hearing.
"It's an important first step," Miller, whose wife Cheryl died in 2003, said.Miller and other proponents of the legislation say that marijuana alleviates pain and relieves the effects of more traditional medications, perhaps most notably chemotherapy-induced nausea. Indeed, Miller said that he once used marijuana to relax his wife Cheryl's muscles enough that she could continue physical therapy."For many really ill people, that (marijuana) is their best medicine," Miller said during a telephone interview this week.But on the other side of the debate are those who say that allowing marijuana for medicinal use is just a front to legalize marijuana for all uses.First Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Terrence P. Farley, who also heads the county's Narcotics Strike Force, has been a long-time critic of medical marijuana and has frequently debated Miller face-to-face and in the opinion pages of local newspapers.Farley declined to comment for this article, but he told the Associated Press this week that, "This is how they're trying to get marijuana legalized."David Evans, a spokesman for the Drug Free School Coalition, agreed."I have a lot of compassion for sick and dying people," Evans said. "But what I'm angry about is using sick people to further legalization of marijuana." SnippedComplete Article: http://tinyurl.com/jzf6xSource: Ocean County Observer (NJ)Author: Kim PredhamPublished: May 14, 2006Copyright: 2006 Ocean County ObserverContact: observer app.comWebsite: http://www.injersey.com/observer/Related Articles & Web Sites:CMMNJhttp://www.cmmnj.org/Cherylhearthttp://www.cherylheart.org/ New Jersey Considers Legalizing Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21837.shtmlOutside View: Arrest MS, Not Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17382.shtml
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on May 15, 2006 at 14:35:00 PT
Press Release from The Drug Policy Alliance
DPA Launches New Jersey Compassionate Use Campaign***Monday, May 15, 2006The Drug Policy Alliance's New Jersey office has launched a campaign to support medical marijuana legislation introduced this month in the state legislature. Though similar legislation has been introduced in the past, 2006 will be the first time the legislature holds hearings on the subject.The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Services Committee will hold an information-gathering hearing in early June, and DPA's new Compassionate Use Campaign will prepare by educating legislators and ensuring that accurate information is avaiable to the committee. In addition, the Campaign will call on medical marijuana supporters in New Jersey to express their support for this overdue legislation to their Senators and Assembly members.The bills, sponsored in the Senate by Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, and in the Assembly by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, would allow seriously ill people access to medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. The program would be run by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.If the legislation passes, New Jersey will be the twelfth state to permit the medicinal use of marijuana. DPA's new Compassionate Use Campaign will work hard to make that happen in 2006.If you live in New Jersey, please visit our action center to see how you can get involved. 
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/051506njmmj.cfm
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on May 15, 2006 at 08:08:42 PT
Related Article from Snipped Source
Editorial: Medical Pot Will Get a Hearing Monday, May 15, 2006For the first time, the New Jersey Legislature will hear testimony on a proposal to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Those whose minds are closed to any drug policy other than absolute prohibition are enormously influential at the State House, but this is a step forward. A Senate health committee chaired by Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Woodbridge, has scheduled a June 8 session at which experts will discuss a bill sponsored by Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Linden, to allow the production, sale and possession of pot under strict safeguards for the benefit of those with a legitimate medical need. A similar measure has been introduced in the Assembly by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora, D-Princeton Borough, and Michael Patrick Carroll, R-Morris Township, but it never has had a hearing. Snipped:Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/oywqj
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on May 14, 2006 at 13:38:10 PT
Whig
I understand.
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Comment #13 posted by global_warming on May 14, 2006 at 13:28:02 PT
to the common cause
Women and children and the most mighty men,Freedomand my tithebefore the alterMay God ,Embrace Us,..in the Heavenly plan,
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Comment #12 posted by global_warming on May 14, 2006 at 13:18:21 PT
to the Mothers
I am praying for you,May your hand become strong
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Comment #11 posted by global_warming on May 14, 2006 at 13:03:45 PT
and the sick and almost dead
must continue to payto bow to the farliesand the minionsmay 'we 'Honor the BraveWho walk that Line..young Willie mcbrideand the lost and swallowed into the bellyit is lawthat man may not ever tastethe fruits of this worldMay Jesus cast his merciful glance on our backs.
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Comment #10 posted by whig on May 14, 2006 at 12:58:26 PT
FoM
Just trying to catapult something up Digg to get people to comment. :)
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on May 14, 2006 at 12:55:16 PT
Whig
Thank you.I don't understand the link though.
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Comment #8 posted by whig on May 14, 2006 at 12:50:31 PT
FoM and all
Happy Mother's Day
Digg this: How did WTC7 implode?
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on May 14, 2006 at 12:46:08 PT
Toker00 and Greenmed
Happy Mother's Day to you and everyone. 
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Comment #6 posted by Toker00 on May 14, 2006 at 12:31:59 PT
I would like to wish each and every one of you
Mothers a Happy Mothers day. You too, museman. :)Toke.
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Comment #5 posted by global_warming on May 14, 2006 at 10:33:46 PT
"This is how they're trying to get marijuana legal
and also, this is how you will be out of your useless job, that does more hurt than good...Goodbye and Good Riddance
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Comment #4 posted by greenmed on May 14, 2006 at 10:27:02 PT
O.T.
I would like to wish everybody a happy Mothers Day. Thank you to all the mothers who, by being our first teachers, nurture in us the qualities we carry for our days.greenmed
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Comment #3 posted by John Tyler on May 14, 2006 at 08:40:32 PT
changes II
and or a paycheck.
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Comment #2 posted by John Tyler on May 14, 2006 at 08:36:46 PT
changes
Isn’t it interesting that the Fed. is fighting harder than ever to keep the lid (no pun intended) on cannabis prohibition, but yet the states, the incubators of democracy, are increasing coming to a more reasonable and sensible conclusion. This grassroots movement started in the West and now it has moved east.  It is disingenuous for the prohibitionists to want to maintain this current status. It reveals in them an attitude not based on logic or facts but some strange emotionality. 
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Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on May 14, 2006 at 08:21:03 PT
Something to lo$e
People who always have something to lo$e are the first to speak out, such as:First Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Terrence P. Farley, who also heads the county's Narcotics Strike ForceDavid Evans, a spokesman for the Drug Free School Coalition$trange, when seen as a lo$$ to their $tatu$, they act like they care about sick people. Then link it to children, when children can get marijuana easier than alcohol, because of prohibition.
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