WHO: State Sen. Nicholas P. Scutari (D-Union)
WHAT: Introduced legislation to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in New Jersey
WHEN: Monday, May 15, 2017 at 12:00 PM
WHERE: Room 103 in the State House, Trenton, NJ
WHY: Many benefits of legalization, and many harms of prohibition of marijuana.
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana–New Jersey, Inc. (CMMNJ) was thrilled to learn that on Monday, May 15, 2017 at the State House in Trenton, Senator Nicholas P. Scutari (D-Union) introduced legislation to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana for adults in the state.
CMMNJ endorsed legalization of marijuana in New Jersey in 2014. “Ending cannabis prohibition is the best way to get the right medicine to the most people,” said Ken Wolski, RN, Executive Director of CMMNJ.
The Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act passed into law in January 2010, yet only about 11,000 patients have received Medicinal Marijuana Program ID cards, in a state with almost nine million people. “Hundreds of thousands of people in New Jersey could benefit from marijuana therapy–perhaps a million or more,” Wolski said. “After all, if you live in the Garden State, you have a one in three chance of having a cancer diagnosis at some point in your life, and a one in three chance of having chronic pain. Moreover, we all die, and marijuana, like no other drug, can help with some of the common problems associated with terminal illness.”
CMMNJ recognizes the failure of the current policy of marijuana prohibition, the harms to society that marijuana prohibition causes, and the disproportionate racial impact of prohibition. Colorado has demonstrated that there are many financial and social benefits that can be anticipated from legalization, taxation and regulation of marijuana for adults.
CMMNJ calls for the legalization of marijuana to include home cultivation (six plants per adult).
CMMNJ also continues to call on the state to reschedule marijuana to a more appropriate schedule that acknowledges marijuana’s accepted medical uses in the United States, its safety profile, and its low addiction potential.
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director,
Coalition for Medical Marijuana–New Jersey, Inc.
www.cmmnj.org ohamkrw@aol.com
609.394.2137
CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides education about the benefits of medical marijuana.