My Year in Drug Policy Reform—2006 Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey Highlights: The Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey (CMM-NJ) held twelve monthly meetings at the Public Library in Lawrence Township, NJ where Board Members and volunteers planned and implemented the following: CMM-NJ Board Members spoke at the following events: Regional MENSA “Snowball” Meeting in Piscataway, NJ in March; Princeton University Chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Meeting in April; Cures-Not-Wars Marijuana March in Philadelphia in May; NJ State House Press Conference re: Drug Policy Alliance’s (DPA) Medical Marijuana Poll in June; New Jersey’s first legislative medical marijuana informational hearing, coordinated by DPA, in June; Westlake Golf and Country Club Men’s and Women’s Club Meeting in Jackson, NJ in August; Several radio and newspaper interviews regarding above events. CMM-NJ Board Members & volunteers manned informational tables at: “Relay for Life” in Freehold, NJ in June; The College of New Jersey’s Tabling Event in April; Hamilton, NJ’s “Septemberfest”; Ewing Township, NJ’s “Ewingfest” in Oct. CMM-NJ sent a letter to the NJ Senate Health Committee in December in support of the NJ Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (S88/A933) that was signed with over 350 names and addresses that were collected at the above events. CMM-NJ had two 800-word Op Eds on medical marijuana published in major NJ newspapers, the “Times” of Trenton and the Asbury Park “Press” in April & September. In addition to my activities with CMM-NJ, I attended the following events: “Patients Out of Time” (POT) Conference in Santa Barbara, California in April (and I joined the Board of Advisors of POT in August.) Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) “GREAT” Workshop in Clark, NJ and the MPP “Gala” in New York City in June. “Nurses in Trenton” lobby day with NJ State Nurses Association in Oct. Syringe Exchange legislative hearings at the New Jersey State House and I submitted written testimony in September and October, and I gave oral and written testimony in December. The historic legislative vote in December that passed syringe exchange in NJ after a thirteen-year effort by supporters. In August, I retired from the State of New Jersey after twenty-five years of full time employment in order to devote more time to drug policy reform. It has been another busy year for drug policy reform in New Jersey. The highlight of the year came on December 11, 2006 when the New Jersey Senate and Assembly each passed a Needle Exchange Bill: S 494, the "Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction Act.” Governor Jon Corzine signed the bill into law on December 19, 2006. Advocates of needle exchange, including the New Jersey State Nurses Association, and other infection control experts have been actively lobbying NJ elected officials on behalf of needle exchange since 1993. The needle exchange effort in NJ was given a tremendous boost when the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) opened an office in Trenton in 2002. New Jersey was the last state in the nation to pass legislation to permit either needle exchange programs or the sale of syringes over-the-counter. Diana McCague of the Chai Project ran an illegal underground needle exchange program in New Brunswick from 1994 until 1998. She was arrested several times and punished severely for her effort to save lives. It would be a nice gesture to name one of NJ’s first legal needle exchange programs after her. The major medical marijuana event of the year came when Roseanne Scotti, from the New Jersey office of DPA coordinated the successful New Jersey Senate Informational Hearing on medical marijuana in June. There was great supporting testimony for the NJ Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (S88/A933) from Senator Nick Scutari, the bill’s sponsor, Montel Williams of TV fame, Sharon Rainer from the state nurses association, Dr. John Morgan from CUNY, and Don & Gerry McGrath from CMM-NJ. CMM-NJ also submitted a packet of written testimony from patients unable to attend, as well as copies of our DVD, “Marijuana is Medicine: True stories of illness, treatment and medical rights in New Jersey.” Paul Armentano, the Senior Policy Analyst from national NORML, submitted written testimony in support of medical marijuana that was hand-delivered to each member of the senate health committee. The hearings went well but they were hotly contested by White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Deputy Director as well as local opponents. Nevertheless, a great deal of positive media was generated for the issue by this hearing. CMM-NJ members were quoted in numerous newspaper articles and on radio