For Joe Stevens and Julio Valentin, the struggle to open New Jersey's first medical marijuana dispensary often seemed like chasing a mirage.

While starting any business is a tall order, try getting into selling medical marijuana just as skittish state officials are making rules under the glare of a governor determined to make sure New Jersey has the toughest restrictions in the nation.

Over the span of 21 months, opening the doors to the Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair took dozens of meetings and conference calls, hundreds of pages of paperwork that included everything from background checks and financial disclosure forms to how to collect taxes on pot - and long battles for permits to grow at a secret location and then sell to chronically ill patients.

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It's been nearly a week since the first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors in New Jersey. So far, there has been no sign of reefer madness on the streets of Montclair where the Greenleaf Compassion Center has set up its innocuous storefront.

More importantly, the first patients are finding relief from their chronic pain with the low-grade strains of marijuana approved by the state.

One of those initial patients is Susan Sturner of Lawrence who devoted most of a day last week to the 100- mile round trip to the distribution center in Essex County. Sturner, who suffers from glaucoma and its side effects of intense headache and nausea, returned with a half-ounce of pot to ingest by smoking and brewing tea.

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A Note From the State to Participants Inadvertently Showed E-Mail Addresses and Even Some Full Names.

Lisa Segal prays that those who inadvertently obtained the names of New Jerseyans approved by the state to buy medical marijuana will maintain the privacy she says those seriously ill patients deserve.

The state Department of Health apologized Wednesday for an e-mail sent to more than 400 marijuana program participants in which the recipients' e-mail addresses were plainly visible. Some addresses incorporated the patients' full names.

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A dispensary in Essex County sold the drug to 300 people after a long fight to legalize sales.

When Jay Lassiter took his first-ever toke of medical marijuana Tuesday evening, he knew it would relieve the nausea he experiences from the nine prescription drugs he consumes daily to treat HIV.

For years, the political consultant has kept a marijuana-filled pipe in his Cherry Hill kitchen to calm his frequently upset stomach and to nudge him to eat when his appetite flagged.

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MONTCLAIR - Jay Lassiter has been HIV positive for 20 years, and for just as long, he has been a self-described "criminal" for buying pot to ease the gut-wrenching nausea he suffers because of his treatment.

His criminal activity ended at 2:45 pm today, when he walked out of Greenleaf Compassion Center after making his first legal marijuana purchase at the Bloomfield Avenue shop.

Greenleaf, New Jersey's first alternative treatment center - what the state is calling dispensaries - opened Dec. 6. Registered patients have been seen by appointment only so far.

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So I'm in the local dollar store the other day when I stumble upon a $1 marijuana test kit. Allow me to repeat this: A $1 marijuana test kit.

I am glad such items as a "$1 marijuana test kit" did not exist during my teenage years. (And 20-something years, but whatever.) Because if a "$1 marijuana test kit" did exist back in 1989, I would've been totally busted.

In short, I would not have been able to come in the house, glassy-eyed and Doritos-starved, and be able to say "I was studying at Chris's house" and have my parents pretend to believe me. They would've instead said, "Piss here. Now."

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N.J.'S First Licensed Dispensary Served Only 20 Patients on Its First Day Open.

For many advocates of medical marijuana, the opening of New Jersey's first dispensary was a milestone worth celebrating, even though the door was cracked open long enough to let in only 20 patients that day.

So far, 354 seriously ill people have state-issued licenses to buy the drug, but Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair said it could accommodate only a limited number when it finally opened Thursday, three months later than it had anticipated.

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MONTCLAIR, N.J. - They skulked in and out like criminals, shoulders hunched, heads down, declining to comment.

It was the opening of New Jersey's first and so far only medical marijuana dispensary, in downtown Montclair, on Thursday, nearly three years after the law allowing such enterprises was passed. The opening had been delayed by political battles over whether it would lead to the de facto legalization of marijuana.

Patronizing the dispensary was perfectly legal, provided a doctor's prescription for a list of specified medical conditions was presented, yet the pioneering visitors - it was not clear if they were patients - seemed none too eager to declare themselves, perhaps taken aback by the horde of news reporters there to greet them. One visitor, who would give only a first name, Ed, said he had been in pain since being shocked on the job for an electric company in 2003.

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Marijuana may be fully legal before many New Jersey patients benefit from the medical marijuana law signed by former Gov. Jon Corzine three years ago.

Last month, the voters of Colorado and Washington state made it clear that drug warriors can no longer get away with confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success: The "drug war" distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees.

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Lawmakers Behind the Bill Say They Were Not Told About Imposing a Sales Tax.

A lawmaker who was influential in getting New Jersey's medical marijuana law passed said he was stunned by the Christie administration's announcement last week that the drug would be taxed.

State Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D., Mercer), who spent five years gathering support for the bill before it was enacted in 2010, said the Treasury Department's rationale was jarring, given the history of the bill.

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Exempt medical marijuana from N.J. sales tax

The key to finally getting down to brass tacks on New Jersey's medical marijuana program appears to be getting down to a grass tax.

With agreement on a plan to impose the 7 percent state sales tax on prescribed marijuana in place, the first dispensary center in Montclair could open its doors by the end of the year.

