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New Jersey governor signs bill legalizing medical marijuana

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine signed the "Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana" bill on his last full day in office Monday, legalizing the use of medical marijuana in the state. The bill allows doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients with chronic illnesses such as cancer, AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease, muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis, which will be distributed through state-monitored dispensaries. Backers of the legislation have described the bill as the toughest medical marijuana law passed in the US. The measure limits use of medical marijuana to specific types of chronic illness and forbids users to grown their own marijuana or use it in public. The New Jersey legislature passed the bill last week, and Corzine signed the bill as one of his last acts as governor. Republican Chris Christie was sworn in as New Jersey's governor on Tuesday. This legislation makes New Jersey the fourteenth US state to legalize medical marijuana. In November, voters in Maine approved an expansion of the state's existing medical marijuana laws, making Maine became the fifth state to allow dispensaries, following California, Colorado, Rhode Island, and New Mexico. In October, US Attorney General Eric Holder issued guidelines for a new policy for investigating and prosecuting state-sanctioned medical marijuana use. Those guidelines reflect a pledge made by Holder in March to stop federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries that comply with state laws. Ending such raids was one of President Barack Obama's campaign promises, a view that differed sharply from the policy of the Bush administration.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 19, 2010 (boomark / email).