OPEN TO MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF NORML
SATURDAY June 27
7:00 to 9:00 PM
2348 Vermont Ave.
Toms River, NJ
Water and snacks will be served.
You may bring your own beverages such as soda, beer or wine.
Guests may not buy, sell, exchange or use marijuana at this meeting
No marijuana is permitted on the property. If you can't abstain for two hours, you will not be able to attend.
Please email with questions or for directions:
annedavis1 [at] comcast.net
On April 20th 2009 PhillyNORML and NORML-NJ are joining together for a very special membership benefit featuring speakers and videos promoting a serious discussion about ending marijuana prohibition.
These are the two local chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
The event takes place at the National Constitution Center's Kirby Auditorium in Philadelphia from 2-5PM.
SENATE PASSED S-119
We are please to announce that February 23, 2009 at approximately 4:20pm (for real- they voted at about 4:20!) the New Jersey Senate passed the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, S119. The bill will go to the Assembly Health Committee next before being before the Assembly for a full vote. Governor Corzine has publicly stated that he supports medical marijuana and that he will sign this bill when we get it approved by Assembly. We are almost there!!!!
NORML NJ will work with CMMNJ and the DPA to see this dream become a reality. The next meeting will be announced soon. NORML NJ will join forces like never before to make this happen. WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!
If you can, please donate today to NORML NJ for glossy fliers and materials for lawmakers.
NORML NJ has several projects working right now and they're not free. Until this point, we haven't asked for money from our members. We've worked for almost free and the board has spent their personal money.
Now however, we are working on expanding. We are lobbying the state legislator for the Medical Marijuana bill, we are organizing a ballot initiative, organizing members and building a 'ground game'. We are also redoing our website to add more content and info.
We know times are hard right now so whatever amount you can sacrifice is a big help.
Thank you, and please donate today!
OPEN TO MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF NORML
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21ST
7:00 to 9:00 PM
2348 VERMONT AVE.
TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY
Join us for Wine, Beer, Cheese, and Snacks!
You may bring your own beverages.
Guests may not buy, sell, exchange or use marijuana at this meeting
No marijuana is permitted on the property. If you can't abstain for two hours, you will not be able to attend.
Please email with questions or for directions:
annedavis1 [at] comcast.net
The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee just voted 6-1 in favor of the New Jersey Comp[assionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. This means that the bill will be sent to the full senate for a possible vote as early as January 2009!
Please everyone, follow the link below to electronically forward your New Jersey Legislators a letter encouraging a vote in favor of the bill. It is very important that you take action now! Let them hear our voices!
We just set up a wiki for New Jersey's legal reform efforts. We will be adding all the info we can in the next few days. We encourage everyone to help add content which is relevant to the cause from now until always. Please be respectful because wiki's are open to change. We will keep a close eye on accuracy of info, and we really hope this will help New Jersey keep it's reform info in one place. info about our legislators, laws and knowledge is the goal.
We had major technical issues, which have been resolved after some headaches. However, the payoff will be huge because we have new things working like a Wiki which will contain all the information anyone will need about New Jersey's reform movement, laws and legislators. Best yet, since it's wiki, anyone can help keep it current. More to come too!
Our Message Boards continue to be down. We've been experiencing trouble with our web host and have been given every assurance that the boards will be working soon. We'll move hosts tomorrow morning if the problem isn't solved.
Our Web site will be down perhaps all weekend for upgrades. Don't worry. We'll be back.
New Jersey's Legislator is voting on a very important Medical Marijuana Bill in June. Hearings on the Bill will take place very soon. NORML has made a very simple web page to write to your local officials. Please take the minute it takes to reform the marijuana laws through your voice. Reform is our goal and this Bill is it. While the Bill is specifically for Medical Marijuana, half the battle will be won in New Jersey if we can pass it through. If you don't tell your elected officials what you think about this, they'll never know.
Contact your local Legislator Today!
Patterson arrested, charged with marijuana possession
ESPN.com news services
Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Mike Patterson is facing drug possession charges after being arrested in the southern New Jersey town where he lives.
According to Philadelphia-area media outlets, Evesham Township, N.J. police said Patterson, 24, was arrested along with his brother early last Saturday, Feb. 16.
Police said they approached a vehicle that had apparently been in a minor accident and smelled what appeared to be burning marijuana coming from the car. According to police, Patterson and his brother, Tyrone Patterson, 28, were inside the car, and police also found a small quantity of marijuana inside the car.
According to media reports, police arrested and charged Mike Patterson with possession of marijuana under 50 grams. He was later released. Tyrone Patterson, who lives with his younger brother, was charged with resisting arrest and later posted bail.
Mike Patterson, whom the Eagles drafted in 2005 from USC, had 67 tackles, including a career-high four sacks, in 2007.
This discussion came up recently on our message boards:
The definition of "drug paraphernalia" is anything which you intend on using to aid in the intake of illegal substances. So for something to be marijuana paraphernalia, it must be something which you intend to utilize/have utilized as a vehicle for the smoking of marijuana. The intent to use the item, whatever it may be, as drug paraphernalia, is actually a part of its own definition.
