NJ MED PUBLIC HEARING MONDAY MARCH 7 2011& PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD TILL APRIL 23!!!

[MadBuddhaAbuser]

Terrible news for us. I have a feeling there will be no NJ meds till after the pres election.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/223...ial-campaign-candidate-iowa-new-hampshire.htm
By Maggie Astor | October 1, 2011 5:20 PM EDT

After months of denying any possibility that he would run for president in 2012, advisers to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "are actually considering it seriously," an anonymous aide told The New York Times.

Christie hasn't made a final decision, but his advisers have begun to strategize in earnest so that they can launch his campaign immediately if needed. One told The New York Times that a campaign could be underway within 24 hours if Christie does decide to run.

Christie's aides said he had initially been looking at a 2016 campaign, but with President Obama's approval ratings so low and voters dissatisfied with the current Republican field, he is reconsidering whether 2012 could be his moment after all.

Given the rush by many states to schedule their primaries and caucuses as early as possible, the start of the voting season could be less than 100 days away. That leaves Christie precious little time to build a campaign infrastructure that can compete seriously in crucial states like Iowa and New Hampshire.


Numerous national figures -- including News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and conservative writer William Kristol -- have been urging Christie to run, and many voters have stepped forward to tell reporters that they think he is the one who can unite the Republican Party. But a successful campaign is about much more than a good reputation going in, and the bounce that comes from being the new person on the scene can't sustain a candidate for long (just ask Rick Perry).

Top-tier candidates have to raise copious amounts of money -- a challenge when entering the race so late -- and come up with a strategy for spending it. They have to recruit volunteers and staffers, work the media and set a travel schedule that takes them to both early voting states and key swing states. Meanwhile, the filing deadlines to get a candidate's name on primary ballots are fast approaching.

History is full of cautionary tales of "savior" candidates who never lived up to the hype. In 1992, New York Gov. Mario Cuomo considered the slew of calls for him to run for the Democratic nomination and got so far as preparing to file his papers in New Hampshire -- but he never did. More recently, in 2007, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani entered the 2008 Republican race to much fanfare and soared to the top of the polls, only to crash in the Florida primary.

Both Cuomo and Giuliani were hugely popular as New York officials, but they couldn't translate that advantage to the national stage -- not entirely, but certainly partially, due to their late entries. Giuliani also faced an additional obstacle that Christie is likely to face as well: He had bipartisan popularity in a traditionally Democratic home state, but many Republican voters at the national level didn't think he was conservative enough.

It may already be too late for Christie, hype notwithstanding. But if he is going to have any chance, he needs to throw his hat in the ring now.

 

[Tarheal]

Growing up in nj and having traveled around a bit, nj def has some of the worst MJ laws.
God i hope this works out.

 

[MadBuddhaAbuser]

supportive editorial from the Star-Ledger newspaper, pretty much the largest NJ paper.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2011/10/states_incompetence_on_medical.html

State's incompetence on medical marijuana prolongs sick people's suffering
Published: Thursday, October 27, 2011, 6:02 AM
Star-Ledger Editorial Board By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
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We are nearing the two-year anniversary of the signing of the medical marijuana law, and still the Christie administration is stumbling and bumbling, with no end in sight.

The governor’s deliberate foot-dragging slowed things down at the start. But now, it’s starting to look like sheer incompetence.

The latest twist came when Star-Ledger reporter Amy Brittain checked up on a nonprofit group that was chosen to operate one of the six planned clinics. Mostly through a check of public records, she firmly established that this group, Foundation Harmony, has no business doing such sensitive work.

Brittain found that the only doctor on the proposed medical advisory board, Aleksandr Martirosov, had been charged with insurance fraud and attempted grand larceny, and was named in a civil suit that accused him of being in a racketeering operation with members of the Russian mob.

A medical lab listed on the foundation’s application was founded by a man accused of stealing money through a Ponzi scheme. Two of the proposed center’s directors have declared bankruptcy.

It goes on, but that’s enough. Even without criminal convictions, the state has discretion to say no.

But the state had no clue. Officials plan to check backgrounds only after centers get final approvals, even permission from local boards to build.

Obviously, checking this only at the end of a long process wastes time. And that means sick people must endure pain, for no good reason. What is the point of that?

Related editorial: Gov. Chris Christie: Stop stalling on NJ's medical marijuana program

 

[MadBuddhaAbuser]

contact information on the compassion centers

Alternative Treatment Center Contacts:
Northern Region: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren

Foundation Harmony
Marina Karavas (201) 840-5800

Greenleaf Compassion Center
Joe Stevens (973) 248-7927

Central Region: Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset and Union

Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center
Andrew Zaleski (732) 703-7300

Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation, Inc.
Raj Mukherji
(201) 222-3300
Southern Region: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem

Compassionate Care Foundation, Inc.: Bill Thomas (267) 614-3341

Compassionate Sciences, Inc.: Andrei Bogoloubov (917) 849-9300