New Jersey lawmakers approved a bill that would make it the 14th U.S. state to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for patients suffering from cancer and other debilitating diseases.
The legislation passed the Assembly 48-16 with one abstention. The measure already cleared the state Senate, which must concur with restrictions in the Assembly version, including a list of ailments for which the drug can be prescribed and a prohibition on the growing of marijuana by patients.
“This is a wonderful beginning,” said Nancy Fedder, 62, of Hillsborough, who spoke outside the Assembly chamber and said she has been illegally smoking marijuana for more than a decade to alleviate pain from multiple sclerosis. “It’s something that needed to happen a long time ago; sometimes I have to go to bed and stay there for days, and when I smoke marijuana the pain comes right down.”
The plan was among 100 today that went before both houses of the Legislature in the final day of its session. The Senate and the Assembly, which are both controlled by Democrats, are getting ready to share power with the first Republican governor elected since 1997.
Governor Jon Corzine, 63, a Democrat who leaves office Jan. 19, supports medical marijuana and will review the measure, said his spokesman, Robert Corrales. Governor-elect Christopher Christie, 47, a Republican who was the state’s former U.S. attorney, said he wants the bill to tie use to a strict list of diseases.
Marijuana, produced from the cannabis plant, can be smoked or ingested. Its recreational use is illegal in the U.S.
New Jersey’s bill would allow patients to purchase as much as 2 ounces of marijuana a month. Six state-run dispensaries would be established, with the Department of Health monitoring the program and recommending in the future whether to expand access.
By Terrence Dopp
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