Chris Goldstein is a member of NORML-NJ’s Board of Directors. He recently published a blog estimating the size and scale of the current underground marijuana economy in the Garden State.

Big bust in NJ tiny part of $1 billion local pot economy

New Jersey’s new Attorney General Paula Dow held [...]]]>

Regulated cannabis growing in Oakland, CA

Chris Goldstein is a member of NORML-NJ’s Board of Directors. He recently published a blog estimating the size and scale of the current underground marijuana economy in the Garden State.

Big bust in NJ tiny part of $1 billion local pot economy

New Jersey’s new Attorney General Paula Dow held a press conference yesterday lauding the largest marijuana bust of living cannabis plants in the state’s history. But authorities involved are well aware that the amount seized is just a small drop in a very large bucket.

….
Over 30, 000 New Jersey residents are arrested every year for a marijuana violation, more than 80% are for possession of less than 50 grams.

There is an assumption nationally that actual pot arrests account for about 1% of overall users. That could mean that there are 2-3 million marijuana consumers in New Jersey.

The state has about 10 million permanent residents overall.

This week the California Board of Equalization (BOE) released a report that CA residents are consuming over 1 million pounds of marijuana every 365 days. The CA BOE also concluded that 22.3 million pounds of marijuana were grown in California in 2006 alone. Read the CA BOE report

While New Jersey’s marijuana market is likely not on the same scale of California, a safe hypothesis could assume that there are indeed several million pounds of marijuana grown in the Garden State each year to keep up with local demand.

Let’s do a little math experiment: To supply 2 million cannabis consumers with just ¼ ounce per month of mid-grade underground marijuana at a cost of $50 per quarter-ounce would make for a $1.2 billion dollar pot market just in New Jersey; every year.

This theory would also mean that NJ residents consume at least 375,000 pounds of cannabis annually.

These are just conservative estimates by a blogger with a calculator.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Frederic DiMaria is an experienced criminal defense attorney specializing in marijuana cases. He serves on the NORML-NJ Board of Trustees.

The Conditional Discharge (CD) is one-time-use-only  form of Pre-Trial Intervention, pertaining specifically to simple marijuana offenses in New Jersey.  When you receive a [...]]]>

Frederic DiMaria is an experienced criminal defense attorney specializing in marijuana cases. He serves on the NORML-NJ Board of Trustees.

The Conditional Discharge:  What is it?

By Frederic DiMaria, Jr., Esq., Chairman, NORML-NJ

The Conditional Discharge (CD) is one-time-use-only  form of Pre-Trial Intervention, pertaining specifically to simple marijuana offenses in New Jersey.  When you receive a conditional discharge, it means that you have agreed to get placed in a probation-like monitored program (conditional discharge program) for a period of up to one year or more, and have agreed to pay harsh fines (greater than $700) — in return for the State dropping the drug charge at the end of the conditional discharge period and, if successfully completed, ultimately having no conviction on your record.

While in the Conditional Discharge program, prosecution of the charges will be put on hold by the Court and you will have a conditional discharge officer who you will be required to report to, and who will administer, at whim, multiple random urine tests for drugs over the conditional discharge period. Each conditional discharge officer is different and methods differ between counties and people. Some test frequently. Others do not test at all.

In order for the charges to get dismissed, you must successfully complete (to the satisfaction of the conditional discharge officer) the conditional discharge program which basically means that you report to your conditional discharge officer when he/she requires, you take (and pass) urine tests when requested and you stay out of trouble.  You must not be convicted of another offense during the conditional discharge period. If you fail to complete the program for any reason, the Court will renew its prosecution of the original charges.

If you successfully complete the program to the satisfaction of the probation officer, the Court will ultimately drop the original charges and your record will remain free of a drug conviction.  The arrest will still be on your record, but you will likely be able to get that removed through a process known as expungement.

