The ‘war on drugs’ has just taken a wicked left turn. On Friday, November 20, 2020, one of marijuana’s staunchest supporters, Ed “NJWeedman” Forchion held an online press conference at his NJWeedman’s Joint location, contesting New Jersey’s recent legalization of cannabis. Forchion announced his federal lawsuit against New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, accusing the state of baiting New Jersey citizens into voting for the legalization of a corporate, Caucasian run cannabis industry, under the guise of legalizing marijuana.
This case has broad implications for the medical cannabis patient community, which is currently numbered at 71,492, many of whom are employed.
Under federal law, marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance.[1]The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), placed marijuana in is most restrictive category, Schedule I. It further defined marijuana as a drug with a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use for treatment, and lacking acceptable safety uses even under medical supervision. 21 U.S.C. Section 812(b)(1).
The New Jersey Legislature last year finally jump-started its medicinal cannabis program after nearly a decade of over-regulation-induced dysfunction. The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act (CUMCA) Jake’s Law was passed in July, promising patients expanded access to cannabis, with a variety of cannabis products and at a more reasonable, affordable price. But so far only one new alternative treatment center has opened and prices are still the highest in the country.
NJCUMMA provides protection from arrest, prosecution, property forfeiture, criminal and other penalties by the State of New Jersey for those patients who use medicinal marijuana to alleviate suffering from certain medical conditions, as well as their physicians, primary caregivers, and those who are authorized to produce, process and dispense marijuana for medicinal purpose.
More recently, however, New Jersey amended its law, now called the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, to remove the language that resulted in the Wild litigation and include new applicant/employee-side protections. Specifically:
On May 13th New Jersey’s Department of Health (“DOH”) amended it Medicinal Marijuana Program Rules, N.J.A.C. 8:64 Et. Seq, establishing standards by which the DOH implements New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, N.J.S.A. 24:6I-1, Et. Seq, assimilating Governor. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order #6 tasking the DOH with reviewing all Medicinal Marijuana Program (“Program”) aspects to expand access and eliminate bureaucratic barriers.
On May 13, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) announced amendments to the state’s medical marijuana rules aimed at expanding access to the program, which implements New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. Perhaps most significant among the adopted amendments is the creation of a separate permitting system for cultivation, manufacturing and dispensing marijuana for medical purposes. Previously, the program was vertically integrated, i.e. all three were packaged together under a single licensing process.
Gov. Phil Murphy is giving the Legislature limited time to pass recreational marijuana and the bill it’s connected to that would expand the state’s medical marijuana program. Otherwise, he said, he will turn his focus to medical marijuana expansion.
A New Jersey appeals court has reopened the lawsuit of a funeral director who was fired after his employer found out he was using medical marijuana.
Justin Wild’s suit claimed he was unlawfully discriminated against for using medical marijuana as part of his cancer treatment as permitted under the state’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. A trial judge held Wild’s Law Against Discrimination suit could not go forward because nothing in the Compassionate Use Act requires an employer to accommodate a medical marijuana user.