and TV stations. DPA also held a press conference at the NJ State House the day before the hearings. The press conference announced the latest polling results on medical marijuana in the Garden State. Access to medical marijuana represents the opinion of 86% of New Jersey voters according to (http://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/NJMedMJPoll060806.pdf ), a poll by the polling company, inc. CMM-NJ members Jim Miller and Don & Gerry McGrath spoke at the press conference. CMM-NJ sent a letter to the Senate Health Committee members urging them to release S 88, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act from committee for approval by the entire senate. We included the names and addresses of over 350 medical marijuana supporters in the state. CMM-NJ resolved to continue to urge that formal hearings on the bill be conducted, so that we can clearly identify which legislators have specific concerns about this bill. Then we can target these legislators and do everything we can to address those concerns. CMM-NJ remains convinced that science, logic, common sense and compassion all favor medical marijuana, and that the voters of NJ overwhelmingly support medical marijuana. Ken, Don McGrath and Jim Miller spoke at the Princeton University Terrace Club on 4/21/06. This event included the first public screening of Jim Incollingo’s documentary, “Marijuana is Medicine: True stories of illness, treatment and medical rights in New Jersey.” This is the new short version (27 min.) of NJ patients and doctors and nurses who support and/or who have used medical marijuana. (DVDs are available now through our web site.) P.U. paid CMM-NJ a $250 honorarium for the speaking engagement. Septemberfest on 9/10/06 was one of CMM-NJ's most successful single-day fund raising events. We raised $369 in cash, mostly from the sale of wristbands. We also sold a few pins and t-shirts. Approximately 250 people signed our petition in favor of medical marijuana. We handed out a great deal of medical marijuana literature and discussed the issue with many people. Many thanks to our Board Members and volunteers for their hard work, inc. Jim Miller, Don and Gerry McGrath, Ed Hannaman, Barrie Sutton, Lorraine Koster, and Marie & Mike Micelli. The “Relay for Life” on June 17, 2006 at Freehold, NJ was very successful. CMM-NJ sold many of our T-shirts & grossed $350 and about 30 new supporters. CMM-NJ had a booth at Ewing Community Fest on the campus of TCNJ Sat., 10/7/06; 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM. CMM-NJ received $149 in donations and exactly 100 people signed our petition in support of the “NJ Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act” (S-88 & A-933). Ken, Lorraine and Sarah tabled about 4 hours at The College of New Jersey on 4/26/06. We sold about $25 in wristbands and gave away a lot of literature. Ken & Lorraine marched in Philadelphia at the Million Marijuana March on 5/6/06 with about 40 others. We carried medical marijuana posters, provided by PhillyNORML, from South St. & Broad to Headhouse Sq. Ken addressed the post-march rally with a bullhorn. At the conclusion of the rally, PhillyNORML held a raffle and Ken won two tickets to the 10 PM showing of "The Marijuana-Logues" with Tommy Chong at the Keswick Theater. The show was a lot of fun. In Oct. Ken went to the New Jersey State Nurses Association’s “Nurses in Trenton” Day. He met the Commissioner of the Department of Health (DOH) and discussed syringe exchange programs with him as well as the ability of the DOH to act unimpeded by political considerations during public health emergencies. Ken also lobbied for medical marijuana with legislators. Treasury report: CMM-NJ has approximately $3000 in our treasury. (We owe $750 in no-interest loans.) CMM-NJ welcomed AFSCME’s endorsement of medical marijuana at its national convention in August: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/448/afscme_endorses_medical_marijuana AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is the largest union for workers in the public service with 1.4 million members nationwide. AFSCME represents a diverse group of service and health care workers in the public and private sectors including nurses, EMTs, bus drivers, child care providers, custodians and librarians. CMM-NJ was thrilled to have AFSCME join the coalition of organizations that support medical marijuana. This includes the New Jersey State Nurses Association (110,000 RNs), the American Nurses Association (2.7 million RNs), the American Academy of Family Physicians (94,000 members), and the American Public Health Association (50,000 members), among other groups. NORML NJ filed a lawsuit in June. The lawsuit demands that the Commissioner of the NJ Dept. of Health appoint a Therapeutic