ACLU-NJ: On Path to Marijuana Legalization, Executive Order Is a Needed Step to Reform NJ’s Flawed Medical Program

Legalization would help fix aspects of NJ’s inadequate medical
cannabis program, one of the country’s most restrictive

Contact: 
Allison Peltzman, apeltzman@aclu-nj.org, 973-854-1711
Keerthi Potluri, kpotluri@aclu-nj.org, 973-854-1702

The ACLU-NJ stood alongside Phil Murphy at this morning’s signing of an executive order designed to investigate the stumbling blocks of New Jersey’s notoriously problematic medical cannabis program.

Although medical cannabis was signed into law in 2010, only a handful of dispensaries serve patients in New Jersey, and only a small number of medical conditions qualify.

The following statement can be attributed to ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha:

“Legalization is coming to New Jersey, and part of that process includes examination of our deeply flawed, outdated, and often unfair medical cannabis program. The current medical cannabis system forces patients through unnecessary hoops and leads to their suffering – sometimes to the point of people moving out of the state.

The inequities we have seen in this system must end, but we also must not replicate them when legalizing marijuana for all. The hurdles that patients face also underscore why it’s so important for any bill legalizing marijuana to allow for home-grow. Marijuana legalization is a matter of social justice, and equitable medical marijuana is a matter of patients’ civil rights – and those rights don’t go away with legalization.”

The ACLU-NJ is a steering committee member of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, a coalition of civil rights organizations, law enforcement leaders, medical professionals, and other concerned New Jerseyans advocating for the legalization of marijuana to end the crisis of racially disparate marijuana arrests and to bring in revenue for the state.

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