Despite the
ongoing threats from the federal government, New Jersey’s medical marijuana law will be implemented, Governor Chris Christie announced on Tuesday.
Gov Christie’s decision came despite his failing to receive sought-after assurances from the U.S. Justice Dept that it wouldn’t seek to prosecute government employees involved in the regulation of the Garden State’s medi-pot program.
In announcing his decision, Gov Christie cited his own previous experience as New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney in coming to the conclusion that the Feds have bigger fish to fry than medicinal cannabis dispensaries.
“It is my belief, having held that job for seven years, that there's a lot of other things that will be more important as long as the dispensaries operate within the law,” Gov Christie said.
Christie said he was willing to assume the “risk” of implementing New Jersey’s medical marijuana law, passed in 2010 by the state legislature (and amended in early 2011), that is among the most restrictive medical marijuana legislation of the 16 U.S. states (and D.C.) that have legalized it. Six nonprofit “Alternative Treatment Centers” (ATC) have been designated to provide medicine throughout New Jersey, but they had been unable to begin operations until Governor Christie’s decision. New Jersey medi-pot patients are not allowed to grow their own medicine; they must obtain it from an ATC.
Though Paul Fishman, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, has not publicly commented on this issue, an anonymous source who is “familiar with Fishman’s thinking” told the AP it was unlikely Fishman would prosecute any state employee working within the parameters of state law.
Roseanne Scotti of the New Jersey Drug Policy Alliance, the organization that initiated the effort to get New Jersey’s medical cannabis law passed, told the AP: “We are absolutely thrilled that the governor has decided to move forward with the program and we hope that officials in other states who are contemplating options for their programs will follow New Jersey's lead.”
New Jersey state Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, a sponsor of the medi-pot bill, made his point that New Jersey medical marijuana regulators have nothing to fear at the expense of one of neighboring New York’s baseball teams: “The Mets have a better chance of winning the World Series than a state public official being prosecuted by the feds.”
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