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ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
ASSEMBLY, No. 804
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
213th LEGISLATURE
ADOPTED JUNE 4, 2009
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman REED GUSCIORA
District 15 (Mercer)
Assemblyman MICHAEL PATRICK CARROLL
District 25 (Morris)
Assemblywoman JOAN M. VOSS
District 38 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle, Assemblyman Giblin, Assemblywomen Wagner, Oliver, Assemblyman Prieto, Assemblywoman Tucker, Assemblyman Johnson and Assemblywoman Jasey
SYNOPSIS
New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Substitute as adopted by the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee.
An Act concerning the medical use of marijuana, and revising parts of statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) This act shall be known and may be cited as the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.
2. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Modern medical research has discovered a beneficial use for marijuana in treating or alleviating the pain or other symptoms associated with certain debilitating medical conditions, as found by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine in March 1999;
b. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 99 out of every 100 marijuana arrests in the country are made under state law, rather than under federal law. Consequently, changing state law will have the practical effect of protecting from arrest the vast majority of seriously ill people who have a medical need to use marijuana;
c. Although federal law currently prohibits the use of marijuana, the laws of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and in Arizona doctors are permitted to prescribe marijuana. New Jersey joins this effort for the health and welfare of its citizens;
d. States are not required to enforce federal law or prosecute people for engaging in activities prohibited by federal law; therefore, compliance with this act does not put the State of New Jersey in violation of federal law; and
e. Compassion dictates that a distinction be made between medical and non-medical uses of marijuana. Hence, the purpose of this act is to protect from arrest, prosecution, property forfeiture, and criminal and other penalties, those patients who use marijuana to alleviate suffering from debilitating medical conditions, as well as their physicians and those who are authorized to produce marijuana for medical purposes.
3. (New section) As used in this act:
Bona fide physician-patient relationship means a relationship in which the physician has the ongoing primary responsibility for the assessment, care and treatment of a patients debilitating medical condition.
Commissioner means the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services.
Debilitating medical condition means:
(1) seizure disorder, including epilepsy, intractable skeletal muscular spasticity or glaucoma that is resistant to conventional medical therapy;
(2) positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or cancer that results in severe or chronic pain, severe nausea or vomiting, cachexia, or wasting syndrome;
(3) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer; or
(4) any other medical condition or its treatment that is approved by the department by regulation.
Department means the Department of Health and Senior Services.
Marijuana has the meaning given in section 2 of the New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, P.L.1970, c.226 (C.24:21-2).
Medical marijuana alternative treatment center or alternative treatment center means a nonprofit organization approved by the department to perform activities necessary to provide registered qualifying patients with usable marijuana and related paraphernalia in accordance with the provisions of this act. This term shall include the organizations officers, directors, board members, and employees.
Medical use of marijuana means the acquisition, possession, or use of marijuana or paraphernalia by a registered qualifying patient as authorized by this act.
Minor means a person who is under 18 years of age and who has not been married or previously declared by a court or an administrative agency to be emancipated.
Paraphernalia has the meaning given in N.J.S.2C:36-1.
Physician means a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes with whom the patient has a bona fide physician-patient relationship and who is the physician responsible for the ongoing primary treatment of a patients debilitating medical condition.
Qualifying patient or patient means a person who has been provided with a written certification by a physician pursuant to a bona fide physician-patient relationship.
Registry identification card means a document issued by the department that identifies a person as a registered qualifying patient.
Usable marijuana means the dried leaves and flowers of marijuana, and any mixture or preparation thereof, and does not include the seeds, stems, stalks or roots of the plant.
Written certification means a statement signed by a physician with whom a qualifying patient has a bona fide physician-patient relationship, which attests to the physicians authorization for the patient to apply for registration for the medical use of marijuana.
