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Tell Governor Christie to Uphold New Jersey's Medical Marijuana Law
  1. Signatures
    909 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. The Governor of NJ (+ 2 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • The Governor of NJ
      • Commissioner, Department of Health and Senior Services (Poonam Alaigh)
      • Press Secretary, Department of Health and Senior Services (Donna Leusner)
  2. Created By
    Charles Davis
    San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

In January 2010, medical marijuana was legalized in New Jersey. But new regulations drafted by the administration of Republican Governor Chris Christie threaten to turn what was already the nation's most restrictive proposed medical marijuana system into an unusable one, with activists and lawmakers accusing him of thwarting not just the will of the people but the letter of the law.

On October 6th, Department of Health Commissioner Poonam Alaigh, a Christie-appointee, unveiled the state's plan for implementing the medical marijuana program. But while the law itself calls for six "alternative treatment centers" to be placed throughout the state, New Jersey's draft regulations would allow just two of the centers to actually grow marijuana; just four would be allowed to distribute it. That means just one federal raid could potentially shut down the state's entire medical marijuana distribution system, leaving patients who would be completely dependent on that system without access to their doctor-prescribed medication (patients are barred from growing their own).

The draft regulations also limit the THC content of the state's medical marijuana to 10 percent -- half of typical medical cannabis in California -- while limiting growers to just three strains. They also bar marijuana-based food products.

As activist Chris Goldstein tells Change.org, "The entire set of regulations seems to be a poltical move based on how restrictive you can make a medical marijuana program, rather than a reasonable set of regulations that follows the intent of the law."

Tell Governor Christie and Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Poonam Alaigh to uphold the law and withdraw their draft regulations immediately.

Photo Credit: Troy Holden

 

Recent Signatures

Uphold New Jersey's Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act!

Greetings,

I am writing to express my outrage over the draft medical marijuana regulations unveiled October 6th by the Department of Health and Senior Services. These proposed rules are not only needlessly burdensome, they clearly violate the intent of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act that was signed into law in January 2010 -- a law that was already the most restrictive in the nation.

Perhaps the most egregious violation of the law is the department's decision to license just two Alternative Treatment Centers to grow marijuana, not the six envisioned by lawmakers. Because they can't grown their own supply, this makes New Jersey medical marijuana patients extremely susceptible to federal raid -- in which case those suffering from multiple sclerosis will be denied access to their doctor-prescribed medication.

The draft regulations would also restrict the THC content of the state's marijuana program to just 10 percent -- about the average content of pot seized by the federal government -- and limit growers to the production of just three strains of cannabis. Food products containing marijuana would also be banned. These restrictions have no basis in law, nor in science. Accordingly, they should be dropped.

The public overwhelmingly supports medical marijuana, and the passage of legislation legalizing its use in New Jersey was welcomed by a strong majority of state residents. The Christie administration should not be thwarting the will of its constituents.

[Your name]

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