Maximum Yield Cannabis USA August / September 2017 | Page 40

consultant's corner Recreational Marijuana Bill Introduced NOL AN TECH M E N I DIC BY ME New Jersey has entered unfamiliar territory. Current Gov. Chris Christie has made his opposition clear, but a state senator tabled a new recreational marijuana bill in May amidst uncertainty over who will be the next governor of the state. Questions remain as to how it will play out moving forward. OGIES n a state where the governor is vehemently opposed to legalization, many people were surprised when a new I recreational marijuana bill was introduced by Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) in May. Here at Medicine Man Technologies, we’re honored to have been part of this movement, meeting with both Scutari and president of the Senate Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) last October to show them how a legal, safe, and regulated industry has greatly benefited Colorado. The plan for the new bill includes waiting for Gov. Chris Christie (R) to exit the office in January 2018. During his Ask the Governor radio program last November, Christie made his stance on legalizing marijuana very clear. “There is nothing we spend in government that is important enough to allow me to willfully poison our children. That’s blood money,” he said, referring to the estimated $300 million in tax revenue the industry could potentially generate. Meanwhile, 58 per cent of respondents to a Rutgers University-Eagleton Institute poll support the legalization, taxation, and regulation of marijuana for adults 21 and over, showing the governor is out of step with constituents. New Jersey’s Medical Marijuana History Back in 2010, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was passed and signed by then-governor Jon Corzine (D) on his last day in office. With Christie on board the very next day, things have been anything but easy for doctors and their patients. The state registry didn’t come online until August 2012 and even today, only five of six permitted treatment centers are up and running. Unlike other medical marijuana programs, New Jersey’s is unusually strict in several areas, such as requiring patients to be reassessed by their physician for 30, 60, or 90-day certifications. As for qualifying conditions, PTSD wasn’t added and signed into law by Christie until last year. Now in 2017, the state Medicinal Marijuana Review Panel has finally recommended additional conditions, including migraines, Alzheimer’s disease, and chronic pain related to arthritis, sciatica, diabetes, and more. 38 grow. heal. learn. enjoy. myhydrolife.com