Pubdate: Thu, 24 Jun 2010
Source: Times, The (Trenton, NJ)
Copyright: 2010 The Times
Contact:  http://www.nj.com/times/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/458
Author: Erin Duffy

DELAY SOUGHT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

TRENTON -- Implementation of the state's medical  marijuana law would
be rolled back to October under new  legislation introduced by
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora.

Gusciora, one of the prime sponsors of New Jersey's  Compassionate Use
Medical Marijuana Act, said his  proposed 90-day delay stems from a
request by Gov.  Chris Christie's administration that more time be
given  to craft medical marijuana regulations.

"I think we have to be realistic," he said. "We have a  change on
administration and while (former) Gov.  Corzine signed the bill into
law in January there was  still a lag time for the Christie
administration to get  it up and running."

The bill proposed by Gusciora, D-Princeton Borough,  mirrors state
Senate legislation introduced by state  Sen. Nicholas Scutari,
D-Union, another sponsor of the  medical marijuana law.

If adopted, the latest law would give the state time  from Oct. 1 til
Jan. 1 to cement its guidelines related  to the growth and
distribution of medical marijuana.

Implementation of the state's medical marijuana program  was
originally expected to start in July, with actual  distribution of the
marijuana via six "alternative  treatment centers" slated to begin
somewhere around  October.

New Jersey became the 14th state to legalize medical  marijuana in
January, and according to Gusciora, the  state's law is the "most
restrictive and responsible"  in the nation.

"While I would have preferred fast-tracking the law, at  the end of
the day we want to ensure patients who can  benefit from medical
marijuana can readily access it,"  he said.

The legislator also said he favored recent proposals  that would make
Rutgers University the hub of the  state's medical marijuana growth
and allow hospitals to  operate as dispensaries of the drug, saying
the move  could bring Rutgers to the forefront of medical  marijuana
research and cultivation.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said any proposals  including
Rutgers and hospitals "are just among the  options that are out there."

"There's reasonable debate going on about what is the  best approach"
when it comes to implementing the  state's medical marijuana law, he
said.

But some advocates ask why patients in need of medical  marijuana are
being asked to wait even longer to  legally obtain drugs that could
ease their symptoms.

"We don't think there's any need for a delay," said Ken  Wolski, the
executive director of the Trenton-based  Coalition for Medical
Marijuana-New Jersey Inc. "Our  organization has actually developed
regulations that we  would be happy to give the Department of Health.
We  could roll it out July 1."

He also said any ideas to get Rutgers and hospitals in  the mix would
likely prove "unworkable" due to the  sheer amount of red tape and
regulations the entities  would have to navigate to gain approval from
agencies  like the Drug Enforcement Administration.

"This bill was in the Legislature for five years," he  said. "Everyone
had ample time to tweak this bill. We  have the right law for New Jersey." 
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