NJ Bill Would Add PTSD to Med Marijuana Program, Christie Fears Legalization
As the fight for an end to the ridiculous drug war continues, legislation has been advanced by a New Jersey assembly committee that would allow those suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to participate in the state’s medical marijuana program.
Essentially, the bill would add PTSD to the list of illnesses that can be legally treated in New Jersey using medical marijuana. The Oversight Committee voted 3-0 to forward the bill to the full assembly.
Assemblyman Ronald Dancer abstained from the vote. In March 2015, the assembly actually approved a similar bill but it died in the Senate Committee. Chairman of the Oversight Committee and co-sponsor of the bill, assemblyman Gusciora, is more optimistic about the bill’s chances of passing in both houses in 2016, however.
One major turning point was the testimony of a U.S. Army soldier returning from three tours of duty from Iraq and Afghanistan. Phillip Dume who pointed out the extraordinary high rates of suicide with people suffering from PTSD. Dume said “It helps me out. It’s one reason I’m able to speak to you guys. It helps me focus. It helps me calm down. It helps me sleep.”
Dr. Alexander Neumeister, a Brooklyn psychologist who has conducted research into PTSD and the brain also testified before the committee and stated that, “People who use it report it as safe and highly effective.”
Not surprisingly, the Garden State Goering, Governor Chris Christie, is resisting the expansion of the medical marijuana program labeling it, “A front for legalization,” in 2014. Christie’s statement on the matter while not at all unexpected, simply reiterates the vast disconnect between the positions of the American people and those who hold elected office.
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