The Year in Review – 2005
Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey
In 2005, the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMM-NJ) continued to work towards our organization's mission to bring about safe and legal access to medical marijuana for New Jersey patients.
The CMM-NJ Board of Directors held regular, weekly meetings throughout the year where we planned our many activities.
Highlights:
On January 11, 2005, Senator Nick Scutari, D-Linden, introduced S-2200, The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act into the Senate Health Committee. We anticipate having hearings on this bill in 2006. An AARP poll from November 2004 showed 79% of Americans 45 years or older and living in the Northeast supported medical marijuana.
In February, CMM-NJ was featured in an article in the Rutgers University Alumni magazine. The article included pictures of the Executive Director of CMM-NJ and Senator Scutari, both Rutgers alumni.
In March a CMM-NJ Board Member was interviewed on the WBGO Journal radio show.
Also in March, a CMM-NJ member, along with Senator Scutari, participated in the taping of the New Jersey Network television show, "Due Process."
Finally in March, 300 of our newsletters were sent to CMM-NJ supporters and legislators.
In April, on-going meetings with the Princeton University Chapter of the Students for a Sensible Drug Policy led to SSDP distributing CMM-NJ literature at the University. Also that month, SSDP invited CMM-NJ to give a talk on 4/20/05 to the Princeton students at the Terrace Club. The talk was very successful and led to favorable publicity in several newspapers.
Also in April, Roseanne Scotti, the head of Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey, announced that their organization would also conduct a campaign in support of medical marijuana in the Garden State.
In May, the CMM-NJ Executive Director was awarded a scholarship to the Grants, Education and Advocacy Training (GREAT) Workshop sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in Washington, D.C. This three-day workshop culminated in a press conference on Capitol Hill with Montel Williams, Angel Raich, and several members of Congress.
In June, CMM-NJ members formally applied to hold a demonstration at the State House in Trenton, NJ, to protest the Supreme Court Raich decision. The New Jersey State Police were extremely cooperative and helpful. The State Police loaned us a podium and a sound system from which we broadcast, from the steps of the State House, our intention to continue to work for medical marijuana in New Jersey despite the Supreme Court decision.
Also in June, CMM-NJ participated in the American Cancer Society's "Walk for Life" at the Freehold Racetrack. We had a table, a tent and our banner and we distributed literature and networked with many cancer survivors, their families and friends.
Also in June, CMM-NJ board members met with the Green Party of New Jersey and welcomed their support. CMM-NJ members taped a one-hour television interview on Nick Mellis' show, "From a Green View."
Finally in June, the Executive Director of CMM-NJ participated in a one-hour interview with Joyce Estee that was broadcast from radio station WRNJ. Another CMM-NJ member had a very favorable feature article in the Herald News that month.
During the summer of 2005, CMM-NJ's grant from MPP expired and it was not renewed. Grants were also sought from two other organizations, but neither was successful. The CMM-NJ Board designed, ordered and obtained the following merchandise as fund raisers, soon to be available through our web site ( www.cmmnj.org ): T-shirts with our logo and slogan ("No one should suffer needlessly") @ $15 each, gold-colored Pins with logo @ $10 each and "Marijuana is Medicine" wristbands @ $2 each.
In October, CMM-NJ members participated in Lawrence (Township, New Jersey) Community Day. We distributed literature and networked with community members for four hours. We were warmly received in Lawrence, the headquarters of CMM-NJ, and forty-four people signed statements in support of medical marijuana and several people volunteered to work with our organization.
Also in October, on three consecutive nights, CMM-NJ members distributed literature and spoke to the audience at Rutgers University's Film Forum screening of the medical marijuana film, "Waiting to Inhale." We were warmly received at our alma mater.
In November, Lee Khan from the "Lawrence Ledger" interviewed the CMM-NJ Executive Director for three hours. This interview led to a very nice feature article in the Ledger.
In November, the Executive Director of CMM-NJ attended the biannual Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) Conference in Long Beach, California. The DPA conference was a wonderful opportunity to network with the top drug policy reformers in the nation, all of whom support medical marijuana. CMM-NJ's efforts led to a full scholarship for the President of the Princeton University SSDP chapter to attend this conference. The scholarship was jointly awarded from Common Sense for Drug Policy (CSDP) and CMM-NJ.
In November, CMM-NJ held its first public meeting at the Lawrence Township Library from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Approximately twenty people attended, and some compelling personal stories were told. An update on medical marijuana was given, and an awards ceremony was held to honor the dedicated work of our volunteers. We also screened a video that shows the faces and tells the stories of New Jersey medical marijuana users, their families and caretakers, and the medical professionals who support them. Radio station 101.5 and "The Times" of Trenton were very generous in publicizing our meeting. Our second public meeting was held at the Lawrence Library on 12/15/05 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.
In December, P.U. SSDP invited Jack Cole, the Executive Director of the national organization, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) to speak at the university. Mr. Cole was a New Jersey State Trooper for 26 years before he founded LEAP. CMM-NJ attended the lecture and welcomed LEAP's support of medical marijuana in New Jersey.
On December 8, 2005, Assemblymen Reed Gusciora, D-Princeton, and Michael Patrick Carroll, R-Morris Township introduced A-4501, the identical companion bill to Sen. Scutari's "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act."
Future Plans:
Future public meetings of CMM-NJ will be held at the Lawrence Township Library on the second Tuesday of each month, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Light refreshments will be served and all are welcome.
CMM-NJ plans to continue to build our coalition through outreach and educational activities among:
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Healthcare, government and religious organizations
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Opinion leaders
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College campuses
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Print and broadcast media
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Medical marijuana patients, their friends, relatives and caregivers.
Goals:
Our goal is to pass the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act into law in 2006. CMM-NJ was greatly encouraged in this when Governor-elect Corzine responded favorably when asked about medical marijuana by a CMM-NJ executive officer during a radio campaign debate. We look forward to upcoming legislative hearings where both experts and patients/caregivers will have an opportunity to testify in support of this bill. We urge all our supporters to tell their state legislators to vote in favor of this bill. Together, we can get this done in 2006!
Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey
844 Spruce St.
Trenton, NJ 08648
609 394-2137
ohamkrw@aol.com |