If you are conditional discharge eligible, you can request a Conditional Discharge from the Court. Eligibility depends upon multiple factors. A past conviction of a drug offense in New Jersey or any other State, or the past use of the Conditional Discharge program in New Jersey will make you ineligible for the program. If the Court places you in the Conditional Discharge program, the Court will order you to pay the fines set by the Court (again, expect to pay more than $700) and the Court will make you fill out paperwork before you leave. The Court will then give you further instructions.

NOTE: Like a get-out-of-jail-free card in Monopoly, you can only participate in the Conditional Discharge program once. After you use it, it can never be used again.

Many people find the Conditional Discharge program a more palatable outcome than being found guilty of marijuana possession since the Conditional Discharge will not result in loss of a New Jersey driver’s license nor will it result in a criminal record. However, in the opinion of this author the conditional discharge should be utilized as a last resort when other defenses are not available, as the conditional discharge can be an uncomfortable process for someone engaged in a marijuana prevalent lifestyle and can certainly substantially interfere with one’s life.

* Tell us in comments on this blog what other marijuana related legal topics we can address here at NORML-NJ.

10/20/09 – Chris Goldstein NORML-NJ Executive Director  director (at) normlnj.org

National NORML has an online petition available to communicate our support for the new Department of Justice memo on medical marijuana.

This is a tangible shift in White House policy on the topic and will help efforts to pass the medical marijuana bill here in New [...]]]> TAKE ACTION!

10/20/09 – Chris Goldstein NORML-NJ Executive Director  director (at) normlnj.org

National NORML has an online petition available to communicate our support for the new Department of Justice memo on medical marijuana.

This is a tangible shift in White House policy on the topic and will help efforts to pass the medical marijuana bill here in New Jersey.

Please take a moment to participate online -

http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=14205391

While you’re at it, take  a moment to contact your NJ elected officials about reform in the Garden State!

http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=12767456&type=ST

NORML-NJ has been going around the country building support and raising awareness for marijuana law reform in the Garden State. Georgine DiMaria is a former Miss New Jersey and on the Board of Directors at NORML-NJ. Georgi spoke about the medical [...]]]>

Georgine DiMaria represents NORML-NJ on stage at the Boston Freedom Rally 9/19/09

NORML-NJ has been going around the country building support and raising awareness for marijuana law reform in the Garden State. Georgine DiMaria is a former Miss New Jersey and on the Board of Directors at NORML-NJ. Georgi spoke about the medical marijuana effort here and was cheered by the crowd. The following is a blog I posted about the event.

Boston: 30,000 smoke pot, celebrate decrim

9/20/2009 -  Chris Goldstein

An estimated 30,000 people were crowded onto the Boston Common at the peak moment of the 20th annual Boston Freedom Rally on September 19th 2009.

That moment was 4:20PM ET.

The thousands celebrated freely under a landmark victory for cannabis prohibition reform. In 2008 Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana possession of less than 1/4 ounce by adults with a Ballot Initiative, Proposition 2. That means you can only get a NON-criminal ticket with a $100 fine for a pot violation. The decrim effort was won because of the hard work of the very same folks who organize the rally:  MASSCANN/NORML.

A Parks Services officer (who strangely had a thick eastern European accent) agreed that 30,000 seemed a likely estimate of the peak attendance.

A police officer, who did not wish to be named, said the department does not officially release crowd estimates for any event. But Boston Police confirmed that there were 3 arrests for distribution and over 100 citations issued for marijuana possession.

Keith Saunders, MASSCANN’s president, told me that over 50,000 people had probably walked through the grounds over the course of the day and encountered the message of marijuana legalization.

Overall, the police were civil although I saw numerous random searches and heard stories of many more. At past events there have been more than 150 arrests for pot possession… but not on Saturday. Without fear of arrest the crowd was polite and almost everyone I saw was openly enjoying marijuana.

An impressive line-up of bands and speakers appeared on two stages. Styles P, a big time reform supporter showed up and did a surprise set thanks to High Times Magazine. Because of some juggling to accommodate the last minute act, the countdown to 4:20 got squeezed. A sea of people were gathering before the main stage and filling in the large hill.

