Legalizing Marijuana

Carol Alvarez
English 122
B. Kern
28 January 2010
Legalizing Marijuana
New York Times.com “New Jersey Vote Backs Marijuana for Severely Ill "11 Jan. 2010
David Kocieniwski reports, New Jersey legislator approves a measure to legalize medical marijuana. The measure he states would allow patients with severe illnesses to acquire a prescription for marijuana grown and distributed through state monitored dispensaries. Within nine months patients would be able to fill these prescriptions at one of six locations.
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, a democrat who sponsored the legislation, said “New Jersey would be the most restrictive medical marijuana law in the nation because it would permit doctors to prescribe it for only a set list of serious, chronic illnesses. ‘(Kocieniwski) There is so much controversy that arises regarding the growing of this medical marijuana, the distribution and who legitimally needs it. Many opposers believe that far too many doctors will start prescribing and over prescribing to patients just like they do now with narcotic pain medicine. Some believe that by legalizing it that it will increase the number of children who start using it. Keiko Warner, a school counselor in Millville, N.J. states that “students already faced intense pressure to experiment with marijuana, and that the use of medical marijuana would only increase the likelihood that teenagers would experiment with the drug.” (Kocieniwski) Personally I feel that is ridiculous, marijuana is already out there and people who are using it or want to use it, will get it whether it is legalized or not . One of my favorite articles was written by Edward Forchion, also known as New Jersey Weedman. “NJweedman.com” Mr. Forchion currently resides in California where he grows and distributes marijuana to over 1000 people per week. He raises the ability of the government to properly grow effective marijuana as he states, “Anyone familiar with the marijuana plant knows that there are varying degrees of potency, particular strains that prove more effective than others on particular ailments, and that each person’s individual tolerance is unique” (Edward Forchion) My summation from his article is that New Jersey should allow people such as himself to grow the marijuana for them, as they are the experts.
Marijuana has shown to be an effective substance for treating patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses. One can only hope that the legislators come to some sort of agreement that will benefit those that truly need it. My vote would be yes.