4. (New section) a. The department shall establish a registry of qualifying patients and shall issue a registry identification card that shall be valid for one year to a qualifying patient who submits the following, in accordance with regulations adopted by the department:
(1) a written certification that meets the requirements of section 5 of P.L. , c. ( C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(2) an application or renewal fee, which may be based on a sliding scale as determined by the commissioner;
(3) the name, address and date of birth of the patient;
(4) the name, address and telephone number of the patients physician.
b. Before issuing a registry identification card, the department shall verify the information contained in the application or renewal form submitted pursuant to this section. The department shall approve or deny an application or renewal within 30 days of receipt of the application or renewal, and shall issue a registry identification card within five days of approving the application or renewal. The department may deny an application or renewal only if the applicant fails to provide the information required pursuant to this section, or if the department determines that the information was incorrect or falsified or does not meet the requirements of this act. Denial of an application shall be a final agency decision, subject to review by the Superior Court, Appellate Division.
c. A registry identification card shall contain the following information:
(1) the name, address and date of birth of the patient;
(2) the date of expiration date of the registry identification card;
(3) photo identification of the cardholder; and
(4) such other information that the department may specify by regulation.
A patient who has been issued a registry identification card shall notify the department of any change in the patients name, address, or physician or change in status of the patients debilitating medical condition, within 10 days of such change, or the registry identification card shall be deemed null and void.
d. The department shall maintain a confidential list of the persons to whom it has issued registry identification cards. Individual names and other identifying information on the list, and information contained in any application form, or accompanying or supporting document shall be confidential, and shall not be considered a public record under P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) or P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.), and shall not be disclosed except to:
(1) authorized employees of the department and the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety as necessary to perform official duties of the department and the division, as applicable; and
(2) authorized employees of State or local law enforcement agencies, only as necessary to verify that a person who is engaged in the suspected or alleged medical use of marijuana is lawfully in possession of a registry identification card.
e. Applying for or receiving a registry card does not constitute a waiver of the qualifying patients patient-physician privilege.
5. (New section) a. Medical use of marijuana by a qualifying patient may be authorized pursuant to a written certification which meets the requirements of this act. In order to provide such a written certification, a physician shall be licensed and in good standing to practice in the State and be board-certified, if available, in the specialty appropriate for the assessment, care, and ongoing primary treatment of the debilitating medical condition for which the medical use of marijuana is being considered.
ASSEMBLY, No. 804
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
213th LEGISLATURE
ADOPTED JUNE 4, 2009
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman REED GUSCIORA
District 15 (Mercer)
Assemblyman MICHAEL PATRICK CARROLL
District 25 (Morris)
Assemblywoman JOAN M. VOSS
District 38 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle, Assemblyman Giblin, Assemblywomen Wagner, Oliver, Assemblyman Prieto, Assemblywoman Tucker, Assemblyman Johnson and Assemblywoman Jasey
SYNOPSIS
New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Substitute as adopted by the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee.
An Act concerning the medical use of marijuana, and revising parts of statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) This act shall be known and may be cited as the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.
2. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Modern medical research has discovered a beneficial use for marijuana in treating or alleviating the pain or other symptoms associated with certain debilitating medical conditions, as found by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine in March 1999;
b. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 99 out of every 100 marijuana arrests in the country are made under state law, rather than under federal law. Consequently, changing state law will have the practical effect of protecting from arrest the vast majority of seriously ill people who have a medical need to use marijuana;
c. Although federal law currently prohibits the use of marijuana, the laws of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and in Arizona doctors are permitted to prescribe marijuana. New Jersey joins this effort for the health and welfare of its citizens;
d. States are not required to enforce federal law or prosecute people for engaging in activities prohibited by federal law; therefore, compliance with this act does not put the State of New Jersey in violation of federal law; and
e. Compassion dictates that a distinction be made between medical and non-medical uses of marijuana. Hence, the purpose of this act is to protect from arrest, prosecution, property forfeiture, and criminal and other penalties, those patients who use marijuana to alleviate suffering from debilitating medical conditions, as well as their physicians and those who are authorized to produce marijuana for medical purposes.
3. (New section) As used in this act:
Bona fide physician-patient relationship means a relationship in which the physician has the ongoing primary responsibility for the assessment, care and treatment of a patients debilitating medical condition.
Commissioner means the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services.
