Bipartisan New Jersey Lawmakers Start Removing Medical Marijuana Roadblocks
Bill would protect medical marijuana growers under New Jersey's Right to Farm Act
TRENTON, NJ — More than two years after New Jersey’s medical marijuana law went into effect, patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, Crohn’s disease and other serious conditions are still waiting for their medicine. But that could change shortly, if several bi-partisan lawmakers have their way.
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) in January introduced a bill designed to prevent local zoning and planning boards from rejecting pot farms and marijuana dispensaries based on residents’ complaints.
The bill would protect medical marijuana growers under New Jersey’s Right to Farm Act. The law protects farmers from restrictions sought by newly sprouted neighborhoods. The move came in response to municipal officials’ efforts to keep medical marijuana facilities out of their towns.
O’Scanlon’s bill would allow marijuana growers to operate on publicly preserved farmland and in agricultural zones without “county or municipal interference.”
“We should do all we can to get this drug in the hands of all people who need it desperately,” O’Scanlon said, saying that only seriously ill people are eligible to obtain medical marijuana in New Jersey.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there,” the assemblyman said. “I think rational people might say, ‘You know, we ought to take another look at this.’ ”
O’Scanlon emphasized that New Jersey’s medical marijuana law is among the most stringent in the nation, and that state lawmakers and local officials should shift their attention to what is most important: getting medicine to those individuals who need it most.
“The administration did a really masterful job in crafting this legislation,” he said, adding, “the most important aspect of this debate, which is consistently overlooked, is the welfare of these people. I want to make sure their welfare is again made part of this debate.”
O’Scanlon said he is willing to meet with officials in towns that are part of the debate, pointing out that his hope is to encourage more “sane, rational” thinking around the issue, which would negate the need for his proposed legislation.
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D- Mercer) has signed on as a cosponsor to O’Scanlon’s bill. Senator Nicholas P. Scutari (D-Union) said he plans to introduce an identical bill in the upper house this week.
“We are in our third year of the legislation on medical marijuana, and no dispensary has opened and no marijuana has been prescribed to anyone,” Scutari said.
Scutari was a co-sponsor of the bill that legalized the sale of medicinal marijuana, which former Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed in January 2010. Since then, New Jersey’s medical marijuana program has yet to be implemented.
When Gov. Christie was sworn into office in 2010, he initially refused to authorize the businesses because the federal government still deems marijuana sales illegal. After reaching out to the Justice Department and reconsidering his position, Christie gave the medical marijuana program the green light over the summer.
Most recently, the program has been stalled by local officials as well, who have been enacting ordinances to block marijuana farms and dispensaries from doing business in their towns. Local officials in Maple Shade, Westampton, Camden, and Upper Freehold have all rejected proposed marijuana operations, mostly because residents objected, citing fears of increased crime.
The farms and dispensaries all promised 24-hour guards and video surveillance, but still could not get zoning approvals.
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