TRENTON — In response to actions in Trenton to ease rules on allowing children to participate in the state's medical marijuana program, the attorney for a dispensary planned for Woodbridge said today it plans to carry the strain of the drug shown to control seizures, and to make an edible form that can be easily consumed by minors.



Yale Galanter, attorney for Compassionate Care Centers Of America Foundation, Inc., told The Star-Ledger his client won't even charge for the medicine, if that is allowed under New Jersey law.



"I've spoken with my principals and they have made a corporate decision that for any children that need that medicine, they will not have to look at any further," Galanter said during a telephone interview this evening.



Just hours earlier, the Senate approved a version of a bill embraced by Gov. Chris Christie that would enable sanctioned growers to produce as many strains of marijuana as they want and to sell edible products to sick children. The Assembly still has to approve the bill (S2842) for it to become law.



The Woodbridge dispensary's news pleased the Wilson Family of Scotch Plains, who has waged a very public battle on behalf of their 2-year-old daughter, Vivian, diagnosed with Dravet syndrome, a debilitating and potential fatal form of epilepsy. Brian and Meghan Wilson enrolled their daughter in the program because they saw the benefits medicinal marijuana had provided to children in Colorado with Dravet.



But when they tried to move ahead, the Wilsons found there were many barriers to children participating in New Jersey. They had to find at least two doctors who supported Vivian's involvement - including a psychiatrist; they also needed to find a willing grower among the six selected by the state to grow the exact strain that has worked in Colorado and who would be willing to reduce it to a pill, oil or syrup a child could easily consume.



"This is great news. It make us cautiously optimistic," Brian Wilson said last night after learning of Galanter's statements. Wilson said he hopes he could speak to the dispensary owners so they could discuss precisely what has worked elsewhere.



"If they come through for us that would be an amazing example of generosity and caring that is not very common these days," Wilson said.



Only one dispensary is open, Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair, and it does not carry the necessary strain, which is low in THC - the ingredient that gives users a euphoric feeling, but high in CBD - that provides no high feeling at all.

Compassionate Care Foundation, Inc., the dispensary planned for Egg Harbor Township expected to open next month, said it, too, will grow a strain high in CBD, although the Wilsons say after talking to the owner, it is likely not to offer what has helped other Dravet patients.



The Woodbridge dispensary just began growing its first crop about a week ago and is not expected to open until the end of the year, pending state and local approvals. But when they are ready to open, Galanter said, "Yes, we will carry it."



The strain produced by The Stanley Brothers in Colorado called Charlotte's Web - named for the first child who tried it - has not been subject to clinical trials. Because marijuana is still an illegal substance, there has been no federal funding for research. But several dozen children that have tried the strain have seen the severity of their seizures diminish, according to parents.



Galanter did not provide details on how they would obtain the strain and produce it. The dispensary owners -- David Weisser, Michael Weisser, and James Elek, according to the state health departmen -- must still wait for the state to enact rules for the program, he said.



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