New Jersey Legislature Approves Bill to Make State With Medical Marijuana
Legislature on Monday approved a bill that would make New Jersey the 14th state to allow chronically ill patients access to marijuana for medical reasons. The bill allows patients with ailments such as cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis to buy up to 2 ounces (57 grams) of marijuana a month at state-monitored dispensaries.
New Jersey’s legislation authorizes the Department of Health to issue patients with “debilitating medical conditions” registry ID cards that allow them to use marijuana. Patients with specified diseases such as cancer and glaucoma must also demonstrate severe or chronic pain, nausea, seizures, muscle spasms, or wasting syndrome to qualify. Patients with registry cards would be immune from arrest or prosecution for the medical use of marijuana.
New York could be the next state in the area to pass the same law. Until then, marijuana possession violations still happen routinely. Last year alone, the police made almost 830,000 arrests for marijuana law offenses in the United States. Those arrested were separated from their families, branded criminals, and in many cases, fired from their jobs and denied school loans and other public assistance.
If you have been charged with a drug offense in New York, you are facing serious charges and should hire a skilled New York drug crime attorney immediately. Do not fight these charges on your own. Depending on the amount of narcotics seized, you could be facing a long jail term and heavy fines.