Steve Bloom of CelebStoner corralled the final 60 seconds, holding a clock up opn stage and pointing as the hands came together. Looking out from that stage you could see huge clouds of smoke rise up from the crowd. There were dozens of spontaneous circles formed in a surreal organic collage of people. They cheered from across the rolling hills of the Common as giant 6-foot long joints were passed around.

Everyone smoked. There really was a quite visible haze over the entire crowd at 4:20. The sweet and fragrant odors of a wide variety of plant strains and hash drifted by offering this interesting quilt of cannabis.

The crowd was extremely well behaved. There cannot be a finer exhibition of the positive effects of human cannabis smoking than large crowds of people doing it together. Without alcohol available at the event there were no fights, pushing or shoving. But with free cannabis consumption there was dancing, conversation and a genuinely happy atmosphere.

Personally, this was the most wonderful day for prohibition reform I have witnessed.

Our country deserves this freedom that Massachusetts already enjoys.

I have seen Victory for Cannabis in Boston. It is sweet and green. It needs to be nationwide.

The first two pics were from my cellphone, this last one is from Derek at PhillyNORML. I’ll have some more blogging about the bands, speakers, backstage and social events from the Boston Freedom Rally.

BILL MAHER: You know, that’s a good question. I haven’t had much contact with them in recent years. I was a little disillusioned. I’ve always said, one of the reasons there’s been so little progress on the [...]]]> INTERVIEWER: Are you still on the board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)?

BILL MAHER: You know, that’s a good question. I haven’t had much contact with them in recent years. I was a little disillusioned. I’ve always said, one of the reasons there’s been so little progress on the marijuana front is that what the movement needs more than anything is some kick-ass, take-no-prisoners, Karl Rove-type lobbyist, you know? And that just never happens, because it’s all a bunch of stoners. You got to get up for that 8 a.m. breakfast meeting with the congressman on Capitol Hill
SOURCE: http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A58204

Dear Bill,

As a NORML activist who spends 30 hours or more of volunteer time per week educating legislators and the public in Pennsylvania and New Jersey I need to say this:  Fuck You.

I still like your show, but those comments were deeply incongruous with my own NORML experience.  We can put you into contact with dozens of hard working activists and advocates who are out there fighting the good fight every single day in state houses from Oregon to Florida and on Capitol Hill.

True Story: When I read your blasé remarks on July 7th I was actually in Harrisburg Pennsylvania interacting with legislators and members of the public about marijuana law reform. We have a medical marijuana bill active in PA HB1393 that was introduced this April. I woke up at 5:30AM in New Jersey, picked up my fellow PhillyNORML/PA4MMJ coordinator Derek in Philadelphia and we drove many hundreds of miles past many hundreds of cows to Harrisburg for the 8:30 breakfast meeting.

Next are some more photos of New Jersey advocates in and around the Trenton state house.

That last shot is of Jim Miller as he remembers his wife Cheryl on the anniversary of her death from MS complications, before she could legally use marijuana. They have both been very active in their direct contact with elected officials.

The problem with cannabis reform is certainly not stoners, but stoners like you Bill: Stoners who bitch instead of act. Stoners who spend little of their professional time or financial resources on reform at all:  High-End Stoners who watch as college kids, criminal defense attorneys and working class activists create the reforms that you then enjoy.

Where exactly is the Bill Maher $1 Million Dollar Annual Grant Fund to End Marijuana Prohibition? Where is the regular, serious and focused spot on Real Time about cannabis reform?

Personally Bill, my disillusionment is in all the celebrity stoners who don’t do jack for the reform effort. Celebrities who will talk about pot, regale with stories about smoking pot, cash in on pot jokes, pot songs, pot themes and potheads but who never seem to have time to take things to the next level with their own involvement in actual hardcore reform.

