Medical marijuana bill to be introduced in New Jersey

On Saturday, August 28, the Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey (CMMNJ) held its kickoff event. The event—a benefit for the Sean McGrath Fund, an organization dedicated to protecting medical marijuana patients from arrest and imprisonment—also announced the impending introduction of a landmark bipartisan bill that could make New Jersey the next medical marijuana state.

Please take a few moments to Take Action to urge your legislators to cosponsor the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, which will be cosponsored by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora (D-Trenton) and Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township). After you choose your favorite pre-written letter and type in your address, our site will automatically e-mail your letter to your legislators … all with the click of a few buttons. The whole process takes less than two minutes, but it makes a world of difference. Also, you can print the letters and send them to your legislators through regular mail.

But you can do more than just send letters to Trenton. To lend a hand to CMMNJ, either call Ken Wolski at (609) 394-2137, or visit the group's Web site. You can also read about the late Cheryl Miller, who with her husband, CMMNJ cofounder Jim Miller, led a relentless crusade on behalf of medical marijuana patients like her—a struggle that included hunger strikes and direct lobbying in the halls of Trenton's capitol building.

MPP would like to congratulate CMMNJ for the hard grassroots work it has done in working toward the introduction of this bill. Click here to view some of the excellent print and television coverage of CMMNJ's kickoff event.

The Gusciora-Carroll bill stands a real chance of passage due to the political dynamic that exists between the bipartisan pair. Normally, Assemblymen Gusciora and Carroll sit on complete opposite ends of the political spectrum. Their collaboration on this bill shows that the issue of medical marijuana is not a political football, but rather a matter of compassion.

Please take a few moments to Take Action. Once you have, please forward this e-mail to your circle of friends and family so they too can pressure the state legislature to do what's right and protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and imprisonment.