Research Board to enable a NJ multiple sclerosis patient to engage in clinical trials of medical marijuana as provided by a 1981 NJ law, the Controlled Dangerous Substances Therapeutic Research Act. In 2004 Ken helped NORML NJ find an appropriate patient to act as plaintiff in this lawsuit. The Board of CMM-NJ was divided over the value of actively supporting this lawsuit at this time, and so far has taken no action on it. Ken is a member of several on-line newsgroups devoted to drug policy reform. He is active in these groups at least every week and almost every day. He is honored to be a member of ARO, the Association of Reform Organizations, which includes some of the leading drug policy reformers in the nation. Ken attended the 2006 “Patients Out of Time” (POT) conference in Santa Barbara, California. It was a wonderful opportunity to review the latest science and politics of medical marijuana, while watching whales and porpoises in the Pacific Ocean through the windows of the conference center at Santa Barbara Community College. The POT conference brought together the top medical marijuana researchers, scientists, physicians, pharmacologists, and nurses from across the country and from around the world. This was the premier medical marijuana conference in the world in 2006, and it was approved for continuing education credits for health care professionals. April in Santa Barbara was also a breath-takingly-beautiful time to tour the local wine country popularized in the film, “Sideways.” Mary Lynn Mathre, RN invited Ken to join the “Patients Out of Time” Board of Advisors in August. It was a great honor that was readily accepted. The next POT conference will be "The Fifth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics" on April 4-5, 2008. The conference will be held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, CA. Save the dates. Overheard at the 2006 POT conference: “You’d have to be brain-dead to say it has no medical uses.” “Cannabinoids kill pre-cancer cells.” “With PTSD, you walk around with the worst memories—pot helps you forget.” “It should be the first thing tried—it’s self regulating and non-toxic.” “It works because it mimics the endogenous cannabinoids.” “It’s only controversial because nobody wants to know the truth.” “We know it works. I’m living proof. I’m a very healthy disabled person because I have the medicine I need.” “We should be more concerned about the message we send when we refuse to give a sick person his medicine.” “We are all just one diagnosis away…” “Rodney Dangerfield suffered from acute anxiety all his life. He first smoked pot in 1942 at age 21. It was the first time he felt relaxed and peaceful. He continued to smoke pot for 62 years until his death at age 83. His lungs were OK. After his final surgery, the surgeon asked him, ‘Are you coughing up much?’ Rodney replied, ‘Just last week I coughed up $500 for a hooker.” “Pot is a gateway drug—it’s a gateway to a better life.” “Cannabis is an exit drug, not a gateway. Where there is free access to cannabis, there is less use of alcohol, cigarettes, inhalants and harder drugs.” “Approximately 2.5 million Americans face an average of 5.5 years in prison for seeking medical relief with cannabis.” “Look at the cost-avoidance with medical marijuana—how many people are you not locking up by having this program? How many hospitalizations, medications and treatment costs are you avoiding?” CMM-NJ asked the Lawrence Twp. Library for permission to continue to meet on the second Tuesday of each month in 2007, from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM. The library approved all dates for 2007, the 2nd Tues. of each month. Save the dates. Let’s make 2007 even more productive for drug policy reform in New Jersey. BACK TO CMMNJ HOME   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: Healthcare, government and religious organizations Opinion leaders College campuses Print and broadcast media 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   As Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey, I am proud to share with you this Year End Report for 2004. Executive Summary: Through 2004, CMM-NJ has: Secured funding for, and hired, a full time Administrative Assistant/Independent Contractor; Established a professional website at www.cmmnj.org; Built a Board of Directors and a Steering Committee; Created an organizational logo, banner, publicity and educational material; Planned and executed a major event, the “Sean McGrath Medical Marijuana Memorial Project”; Received extremely favorable media attention (newspapers, radio stations and television) and editorial endorsements; Networked with many individuals and organizations; Maintained detailed and accurate financial records, and started a Legal Defense