by Nicole Simonetti
This past January, the legalization of medical marijuana was passed and students in 14 states nationwide were potentially capable of smoking legally on campuses; Montclair State University is one of those campuses.
New Jersey was the fourth state on the East Coast to legalize medical marijuana when they passed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.
The only way to qualify for it medically is if you have a specific disease. Cancer, AIDS, Lou Gherig’s disease, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis are just a few examples.
Montclair State Police Department Lieutenant Kieran Barrett says that New Jersey will have “the most stringent laws in the nation.”
New Jersey will not be as liberal with their marijuana usage laws as other states. Growing marijuana plants at your residence is prohibited, while other states like California allow it.
In other states patients prescribed are allowed to possess the marijuana as long as they have a simple consent from a doctor; in New Jersey all patients will have to have their identification card stating permission.
If a patient of a disease that is permitted to smoke medical marijuana is discovered in possession without their I.D. card, they will still be charged. The disease becomes “irrelevant”, said Lieutenant Barret.
Lieutenant Barrett said that “law enforcement will be trained to identify a real I.D. card from a fake one.” He does think students on campus may be prescribed to medical weed. Police will be very “reliant” on that I.D. card.
In 2009, there were 23 arrests concerning marijuana; in 2008, 26; in 2007, 28; in 2006, 32, according to Lieutenant Barrett.
“People may not be choosing to not do drugs on campus,” said Lieutenant Barrett. “Montclair State University Police Department has been cracking down heavier.”
Sophomore Janet Korr is worried that more students will have marijuana now that it is legalized medically. She is also nervous that that may lead to situations of “peer pressure”. She would feel much more content if more police dogs to patrolled the dorms.
Tommy Bonard, junior, feels differently. He thinks that “students will continue to smoke regardless”.
“The [police department] is always looking to crack down on catching students smoking.”
Professor at Montclair State, instructor at the School of Public Health, Newark, Trauma Registry Manager at the New Jersey Trauma Center, Newark, Robert Lavery said, “there are many medical indications that have been proffered for the use of marijuana.” Some of these include: appetite stimulation, an anti-emetic effect which decreases nausea, analgesia which is an absence of pain without unconsciousness.
7,000 people were murdered by the Mexican drug cartels last year because we in the US kept marijuana illegal, many of the victims were children, police officers and politicians. This year the cartels are on track to kill at least 9,000 more. Who supports keeping it illegal?
“Sophomore Janet Korr is worried that more students will have marijuana now that it is legalized medically. She is also nervous that that may lead to situations of “peer pressure”. She would feel much more content if more police dogs to patrolled the dorms.”
Ms. Korr, like many Americans, has been hoodwinked by misinformation. She should be more worried about the rampant use of alcohol on college campuses which goes on unabated and with relative lack of concern. Alcohol is involved in 90% of all college sexual assaults while ample research shows that marijuana does not cause aggressive or violent behavior. Every year, college students die as the result of alcohol overdoses on campuses throughout the US. Yet it is medically impossible to overdose on marijuana.
And yet people like Ms. Korr still fan the flames of ignorance and fear mongering.
By every objective and scientifically measurable standard, marijuana is safer than alcohol. Any experienced cop is not nervous (for their own safety and the safety of others) when patrolling an event where participants are smoking weed. But show me a large enough event with rampant alcohol use, and I’ll show you some bloody fights.
If Ms. Korr really fears for her safety, she should call off the dogs and convince people to get high instead of getting drunk.
Specific information about how to apply to the Department of Health for ID cards as a qualified patient/caregiver, or to become an Alternative Treatment Center will not be available until April 2010. NJ’s medical marijuana program is expected to be up and running in July 2010.
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services recently posted its own website dedicated to information regarding medical marijuana. See: http://www.state.nj.us/health/med_marijuana.shtml.
For more info, join the CMMNJ mailing list for monthly updates on the latest info as it becomes available. Visit: http://www.cmmnj.org Click on the link on the right side of the page that says: Click here
Get involved. Attend one of our monthly public meetings at the Lawrence Twp. Library (Mercer Co.) on the second Tues. of each month from 7 – 9 PM.
CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides education about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana.
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana–New Jersey, Inc. http://www.cmmnj.org
ohamkrw@aol.com