‘Marijuana Is Medicine,’ New Jersey Court Says

A New Jersey appellate court has ruled that state authorities must revisit the idea of marijuana as medicine, and local cannabis advocates have a prison inmate to thank.

On Tuesday, a state appellate court ruled in the case of Steven Kadonsky vs. Steve Lee, the former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Kadonsky – an inmate serving a life sentence for marijuana trafficking – argued that cannabis should never have been classified as a “Schedule I” drug under the New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act (CDSA) due to its medicinal value.

Kadonsky had petitioned the state to reclassify marijuana to reduce "inflated" prison sentences for marijuana crimes, NJ.com reported.

On Tuesday, two out of three judges on the appellate court panel agreed with what cannabis activists in the state have been saying for years: the positive medical effects of marijuana are “abundant and glaringly apparent.”

Citing a lack of jurisdiction, the panel then remanded the case to the DCA director for proceedings consistent with its opinion.

Read the full court opinion here.

The panel’s ruling doesn’t change pot’s legal status in New Jersey. But it does represent a sea change from when the CDSA took effect in the 1970s when there wasn’t a single medical marijuana law on the books in any state in the U.S.

Attorney Joseph Linares of Newark told NJ.com that officials could still decide to keep marijuana on the most-restricted list, but they can no longer claim the drug has no medicinal value.

According to the appellate court panel:

• 29 states, the District of Colombia, Puerto Rico and Guam, have legalized medical marijuana
• 21 states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized the possession of marijuana
• 8 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws regulating the recreational use of marijuana in the same manner as alcohol

NEW JERSEY, MARIJUANA AND ‘SCHEDULE I’

Substances are classified as Schedule I drugs in New Jersey if they have a “high potential for abuse,” and “have “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” In addition to marijuana, other current Schedule I drugs include heroin and MDMA.

In their Tuesday decision, the appellate court ruled that Lee, the former DCA director, had the authority to reclassify marijuana’s current status as a Schedule I drug in New Jersey without a change in existing federal law.

The appellate panel emphasized that it’s Tuesday opinion “does not mandate reclassification” of marijuana, and noted that even if Lee had decided to remove marijuana from Schedule I, his move would not decriminalized it and possession and sale of the drug would still be illegal.

Judge Michael Guadagno, who wrote the majority opinion for the appellate panel, is the husband of Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the Republican frontrunner in November’s gubernational election.

• See related article: FDA Calls Marijuana Ingredient 'Beneficial,' Wants To Know More
• See related article: New Jersey Marijuana Patients Offer Human Side To Weed Debate

The appellate court’s ruling on Tuesday comes after last week’s decision from the state's Medicinal Marijuana Review Panel, which gave the thumbs-up to five new qualifying conditions for medical cannabis: anxiety, migraine, Tourette's Syndrome, "chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders" and "chronic pain of visceral origin (related to internal organs).

• See related article: New Jersey Medical Marijuana: Panel OKs 5 New Conditions

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