Thompson & Thompson Ethical Desicion Making
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Cannabis Laws in New Jersey
Cannabis has been around for thousands of years. Its original purpose was not for people to get high but actually a medical necessity. In the 1830’s, Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, found that cannabis extracts can help lessen stomach pain and vomiting in people suffering from cholera. By the late 1800’s, pharmacies in Europe and the United States sold cannabis extracts to treat stomach problems and other ailments. Eventually scientists discovered that THC was the source of marijuana’s medical properties. THC reacts with sections of the brain that are able to lessen nausea and promote hunger and because of these characteristics the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two drugs with THC that are prescribed in pill form (Marinol and Syndros). They were promoted to treat nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy and loss of appetite in AIDs patients. Due to the positive effects of marijuana, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana used for people with severe or chronic illness (History). On August 9th, 2012 New Jersey’s medical marijuana patient registry was finally opened and allowed registered physicians to initiate patient certification with the Medical Marijuana Program. This allowed for patients to possess up to two ounces of medical marijuana within a thirty-day time period (Medical Marijuana). Although the medical marijuana law and programs were passed in New Jersey, the medical marijuana laws in New Jersey are so strict they are actually unbeneficial to those who actually need it.
In the state of New Jersey, a medical marijuana patient is allowed just two ounces of marijuana per month. In those two ounces, not all of it is usable marijuana. In California, a patient is allowed to have any amount of marijuana needed because by law it is not specified, nor has any possession limits. Not only do they no possession limits a medical marijuana patient may cultivate their own marijuana at home with no cultivation limits either. In New jersey you aren’t even allowed to cultivate at home. Also in the state of New Jersey it is very difficult to even be registered as a medical marijuana patient; you must have almost severe to terminal illnesses to be able register as a medical marijuana patient in Jersey. In California, it is very easy if not the easiest of all 50 states to register as a medical marijuana patient. You can register for something as simple as migranies, anorexia, or arthritis; unlike New Jersey where you can only register if you have conditions like cancer, AIDs/HIVs, or any terminal disease. Because of these factor is why there are over 1 million registered patients in California and only 10,332 registered patients in New Jersey (Working to Reform Marijuana Laws).
As if registering for medical marijuana wasn’t hard enough in the state of New Jersey a caregiver may only have one qualifying patient at any one time (Working to Reform Marijuana Laws). December 2nd, 2013 a mother lost her fifteen-month daughter due to the strict medical marijuana laws of New Jersey. The mother and father tried numerous of treatments to treat their daughter’s Dravet syndrome; a rare and severe form of epilepsy. When they finally looked into medical marijuana and discovered that it was proven to have a break through for patients with this disease the parents applied, “…jumped through all of the hoops to obtain a medical marijuana card – all the charts, the test results, the endless doctor notes of recommendation, the psych evaluation..” they went through all of this tedious paperwork and tests and just when hope seemed to creep amoungst the horizon, they lost the baby at 2:06 p.m. on December 2nd right before the holidays. Had the family lived in Colorado, the baby would have been able to be treated legally right away, unfortunately because they live in New Jersey and the laws are so strict and the process to become a medical marijuana patient is so hard and tedious Mr. and Mrs. Joana lost