That would be just about three years since the measure allowing use of marijuana for treatment of the chronic pain of some illnesses was signed into law by former Gov. Jon Corzine.

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It is very promising to learn that Colorado and Washington State legalized marijuana for all adults, as the result of voter referendums on Nov. 6. Recreational marijuana will now be controlled, taxed and regulated by those states in a way similar to alcohol. Legitimate businesses will be licensed to sell marijuana.

New Jersey arrests approximately 25,000 people per year for marijuana offenses and has a 9.8 percent unemployment rate. It is time that New Jersey legalizes marijuana to create jobs, reduce crime and lower taxes.

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State Sen. Robert Singer (R-Ocean) seemed misinformed in a recent news release regarding medical marijuana.

In the release, Singer argued that because President Obama long ago broke his promise to stop federal Drug Enforcement Administration raids on state authorized medical cannabis providers, New Jersey may need to reconsider implementation of a medical marijuana program.

Ninety-nine percent of all marijuana arrests occur under state (not federal) law, and state governments have no obligation to enforce federal law, even if it is in conflict with state law.

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Suburb's pot to be easy to find

Across New Jersey, most communities approached about hosting one of the state's first legal medical marijuana dispensaries in out-of-the-way industrial zones have just said no.

Montclair is a different story.

The cosmopolitan suburb a half-hour train ride from Manhattan has not only allowed Greenleaf Compassion Center - which last week received the state Health Department's first license to begin providing pot to patients - but also let the not-yet-opened business set up in the middle of the town's main drag, and with no fuss.

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The Weedman did it.

Make no mistake about it: The victory Ed Forchion -- the NJWEEDMAN -- enjoyed on Thursday in the Burlington County Courthouse certainly sets the stage for other marijuana users to upend the unjust New Jersey (and national) marijuana laws.

I'll get to the "unjust" part later, but first, a rehash (pun intended) of the facts: Forchion was pulled over with a pound of pot in his car and $2,000 in cash. According to the state laws, he was facing a mandatory minimum of three years in jail and a $25,000 fine for distribution. Forchion, who has been fighting the marijuana laws in this state (and nation) for over 15 years, claimed it was for his own purposes. Medicinal, to be clear. The county prosecutor pointed out during the trial that Forchion had enough grass to roll 6,000 joints, which would seem to poke a hole in the "personal use" defense. I mean, how many joints could Forchion smoke in a day? Two? Five? Ten? (Actually, I don't want to know.)

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To the Editor:

It was so enlightening to read the article "N.J. cleared to open medical marijuana site" on Oct. 16.

To me, this has been a long time coming, and it's a big step for the human beings out there who have been suffering from horrible diseases such as multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer and AIDS.

I've known such people personally who were suffering from multiple sclerosis and terminal cancer. It's so heart-wrenching to be standing there, trying to talk to and comfort them -- it just tears one's heart out knowing that there's nothing you can do to ease their pain. Now some of these sufferers have something to look forward to, and that's called "hope."

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The good news for suffering patients in New Jersey is that medical marijuana might - and we emphasize might - actually become available by the end of the year. That's the hope, at least, after the state at long last recently issued its first permit to a designated medical marijuana dispensary, allowing Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair to begin selling the drug.

But for the more than 300 patients now pursuing registration with the state Health Department to be eligible for the medical marijuana, we'd suggest holding off on any sighs of relief. Greenleaf isn't ready to begin operations just yet, and Gov. Chris Christie may yet have a trick or two up his sleeve to continue blocking implementation of the program.

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New Jersey voters on Nov. 6 will approve or reject two statewide ballot items, including whether to allow more of the cost of benefits to be subtracted from the salaries of judges and whether to approve a $750 million bond issue for state universities and colleges. Citizen lawmakers in six other states will vote up or down a variety of marijuana ballot initiatives.

As important as New Jersey's ballot propositions are, the out-of-state marijuana initiatives may, in the long run, have a far greater impact nationally and even here in New Jersey.

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New Jersey issues first permit for medical marijuana facility to Montclair center

Health officials issued the state's first permit to dispense medical marijuana to an Essex County center Monday, while operators of a planned Egg Harbor Township facility said they expect to be issued one in five months.

"There's been a lot of work done," said Bill Thomas, head of the Compassionate Care Foundation planned for Century Drive in Egg Harbor Township.

The nonprofit is in the process of completing construction on its facility, including bringing in custom grow lights from China that arrived today, installing a security system and finalizing construction on its growing rooms, Thomas said.

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WHERE WE STAND: Nearly three years past the law's passage, all six dispensaries should be approved.

The good news for suffering patients in New Jersey is that medical marijuana might -- and we emphasize might -- actually become available by the end of the year. That's the hope, at least, after the state at long last recently issued its first permit to a designated medical marijuana dispensary, allowing an organization in Montclair, Essex County, to begin selling the drug.

But for the more than 300 patients now pursuing registration with the state Health Department to be eligible for the medical marijuana, we'd suggest holding off on any sighs of relief. Greenleaf Compassion Center isn't ready to begin operations just yet, and Gov. Chris Christie could still have a trick or two up his sleeve to continue blocking implementation of the program.

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