Asbury Park Press

Gov. Phil Murphy's attempt to bundle legal recreational marijuana, medical marijuana and expungement for past marijuana offenses into a single package of bills may have seemed like a good strategy at the time. But so far it has failed to push legalization of recreational weed — a harder sell than medical marijuana — across the finish line.

Murphy and the sponsors of legalized marijuana say making all three aspects of the weed issue part of the same package is essential. But it has prevented the state from moving forward with expansion of its medical marijuana program, which, when properly regulated and administered, may be worthwhile. If the Legislature again fails to give Murphy the votes needed for passage of the weed legalization package next month, Murphy has threatened to consummate the medical marijuana piece of it by executive order.

Medical marijuana has been used to relieve symptoms for certain conditions. But Murphy may have overreached on the latest medical marijuana bill, which would expand the number of licensed medical marijuana dispensaries from the current six to 50. It also would allow an additional 18 cannabis cultivation facilities.

Murphy and the state Department of Health say the expansion of dispensaries and cultivation facilities are badly needed to meet the rapidly growing demand. Much of that demand is a result of the addition in the first three months of the Murphy administration of five new qualifying conditions for enrollment in the medical marijuana program. The new condition include anxiety, migraines and chronic pain for conditions “affecting the joints, limbs, muscles, nerves and ‘structures’ that support the limbs, neck and back."

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Under current law, there are now 17 conditions that qualify for medical marijuana "therapy,“ including cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, seizure disorders, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder and HIV/AIDS. As with so many other of this state's liberal policies, New Jersey is at or near the vanguard on medical marijuana. About half the states allow medical cannabis for certain conditions. But New Jersey is the only state in which "anxiety" is a qualifying condition, according to leafly.com. And California is the only other state that includes "migraines" as a condition.

Give the broad swath of medical conditions that qualify for medicinal marijuana, full legalization for recreational uses would almost seem redundant in New Jersey.

For many chronic pain sufferers, marijuana seems to help. But a CDC report summarizing more than 100 studies on the effects of marijuana cites only two conditions for which there is evidence of cannabis' positive effects: "It may help prevent and ease nausea caused by chemotherapy," and for adults with multiple sclerosis-related muscle spasms, "short-term use of certain man-made and cannabinoid-based medications improved their reported symptoms."

Overall, the CDC concludes, "There’s a lot of uncertainty around using cannabis for chronic pain. Cannabis-based products may help treat chronic pain in some adults, but more information is needed to know if pain relief from cannabis is any better or worse than other pain management options, such as over over-the-counter drugs like Ibuprofen or alternative treatments like occupational therapy.

"More research is needed to know the specific indications, ideal doses, and how to avoid adverse effects — such as headache, nausea, sleepiness, and dizziness — that are related to medical cannabis use."

Speaking at a news conference announcing the new conditions covered under the medical marijuana program last year, Murphy said, "The days of making residents jump through hoops are coming to an end. We will have a medical marijuana program that is passionate, that is progressive and that, at long last, meets the needs of patients."

Even, apparently, if the Legislature again fails to back the legal weed package.