Greetings from the new Executive Director

An open message from Anne M. Davis, Esq.

I was formally appointed Executive Director of the organization on May 8, 2010. I would like to take this opportunity to address the members about the progress of the organization as well as our future.

As we all know, the NJ Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was enacted January 18, 2010.  We are all patiently waiting for the State to promulgate the regulations and implement this program.  NORML NJ continues to contact the State and will advise on our website of any new information as it comes available.

We now have about 1,500 members and I believe we can double if not triple membership by the end of the year.  As an organization, we will have a strong voice with our government especially, the larger we become.  I have a 3 month, 6 month and one year strategy on how to accomplish this goal.

Many members are requesting meetings and looking to gather together.  I fully support this request.  We have members all over the State of NJ, so our meetings must take place in different regions.  Volunteers are needed to assist in locating venues that will accommodate our organization.  We can meet in libraries, pizzerias, halls, private homes, etc.  More details of how you can help will be on the post for “Volunteer tasks”.

In the City of New Brunswick, we currently have a Ballot Initiative Campaign seeking to make possession of marijuana the lowest police priority.  This project is headed by Evan Nisson and monitored by the Committee Chair, Rick Cusick.  The initiative is a major public statement.  Our volunteers are gathering signatures of registered voters and those petitions will be handed into the Clerk of the City this June.  Our goal is for this issue to appear on the November ballot.  In the event the Clerk rejects our petition, we will then be ready to litigate.

I have put together a Legal Committee of nine attorneys for NORML NJ.  The legal committee will be ready for action on the Ballot Initiative project in New Brunswick as well as the State’s efforts in promulgating the regulations on the Compassionate Use Act.  The Act goes into effect on the first day of the sixth month after enactment, and the State has an additional 90 days to finish the regulations.  In the event of any unnecessary delay, NORML NJ’s legal team will be ready for action against the State.

Also in the works is NORML NJ’s Physicians Advisory Board.  We have a committed anesthesiologist, who is working with a hematologist, oncologist and a few MDs to organize this effort.  The Physicians Advisory Board will be a strong voice for NORML NJ in seeking to expand the regulations to include more qualifying conditions, and assist our legal team in the interpretation of qualifying conditions.

Our group is getting more interactive and will appear at public events.  Check out our events listing for more details.  The next up and coming event will be at the Gay Pride Festival in Asbury Park on June 6^th. Our two groups have many common interests and support for liberal issues.  In July, we will have a booth at the NJ Festival of Ballooning whose attendance last year hit 175,000 attendees.  There is no better way to reach mass public than to table these events.  We are looking for volunteers to help with the booth.  There are more events in process with information to be released when details have been finalized.

Very soon, our t-shirts will finally be done, we also have lighters with the NORML NJ logo, and the popular gold leaf pins from National. 

A special message to potential ATC (Alternative Treatment Center) operators: a need to clarify the confusion.  It seems that some ATCs were of the impression that they did not have support from NORML NJ.  This must be clarified, as the ATCs are our members and fully have our support.  Some confusion arose from the beginning, when the Bill was going through Senate Committee Hearings.  There was one ATC in particular that created a website with information and photos that were exactly what the State was objecting to and it was hurting the cause.  I had taken a very strong stance to ask those individuals to take a step back and please wait until the bill passed, not to give the opponents more ammunition to knock down the bill.  Somewhere along the way, there was an interpretation that we did not support ATCs.  Correction: we support you completely in your mission and want to see you succeed!

About two weeks ago, I did a Medical Marijuana Seminar at Ocean County College. The event was well attended, and in conformity with goals of National, it was very effective in spreading the word and getting more college students active.  I have a Power Point presentation with information on our organization, the Cannabis industry, and the NJ Medical Marijuana Compassionate Use Act.  NORML NJ is available to give these seminars to all colleges and universities in the State, we only need help with booking the venues.  The college community is vital to this movement and we need more students active.

Overall, things have been progressing very, very quickly across the country.  The inertia is unstoppable. It is time to bring NORML NJ to the next level.  I look forward to meeting all of the new members, getting existing members more active and seeing an end to prohibition.

Peace,

Anne Davis