Garden State May Become Greener
June 5th, 2009 by Rick
New Jersey may just become the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana for chronically ill patients. On Thursday, the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee approved the medical marijuana bill that the senate had passed, with an overwhelming eight to one (with two abstentions) vote.
The bill already has the backing of State Attorney General Anne Milgram saying “it’s workable” and Governor Jon Corzine has already said that he would sign the bill into a law.
If passed into a law it would allow patients whose doctors have determined them to be chronically ill to be issued an identification card that lets them grow six plants or obtain the medical marijuana at an “alternative medicine center.”
Middlesex Police Chief James Benson, representing the State Association of Chiefs of Police, said:
It will lead to increased marijuana use, increased crime, and an increased threat to public safety.
A co-sponsor of the bill, State Senator Fred Scutari, said:
It will be the most restrictive law in the U.S. … with the most safeguards in terms of abuse.
Per usual, law enforcement officials at a local level continue to repeat the rhetoric that has been whispered into their ears by drug warriors. It doesn’t matter if a state declares medical marijuana legal, city officials and their law enforcement can seemingly do whatever they want when it comes to circumventing a law.
New Jersey Man Avoids Serious Time
May 7th, 2009 by Rick
On Tuesday, Pedro Covil, 24, dodged spending 56 and a half years behind bars when he entered a plea agreement that gave him ten years for first-degree cocaine possession with intent to distribute, second-degree conspiracy to distribute drugs and second-degree possession of a firearm while distributing drugs.
It all started May 21, during Operation Blood Money, a six-month investigation led police to the arrest of 61 people and the seizure of more than 6.5 ounces of cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, marijuana, two handguns, ammunition, gang-related materials, and $6,772. Police found 43 packs of heroin and about 19 grams of cocaine, along with a loaded .38-caliber handgun with ammunition in Covil’s home safe. Another 4.5 ounces of cocaine was stashed at another location, in New Brunswick.
Sentencing for Covil is on June 26th. Covil would have to serve five years of that sentence before he could be eligible for parole.
All Points West Music and Arts Festival 2009
April 9th, 2009 by Rick
The 2nd Annual All Points West Music and Arts Festival is kicking off at Liberty State Park, July 31st through August 2nd. More than 65 artists are scheduled to appear on three stages throughout the 80-acre park that has views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Manhattan skyline.
The Beastie Boys, Tool and Coldplay are set to headline the event. Other performances scheduled are: Echo & The Bunnymen, My Bloody Valentine, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, MSTRKRFT, Gogol Bordello, The Black Keys, Fleet Foxes, Neko Case, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys and many more. The Qu djs een of the Valley stage this year is converted into a Coachella-like tent and will showcase comedy, djs, electronic acts, and bands.
The rail lines and ferries will also coordinate with the crowd during the entire course of the festival. Tickets for All Points West went on sale April 3rd via Ticketmaster. Single day tickets are $89 and 3-day tickets are $199. Adapting to the economy this year partial payments can be made until May 29th.
Two options are available: a 50% down payment option lets you pay a 50% deposit of the total order now, with the remaining 50% automatically deducted on July 3rd. A multiple payment plan is also available. If you pay 10% of the total order, the remaining will be deducted in equal payments on May 4th, June 3rd and July 3rd.
A portion of the event’s proceeds will go to the “Friends of Liberty State Park,” an open space advocacy volunteer organization dedicated to the park’s future as a free, green and non-commercial, urban waterfront.
Midtown Mafia Member Meets Salem Slammer
April 6th, 2009 by Rick
On Wednesday, Police in Salem, NJ seized undisclosed quantities of cocaine and marijuana, along with drug distribution paraphernalia, $3,416 cash and a loaded assault weapon when they raided the home of Jaquan Nichols, 21, the self-proclaimed leader of the Midtown Mafia street gang. Straight out of the James Cagney movie, Public Enemy, Police said Nichols was dragged out of his residence in his long underwear screaming “you’ll never take me alive!” An additional $7,405 in cash was found at another location that was known to be run by Nichols.