Debilitating medical condition means:
(1) seizure disorder, including epilepsy, intractable skeletal muscular spasticity or glaucoma that is resistant to conventional medical therapy;
(2) positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or cancer that results in severe or chronic pain, severe nausea or vomiting, cachexia, or wasting syndrome;
(3) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer; or
(4) any other medical condition or its treatment that is approved by the department by regulation.
Department means the Department of Health and Senior Services.
Marijuana has the meaning given in section 2 of the New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, P.L.1970, c.226 (C.24:21-2).
Medical marijuana alternative treatment center or alternative treatment center means a nonprofit organization approved by the department to perform activities necessary to provide registered qualifying patients with usable marijuana and related paraphernalia in accordance with the provisions of this act. This term shall include the organizations officers, directors, board members, and employees.
Medical use of marijuana means the acquisition, possession, or use of marijuana or paraphernalia by a registered qualifying patient as authorized by this act.
Minor means a person who is under 18 years of age and who has not been married or previously declared by a court or an administrative agency to be emancipated.
Paraphernalia has the meaning given in N.J.S.2C:36-1.
Physician means a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes with whom the patient has a bona fide physician-patient relationship and who is the physician responsible for the ongoing primary treatment of a patients debilitating medical condition.
Qualifying patient or patient means a person who has been provided with a written certification by a physician pursuant to a bona fide physician-patient relationship.
Registry identification card means a document issued by the department that identifies a person as a registered qualifying patient.
Usable marijuana means the dried leaves and flowers of marijuana, and any mixture or preparation thereof, and does not include the seeds, stems, stalks or roots of the plant.
Written certification means a statement signed by a physician with whom a qualifying patient has a bona fide physician-patient relationship, which attests to the physicians authorization for the patient to apply for registration for the medical use of marijuana.
4. (New section) a. The department shall establish a registry of qualifying patients and shall issue a registry identification card that shall be valid for one year to a qualifying patient who submits the following, in accordance with regulations adopted by the department:
(1) a written certification that meets the requirements of section 5 of P.L. , c. ( C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(2) an application or renewal fee, which may be based on a sliding scale as determined by the commissioner;
(3) the name, address and date of birth of the patient;
(4) the name, address and telephone number of the patients physician.
b. Before issuing a registry identification card, the department shall verify the information contained in the application or renewal form submitted pursuant to this section. The department shall approve or deny an application or renewal within 30 days of receipt of the application or renewal, and shall issue a registry identification card within five days of approving the application or renewal. The department may deny an application or renewal only if the applicant fails to provide the information required pursuant to this section, or if the department determines that the information was incorrect or falsified or does not meet the requirements of this act. Denial of an application shall be a final agency decision, subject to review by the Superior Court, Appellate Division.
c. A registry identification card shall contain the following information:
(1) the name, address and date of birth of the patient;
(2) the date of expiration date of the registry identification card;
(3) photo identification of the cardholder; and
(4) such other information that the department may specify by regulation.
A patient who has been issued a registry identification card shall notify the department of any change in the patients name, address, or physician or change in status of the patients debilitating medical condition, within 10 days of such change, or the registry identification card shall be deemed null and void.
d. The department shall maintain a confidential list of the persons to whom it has issued registry identification cards. Individual names and other identifying information on the list, and information contained in any application form, or accompanying or supporting document shall be confidential, and shall not be considered a public record under P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) or P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.), and shall not be disclosed except to:
(1) authorized employees of the department and the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety as necessary to perform official duties of the department and the division, as applicable; and
(2) authorized employees of State or local law enforcement agencies, only as necessary to verify that a person who is engaged in the suspected or alleged medical use of marijuana is lawfully in possession of a registry identification card.
e. Applying for or receiving a registry card does not constitute a waiver of the qualifying patients patient-physician privilege.
5. (New section) a. Medical use of marijuana by a qualifying patient may be authorized pursuant to a written certification which meets the requirements of this act. In order to provide such a written certification, a physician shall be licensed and in good standing to practice in the State and be board-certified, if available, in the specialty appropriate for the assessment, care, and ongoing primary treatment of the debilitating medical condition for which the medical use of marijuana is being considered.