As the NJ Supreme Court said in Town Tobacconist v. Kimmelman, 94 N. J. 85 .." To assure that innocent possessors would not fall within its terms, the drafters made "knowledge or criminal intent of the person in control of an object a key element of the definition" of drug paraphernalia. Comment to Model Act, Article I. The definition of paraphernalia thus hinges "on a specific intent to violate, or to facilitate a violation of, the drug law." Id.
If you have an unused bong on you and nothing else, its very difficult to find you guilty of paraphernalia beyond a reasonable doubt, so generally, you can assume it is relatively safe from arrest (unless the cop is a jerk and/or inexperienced or simply hates you). Other factors do come into play, mind you, like if you are acting stoned, have red bloodshot eyes and you are carrying a bong.. well just don't do that
Otherwise, just the bong w/o marijuana and other stupidity factors,.. its a fairly easy case for a good drug lawyer and I'd say pretty safe from arrest...so no its not a provable "illegality" to have an unused bong.
Welcome!
If you are here reading this, chances are that you (and quite a few of your friends) feel the same way about marijuana that we do.
You probably also know that when it comes to the facts about marijuana use, science overwhelmingly backs up our side.
Would you like to know how you can easily and safely help to change our outdated and inequitable marijuana laws so that the estimated one million new jersey marijuana users are no longer in danger of arrest and jail?
its simple...
Sign up for our message boards by clicking "JOIN FREE" and bring every marijuana-friendly person you know here to do the same!
Because we need your help in uniting all New Jersey marijuana supporters in our virtual free-speech forum-- so everyone can learn the truth about marijuana and its related lifestyle. Come on, we know you have some friends who might be inclined! Even if you don't plan on posting much, or not at all, its important to at least sign up!
Thank you for your continuing support!
NORML NJ
"This is the first time a helicopter has ever landed at the school," Principal Arleen J. Lippincott said.
The visit Nov. 29 was arranged by fourth-grade teacher Michael Peterson of Mount Laurel, whose good friend, Sgt. Kevin Martin of Lakewood, recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq with the New Jersey Army National Guard's 250th Brigade Support Battalion.
Martin, now assigned to the state Division of Criminal Justice's Counter Drug Task Force, said he thought it would be good to bring the anti-drug message to the school.
"That's what we do. We go around to schools throughout New Jersey to teach children how to make the right choices and keep away from gateway drugs, like tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and inhalants," said Sgt. Karin Dates of the New Jersey Air National Guard.
Before the helicopter arrived, Dates passed around a jar of tar to give students a close-up view of what tar in cigarettes looks like.
"I smoked cigarettes for 22 years, and I quit three years ago. This is what was in my lungs. It looks all gooey and runny and nasty," Dates said, as the children made faces signaling their agreement.
"The first time you smoke cigarettes, your brain and your body like the nicotine. That is why it is so addictive," she said.
Dates also talked about drugs, such as marijuana and inhalants, and related a story about a 14-year-old friend of her son who inhaled the aerosol from a can of Dust-Off computer cleaner and died.
"I hope that wasn't too scary for you. But the more knowledge you have, the more power you have," she said.
The message boards and new member registration is fixed. We resolved the issue with the host. Also, we'll be upgrading our server very soon so the message boards should be a little snappier!
If you were trying to join as a new member during the down time, I apologize. Please do, Join Now!"
The message boards and member registration database is down. We're working on bringing everything back up. 9:31p EST
There's an interesting Op/Ed in the Boston Globe today written by Prof. Lester Grinspoon of Harvard. The whole piece can be found on our message boards. Here's the link.
"ALMOST HALF of American adults have tried marijuana, and the number of people who use it regularly has increased to about 15 million. This expanding use of marijuana can no longer be dismissed as simply a youthful fad that can be eliminated through the war on drugs.
Still, marijuana arrests account for nearly 44 percent of all drug arrests in the United States. According to the Uniform Crime Report, nearly 830,000 people were arrested in 2006 on marijuana charges, nearly a 15 percent increase over 2005. Nine out of 10 were arrested for mere possession.
Despite the increasing threat of arrest, the growing demands of employers for urine tests, and the ubiquity of the misinformation purveyed by the US government and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the number of Americans who experiment with or regularly use this substance continues to grow."
NORML New Jersey had our largest single week increase in membership this week! Our free membership policy and increased message board activity is to thank!
As our members will gleefully notice, NORML NJ finally revised their web site. This long awaited rebuilding has come with gradual increase in membership, and page views are up!
This is good news which represents the transition into Phase 2 NORML NJ expansion. With the growing numbers of our unified voice, and the support of a membership base, NORML NJ is keenly looking ahead while we progress as planned!
We thank all the members who've joined our message boards and voiced their opinions! This diverse and growing community of people who support New Jersey Marijuana legal reform is a core beginning and has provided the momentum to move forward!