If every person in the film, tv and music entertainment industry who consumed cannabis or made money from American Cannabis Culture would lend a hand, this whole effort would be far closer to a done deal.

There are some rather notable active celebs like your fellow NORML Advisory Board Members Rick Steves, Tommy Chong and Willie Nelson who regularly make time for the NORML Foundation.  These and other celebrity NORML folks along with the thousands of non-celeb volunteers understand the that true spirit of grassroots activism is to be consistently involved and that volunteering takes self-motivation.

It is volunteers (many involved with NORML chapters), not paid lobbyists, who have brought you medical marijuana access, state and municipal decriminalization, lowest law enforcement priority initiatives along with dozens of victorious court cases and administrative rulings.

Also, over the last four decades tens of thousands of Americans have vounteered for NORML as their own first step towards ending cannabis prohibition.  There are even those who have volunteered or worked for NORML who have gone on to create more organizations. Some founded newer groups like MPP or SSDP and others have staffed ASA, the ACLU, DPA and others.

Collectively the NORML network represents one of the most active and successful non-profit political efforts this country has ever seen.
So let me take a moment to say THANK YOU to the stoners and non-stoners who have contributed to NORML and have made concrete changes happen! Those  advocates have brought us into the current era of mainstream marijuana prohibition reform.

But if more of the high-profile (pun intended) stoners like you Bill would directly contact their state legislators, congressman, senators or other officials every month then this issue could be solved.  We do not need Karl Rove (I would wonder if Karl has a single cannabinoid receptor in his body). We need Malcolm X, Harvey Milk or Martin Luther King Jr.. Cannabis reform is the most important social justice issue in modern America and celebrity stoners like you Bill are missing out on the momentum of reform in 2009.

We need more massively attended public demonstrations like the long running Seattle HempFest and Boston Freedom Rally (both events pulled off annually by NORML volunteers). We need more working relationships with influential and active elected officials like NORML already has with Congressman Ron Paul and Congressman Barney Frank.

Bill, I also have to wonder about your jab at stoners in general…because if it weren’t for stoners in America you would might well be out of a job. It is not the Beer Drinking crowd that stays up late for your brand of political commentary; it is stoners who are elbow deep in a bag of chips and whose minds are open to some progressive politics.

Were you elected a top winehead by CelebDrinker.com?

No Bill, according to the readers of CelebStoner.com you are one of the Top Stoners in the world!  You’re a stoner, a NORML one at that, so own it with pride.

I’ll admit that I too dream at night of NORML having a team of sharkskin suit lobbyists, a fat PAC, daily national advertising and a monthly syndicated NORML newspaper column … maybe regular,  generous cash grants for local chapters and seasonal college campus NORML Tours. We’ll need your help to make that happen.

So Bill why don’t you too re-join the ranks of the active NORML stoners in America? You could personally interact with elected officials in state houses or Washington DC in favor of prohibition reform. We could put you on campus tours or hold a benefit events. Why don’t you join us for the 2009 Conference in San Francisco to learn more about this momentous year of cannabis progress?

We need you and all of the millions of Americans who believe in ending prohibition to stand up right now and get involved. Here in New Jersey, a medical marijuana bill has seen over 4 years of debate and committee hearings. The legislation is gearing up for a final Assembly floor vote this fall. Come on down to Trenton.

Bill, I think that if you are looking for an effective, take-charge, high profile lobbyist for pot you might  stop bitching and take a look in the mirror. The NORML volunteers along with the 1 million Americans who will be arrested in 2009 for a marijuana violation are waiting for your help, not your heckling.

Sincerely,
Chris Goldstein
NORML-NJ Executive Director
PhillyNORML Media Coordinator

Please join me at NORML¹s 38th annual national conference
Yes We Cannabis!
September 24-26, 2009
Grand Hyatt at Union Square, San Francisco
Details at http://www.norml.org/
888-67-NORML

Bill Maher NORMLCON 2002