County Chief of Detectives Ralph Padilla said:
The arrest of Nichols will have a significant impact in the reduction of violent crime and drug distribution in the City of Salem.
Nichols is the first person that has been charged under a new criminal statute made effective in 2008 called gang criminality, a first-degree offense. It relates to a person involved in a criminal street gang committing a firearms crime. He faces 13 drug and weapons-related offenses, including possession of an assault firearm and high capacity magazine as well as possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute within 500 feet of a publicly-owned building.
The Midtown Mafia street gang is suspected to have ties to the Bloods organization.
New Jersey Governor Gives Thumbs Up to Pot Bill
February 27th, 2009 by PerryNew Jersey Governor Jon Corzine said he would “absolutely” sign the medical marijuana bill proposed by the New Jersey legislature.
Corzine is a Democrat running for re-election next fall, and said laws should be made so that patients are comfortable and there are safeguards against abuses.
The Senate approved the bill Monday. It faces an uncertain fate in the Assembly. New Jersey would be the 14th state to approve MMJ.
Garden State Becomes Slightly Greener
February 25th, 2009 by Perry
The New Jersey Senate approved a medical marijuana bill Monday, making it the 14th state to recognize medical marijuana.
The bill has one more hurdle before the governor would be able to sign it into law — approval in the New Jersey House of Representatives.
The bill’s passage is uncertain in the house because a group of Republican opponents have raised concerns the proposal does not address distribution adequately, and therefore lead to more illegal drug sales. Pro-MMJ advocates declared numbers as high as 86 percent in favor of the bill.
States where medical marijuana is legal are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Only Hawaii, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Mexico legislatures passed bills to legalize medical marijuana; the other states did so through voter referendum.
Jersey Has a Big Decision to Make
January 28th, 2009 by Perry
The debate is heating up in the Garden State, as to whether New Jersey is ready to become the 14th state to allow medical marijuana. An announcement of the law’s approval by a health committee led to a lengthy editorial condemning the move by a local legislator.
Local health authorities haven’t exactly crystallized the issue either — several health organizations, including the NJSNA, the ANA, and the American College of Physicians, spoke favorably of medical marijuana; while the American Medical Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Cancer Society, are among those that have rejected smoking marijuana as medicine.
Activists however, point to the fact that it took 18 months to get an initiative on the ballot in Michigan, and that they are prepared to entrench themselves for a similar battle for the opportunity in New Jersey.
MMJ Called into Question by N.J. Rep
January 21st, 2009 by Alex
In response to the approval of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (in a 6-1 vote no less), Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini (R-Monmouth) recently published an editorial in the Trenton Times that pleaded with her constituency to think twice about the potential harm of medical marijuana.
Angelini asserts that any medicine ingested by smoking is counter-intuitive, and that the committee-approved legislation was reckless, because of the “unforseen and unintended consequences” of the bill’s provision – which includes the cultivation of up to six plants or obtaining MMJ from a state-authorized personal caregiver.
As far as op-eds against marijuana go, this one is actually written without the use of scare tactics or ‘the law is the law’ reasonings. Angelini makes her case against the “pothole” ridden legislation while still being clear that she is compassionate towards those that suffer.
Her biggest problem seems to be the cultivation aspect:
Allowing either the patient or their caregiver to possess six marijuana plants for harvesting, or creating alternative treatment centers to dispense this product should raise a red flag to those concerned with executing sound public policy. The average marijuana plant can produce anywhere from one to five pounds of smokeable materials per year, resulting in a total harvest of anywhere between six to 30 pounds of marijuana. Who will oversee its output and ensure that patients do not over-medicate, or that the excess production is not diverted to those who use marijuana for recreational purposes? I would argue that New Jersey is opening a Pandora’s box by traveling down this road.
The only problem is, whether you legislate it or not, people are going to get their hands on pot. That’s just a fact. They can either do it on dark street corners or through a registered caregiver. Which one makes sense to you?