Fund; Achieved bi-partisan support for the Assembly bill, “New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act”; Identified a New Jersey Senate sponsor of a companion bill, S-2200; Developed plans to continue our activities in 2005 in support of safe and legal access to medical marijuana for New Jersey patients. Details: Thanks largely to the first of two installments of a $40,000 grant from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) that was awarded August 1, 2004, CMM-NJ is able to document a number of achievements. We hired a highly qualified, full time Administrative Assistant—Independent Contractor, Jim Incollingo, who is extremely dedicated to the mission of our organization. It was a difficult selection process. There were five candidates for this position. Jim was selected only after a series of personal interviews, resume and portfolio reviews, and reference checks. In the end, I believe we selected the best candidate for the position, and his performance has been exemplary thus far. We established a professional website (www.cmmnj.org) at very low cost. We invite you to explore in detail the many features of this website, including our Mission Statement, our links to other Resources, the many ways a visitor can Contribute to our mission, and our Events feature, including photographs. Jim Incollingo is updating this website as part of his routine duties. We registered CMM-NJ with the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit organization and obtained an Employer Identification Number. We established a business checking account and we keep accurate and detailed financial records. We are pursuing 501 ( c )(3) status. We have added two members to our Board of Directors, Ed Hannaman, a New Jersey lawyer, and Don McGrath, a local businessman. We are inviting other qualified individuals to join our Board. We established a Steering Committee to plan and carry out a major medical marijuana awareness event in late August 2004 (see our website for details of the “Sean McGrath Medical Marijuana Memorial Project”). This committee selflessly devoted countless hours during weekly meetings to produce an exquisitely planned and executed event. New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton) spoke and announced his sponsorship of the upcoming New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Other speakers included Jim Miller, Don McGrath, and myself from CMM-NJ, Roseanne Scotti from the Drug Policy Alliance, Ed Barocas from the American Civil Liberties Union, and Ryan Grim from MPP. Media coverage of this event--newspaper, television and radio--was extremely favorable. Within days of the event, the Editorial Boards of both The Press of Atlantic City and The Times of Trenton endorsed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Jim Miller, Don McGrath and I have appeared in many forums, both in direct interviews and as part of current events talk shows. Jim Incollingo called in to several radio talk shows. Media interviews were conducted with: The Times of Trenton The Press of Atlantic City Ocean County Observer The Nation Burlington County Times News 12 New Jersey (TV) NJ101.5 FM WGHT AM WRNJ-AM WBUD AM Our Steering Committee, and especially Jim Incollingo, designed and produced: CMM-NJ logo Stationery and business cards Logo banner and banner stand Informational placards with easels 15,000 pre-printed postcards designed to be sent from voters to legislators Press kits and other informational offerings (press releases, flyers, etc.) Logo tee shirts and lapel pins We established a spreadsheet of all New Jersey legislators and we have instant electronic access to each of them. We recently sent a mailing to each New Jersey state senator urging them to sponsor a senate version of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Our efforts were rewarded when Senator Scutari (D-Linden) agreed to sponsor S-2200, a nearly identical version of the Assembly bill. Follow up thank you letters or educational material will also be sent to these legislators. We continue to network with other groups and individuals to educate them about medical marijuana and to build support for our organization’s mission. I never pass up an opportunity to promote CMM-NJ, whether it is with officials from various State departments and agencies, the AARP, healthcare organizations, etc. Sometimes support comes from unlikely sources. While discussing the issue with a Philadelphia policeman recently, he said that even he would illegally obtain marijuana for a loved one who would suffer without it. "Family comes first,” he said. “You have to do what you have to do." MPP gave CMM-NJ a list of over 600 NJ physicians who signed statements in support of medical marijuana. From this list we obtained approximately 