By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Ken Wolski, a registered nurse, has been fighting to legalize marijuana for medical purposes for more than a decade — and this week, that goal moved one step closer to reality in New Jersey.
The state Senate approved the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act by a vote of 22-16 Monday afternoon, said Mr. Wolski, who lives on Spruce Street. He is a cofounder and executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey Inc.
“I am very, very happy the bill passed,” Mr. Wolski said.
“It was nerve-wracking, quite frankly, but very rewarding. (The voting session) started late. It was supposed to start at 2 p.m., but it was 3:30 p.m. (when it got under way). Everything worked out in the end,” Mr. Wolski said.
The bill, which must also be approved by the state Assembly, removes the state penalties for the possession, use and cultivation of a small amount of marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it for a debilitating medical condition, he said.
Qualifying medical conditions include chronic pain, cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Chrohn’s disease. Patients would be issued ID cards in a program operated by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Patients would be permitted to grow up to six plants and possess one ounce of marijuana, but they would not be permitted to use it in public or while driving a car.
Patients also may designate a caregiver or treatment center to grow the marijuana plants for them, but the law would require the caregiver or treatment center to register with the state Department of Health and Human Services.
“We have made significant progress,” Mr. Wolski said. “It’s going to help a significant number of people. I am thrilled that it got this far. We have to get it to the Assembly and then to Gov. Corzine. We could be looking at (legalized) medical marijuana by the summer.”
Mr. Wolski said he became interested in legalizing marijuana for medical purposes after he met American expatriate James Burton on a visit to the Netherlands in the early 1990s.
Mr. Burton moved to the Netherlands after serving a one-year prison sentence for growing marijuana to treat his glaucoma. A North Carolina ophthalmologist recommended the drug to treat Mr. Burton’s glaucoma and to prevent him from becoming blind, he said.
But the Kentucky State Police raided Mr. Burton’s farm and seized the marijuana. He was convicted of marijuana possession. When he completed his prison sentence, he moved to the Netherlands where marijuana is permitted for medical purposes, Mr. Wolski said.
Mr. Wolski said he became interested because of the social injustice issues that were involved. After he did some research, he found that Mr. Burton was “the tip of the iceberg.”
The Coalition of Medical Marijuana-New Jersey Inc. was founded in 2003 by Mr. Wolski and Jim Miller of Silverton, whose wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She used marijuana to cope with painful muscle spasms. The non-profit organization was founded shortly before Ms. Miller’s death.
When California adopted a medical marijuana bill in 1996, Mr. Wolski said, it occurred to him New Jersey could approve similar legislation. Just such a bill was sponsored by state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) in January 2005.
But it took nearly four years for the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act to be released from the state Senate’s Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee in December 2008.
It quickly moved to the state Senate for a full vote this week.

