Pubdate: Mon, 20 Jan 2014
Source: Press of Atlantic City, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2014 South Jersey Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/29
Author: Dr. Jeffrey S. Pollack

MEDICAL-MARIJUANA PROGRAM STILL SUFFERING IN N.J.

The Appellate Division of the Superior Court has ordered the
Department of Health and Senior Services to produce a report within 45
days detailing the status of New Jersey's medical-marijuana program,
especially regarding the dispensaries that haven't yet opened.

Finally, the DHSS will have to show some accountability for the
state's medical-cannabis program. At least, I hope so.

There are many things still quite wrong with the program - here are
just four of them.

1. Lack of dispensaries.

The lawsuit, in which I was one of the plaintiffs, challenges the
state's distortion that three dispensaries are fine. They are not. The
law requires six dispensaries at a minimum, and the state has shown
willful neglect at complying with the intent of the law. It has taken
the state four years to implement the program halfway.

The state now has 45 days to produce a status report. What that report
will show is that of the three dispensaries that are operational, some
are functioning better than others. They all suffer frequent outages
because the supply is less than the demand.

The other dispensaries may show some degree of organization, however
some may still lack local community support and may not have a firm
locale yet. Dispensary applications based on less than fully committed
credentials or based on less than fully substantiated claims should be
voided.

2. Not enough appropriate diagnoses for medical marijuana.

Doctors wanting their patients to enroll in the program for medical
purposes are frequently frustrated by the lack of allowed conditions.
The indications do not include chronic neuropathic pain without
paresis, refractory gastrointestinal syndromes of any kind, and any
mental-health indications.

It is my firm belief that if a physician must first register with the
program and document that he, or she is competent in addictive
medicine, pain management, and presumably cannabis' medical effects,
then the indication should be what ever he or she thinks is
appropriate for the patient, provided that the physician is acting in
good faith, is only doing what is thought to benefit that patient
medically, and is not an abuse of the system.

The law itself calls for a two-year re-evaluation of the diagnostic
indications for the medical-marijuana program. But because of the
DHSS's policy of secrecy and autocracy, no such revision has occurred
even four years into the program.

3. A lack of alternative formats for dispensing medical
cannabis.

No oral products are available for adults. Some patients have declined
to enter the program because they do not wish to smoke cannabis. They
don't want to smoke anything. They desire an oral format. There is no
logical reason why oral products should not be available at the
dispensaries.

4. The program's secrecy.

The administration of the medical-marijuana program has been very coy
and autocratic. The program should become transparent. New Jersey has
a very unique model with tight control over abuse, and it should be
the model for future states considering similar programs - not the
laughingstock of state-run medical-cannabis programs.
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MAP posted-by: Matt