250 street addresses, 289 fax numbers, and 120 e-mail addresses. We mailed, faxed, or e-mailed each of these physicians once, asking if they would testify at legislative hearings, write their legislators, or financially support CMM-NJ. As a result, we received both financial support and promises from physicians to testify at legislative hearings. We also solicited support and legislative testimony from other experts and celebrities like Montel Williams, Judge Martin Haines, and Dr. John Morgan. CMM-NJ’s President, Jim Miller, continues his outspoken and single-minded pursuit of medical marijuana in honor of his late wife, Cheryl. Jim has been lobbying for medical marijuana for over a decade and he has his own web site at: http://cherylheart.org/cherylheart.html. Jim has, independent of CMM-NJ, published Letters-to the Editor, conducted media interviews, lobbied legislators, and publicly conducted demonstrations for medical marijuana. Recent demonstrations were held by him at both the NJ governor’s mansion and at a George Bush campaign rally. At the latter event, Jim engaged in civil disobedience and he allowed himself to be arrested to bring attention to the cause. While his civil disobedience clearly went beyond what we would expect of our supporters, CMM-NJ nevertheless started a Legal Defense Fund and reimbursed Jim the cost of his fine. Jim’s courage and commitment to the cause brings to mind the great, selfless actions of the Civil Rights Movement. Proposed or in-progress publicity/fundraising activities include: Rally and press conference at the State House on the day the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act is introduced Medical Marijuana Awareness Concert Increasing tee-shirt and lapel pin donations via website and live events Medical Marijuana Awards (a press release or event announcing winners) Outreach to college campuses/Teach-In CMM-NJ had hoped to have Assemblyman Gusciora’s bill introduced this fall. We have bi-partisan support for this bill inasmuch as the very conservative Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township) has signed on as a co-sponsor. Additionally, the Assembly majority leader, Joseph J. Roberts (D-Brooklawn), assured us that the bill had his support, and with that, presumably enough votes to pass in the Assembly. However, New Jersey State Government was in turmoil this fall, as Governor McGreevey shocked the State by suddenly announcing his intention to resign from office before the expiration of his first term. After his announced resignation, McGreevey, who did not support medical marijuana, promised to sign into law a needle exchange bill. New Jersey is one of only two states in the nation that does not permit either Needle Exchange Programs (NEP) or the over-the-counter sale of syringes in pharmacies. NEP advocates have been trying for over a decade to pass this important public health measure in New Jersey without success. Taking advantage of this situation, Assembly Leader Roberts introduced Mr. Gusciora’s NEP bill. There were very contentious hearings in the Assembly Health Committee. While the NEP bill passed in the Assembly, the bill was never released from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. As a result, Majority Leader Roberts refused to introduce the medical marijuana bill until the NEP situation could be resolved. Gov. McGreevey then issued an Executive Order establishing a pilot NEP in three New Jersey cities just before he left office. Acting Governor Codey, who as Senate President is filling McGreevey’s unexpired term, has said he will support the NEP Executive Order; however, several other senators are seeking to overturn it. CMM-NJ is hopeful that the Senate and Assembly medical marijuana bills will be introduced soon. We believe we continue to enjoy enough support in the NJ Assembly to pass our medical marijuana bill, though the Senate support is less certain. What we are certain of is that the vast majority of NJ citizens approve of medical marijuana. An AARP poll conducted in November 2004 showed that 79 percent of respondents in the Northeast aged 45 and older agreed “adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician recommends it.'' These results are consistent with earlier polls. We look forward to continuing our vigorous activities in support of safe and legal access to medical marijuana for all patients who can benefit from it. CMM-NJ is deeply grateful for the financial support we have received and for the many hours our volunteers have devoted to this cause as we work together for rational and humane marijuana laws. Ken Wolski, RN, MPA Chief Executive Officer Coalition for Medical Marijuana—New Jersey 844 Spruce Street Trenton, New Jersey 08648 (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com