Pubdate: Mon, 21 May 2007
Source: Ocean County Observer (NJ)
Copyright: 2007 Ocean County Observer
Contact:  http://www.ocobserver.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1212
Author: Sarah Webster, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

AN ALTERNATIVE TO PAIN

Marchers Want to Legalize Medical Marijuana

SEASIDE HEIGHTS - If someone would get better by eating rocks, Jason
Scheurer said he would give out rocks.

Instead, Scheurer, a Libertarian candidate for the Legislature in the
14th District, was marching yesterday in support of the use of medical
marijuana.

Yesterday, the Libertarian Party and the Coalition of Medical
Marijuana embarked on their planned march across the Route 37 bridge
to Trenton. Their cause, Walk Across New Jersey, is to deliver
petitions and ensure Libertarian candidates are on the ballot this
coming November elections.

"It is about time that we send a message to Trenton that the
Libertarian Party can make a difference," said Lou Jasikoff, chair for
the Libertarian Party. "As we add to our candidates, we'll bring
national attention to what the Libertarian Party is and what we have
to offer."

"Our message is that the time has come for open and honest government
in Trenton," said Jasikoff. "If the current legislators neither have
the heart nor the courage to pass legislature to legalize the medical
use of marijuana, we have the candidates that will. It's the right
thing to do. We believe that people shouldn't have to go to jail to
get medicine. We are not trying to reinvent the wheel here; we're just
looking for the same government our forefathers wanted."

Jim Miller woke up this morning and prepared the wheelchair for the
walk. His wife Cheryl suffered from multiple sclerosis until her death
in June 2003. This will be Miller's third walk to Trenton for medical
marijuana.

He said the bill, which he said had 86 percent public support, was
currently stalled in the Senate Health Committee.

"We want people to see us walk today and know that we are trying to
get something done," Miller said.

Mike Kessler from Toms River is a burn victim from a motorcycle
accident in 1986. He is going to walk as far as he can. He believes
marijuana would be a safer alternative to pain treatment than the
current opiates prescribed.

Carol Mewherter of Brick suffers from multiple sclerosis and reflex
sympathetic dystrophy syndrome. She has also been in two major car
accidents. She heard about the walk in the newspaper and came out to
show support. "This would help everyone who has medical conditions, to
legalize marijuana would benefit us all," said Mewherter. "Maybe I
wouldn't have to take eight medications a day and get shots if it were
legal. I heard that marijuana is a better alternative to taking
current medications."

Miller said every step is important.

"It's a long walk to Trenton and if somewhere along the way we get
another multiple sclerosis sufferer, such as Carol Mewherter, to come
out and join us, it's worth the walk.

"We're walking over the Seaside Heights bridge grid and I have a
feeling Carol will not be able to walk that far and she may need to
sit in Cheryl's wheelchair," Miller said. "I will be proud to have her
sit in it, and I will push her rest of the way."

Roy Babecki from Fords has a mother who suffers from glaucoma. His
mother, who never smoked or drank, has had operations and laser
surgery. "The last thing I would want to see is my mother smoke dope
on the couch," Babecki said. "But I have asked doctors about medical
marijuana. They told me that they knew smoking marijuana would reduce
eye pressure, but they could not prescribe it. It shouldn't be up to
the Legislature to decide what is best for my mother. The choice for
prescribing marijuana should be a medical decision, not a political
one."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake