New Jersey Activists Fight To Expand Medical Marijuana Program

Does New Jersey’s limited list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana need to expand? Dozens of Garden State patients have answered that question with a resounding “yes.”

A group of New Jersey residents recently claimed that smoking weed helps relieve symptoms from a variety of diseases – including migraines, arthritis, autism, depression and Alzheimer’s – in a series of petitions aimed at increasing the number of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in the state.

Their pleas were sent to the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH), which announced in July that it was seeking petitions for additional medical conditions that could possibly receive legal aegis under the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.

• See related article: Should Menstrual Cramps Qualify For NJ Medical Marijuana?

Earlier this month, the DOH released redacted versions of the petitions, which are currently under consideration by a newly appointed medical panel. NJ Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett will have the final say over which – if any – of the conditions are approved for medical marijuana.

However, there may be some hope that state officials are open to expanding the list of qualifying conditions. Following years of protest and pleas from local cannabis activists, Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill in September that allows PTSD sufferers to use medical marijuana in New Jersey.

• See related article: Chris Christie Signs 3 Bills Into Law, Including Medical Marijuana Legislation

"In our state, and in most of our country, sick people often have a limited list of expensive pharmaceutical options, many of which come with the potential for extreme side effects,” said Brian Haydon, president of 3fronts, a Ridgewood-based marijuana advocacy nonprofit.

“Sick people shouldn't have to live in fearful agony, and strong people shouldn't sit silently as it happens,” he added.

According to its website, the DOH has received medical marijuana petitions for the following medical conditions:

• Neural Foraminal Stenosis
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Sporadic hemiplegic migraine
• Neuropathic pain
• Chronic pain
• Lumbar radiculopathy
• Migraine
• Anxiety
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Asthma
• Arthritis
• Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD/CRPS)
• Osteoarthritis
• Chronic late stage Lyme’s Disease
• Multisystem atrophy
• Autism/autism spectrum disorder
• Chronic pain as a result of daily sciatic pain
• Migraine
• Spinal stenosis (including arthritis and chronic pain)
• Complex regional pain syndrome
• Tourette’s Syndrome
• Lumbar spine: disc herniation, DDD and sciatica
• Cauda Equina Syndrome
• Depression
• Arnold-Chiari Malformation I, II, III
• Fibromyalgia
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis
• CRPS (RSD)
• Fibromyalgia
• Neuropathic pain
• Auto immune disorders
• Opioid use disorder
• Chronic acute pancreatitis

MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN NEW JERSEY

In April, the DOH released a report with updated statistics about the state’s medical marijuana program.

At the time, officials said that more than 6,960 qualifying patients and 631 caregivers have registered with the program since August of 2012. In addition, 3,233 new patients qualified for medical marijuana in New Jersey in 2015.

• See related article: NJ Medical Marijuana Report Released For 2016

Currently, patients with the following medical conditions may be eligible to receive medical marijuana in New Jersey:

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Terminal cancer
• Muscular dystrophy
• Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease
• Terminal illness (if the physician has determined a prognosis of less than 12 months of life)
• Seizure disorder, including epilepsy
• Intractable skeletal muscular spasticity
• Glaucoma
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Positive status for human immunodeficiency virus
• Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
• Cancer

Learn more about the New Jersey medical marijuana program and see a list of frequently asked questions for potential patients here.

• See related article: N.J. Marijuana Legalization Bill Would Treat Weed Like Tobacco

Photo: Coalition for Medical Marijuana NJ

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