Advocates defend medical marijuana APP / JASON METHOD / November 8, 2010 TRENTON - Medical marijuana advocates convinced some state legislators Monday that Gov. Chris Christie's administration had overreached in its attempt to limit New Jersey's new medical marijuana law. Two committees, one in the state Senate and the other in the Assembly, passed resolutions declaring that proposed regulations would not fulfill the intent of the law, which was signed as one of the last acts of Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine before he left office in January. Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, shepherded one resolution through the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on a 6-1 vote. She said that medical marijuana might have been a better alternative to the morphine given to her husband as he died. "Marijuana would have been preferable to the other drugs that eliminate interpersonal communication skills at a time when those skills are so important," Weinberg said. The other resolution unanimously passed the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee. The resolutions are in reaction to pending regulations put forth by the state Department of Health and Senior Services. If the resolutions are approved by both houses of the state Legislature, the department must rewrite some of the rules, according to a lobbyist on the issues and the spokesman for the Senate Democrats. The proposed rules would limit the number of illnesses that would qualify for the marijuana treatment; require patients to have an ongoing relationship with a physician who would have to certify that other drugs had failed to alleviate pain; and prohibit the marijuana from containing more than 10 percent of its active ingredient. The proposed rules would also forbid a medical marijuana dispensary to be located in a drug-free school zone, and would bar the dispensaries from serving beverages or food. Christie has said publicly that he wants New Jersey to avoid problems experienced in other states, where medical marijuana laws have created a cottage industry of store-front clinics, and where the drug is easily dispensed for a host of ailments. Some activists said in interviews Monday that they ultimately want marijuana legalized, but a dozen or so suffering from severe illnesses testified and pleaded their case to get easier access. Diana Riportella, 54, of Egg Harbor Township, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS), sat in front of both Assembly and Senate committees and cried as she stated that only marijuana helps to ease the pain and cope with her situation. "When I smoke marijuana, it makes me feel like there is hope for me," Riportella said. "Please, don't make me suffer anymore." But Martin Lynch of the New Jersey Narcotic Officers Association argued in favor of the stricter proposed regulations because of abuses that he said have occurred in other states. He said in an interview that narcotic officers from around the country have reported widespread problems with the new medical marijuana laws. "I base my opinions on what I have seen in the streets for 25 years," Lynch said. ""These dispensaries would be a magnet for crime." Having politicians and police determining qualifications,applications and dosage for medicine is insane.
Makes as much sense as "Here is you prescription drug, but due to regulations, it has less than 10% of the actual chemicals that will help you. So you will have to pay more money for more pills, to get the same effect." Although I think most high-grade strains have between 10-14% of the THC.. But I'm not an expert on that.
Well I guess vicodin works for pain right? SIDE EFFECTS: Blurred vision; constipation; difficulty breathing; dizziness; drowsiness; flushing; lightheadedness; mental/mood changes; nausea; vomiting; mental clouding, lethargy, impairment of mental and physical performance, anxiety, fear, dysphoria, psychic dependence, mood changes; constipation; ureteral spasm; spasm of vesical sphincters; and urinary retention.