New Jersey’s brand new Governor, Phil Murphy, started with Executive Order Number 6 with:
“WHEREAS, it is beyond dispute that patients suffering from debilitating medical conditions deserve to live in dignity with as little suffering as possible; and
WHEREAS, medical decisions must be based on science and health, not ideology or social policy…” and went on from there to not only tear down the current, practically nonexistent medical marijuana law, but to demand further research, better access and more methods of ingesting cannabis to be wrapped up and ready to go within 60 days.
This is more than a breath of fresh air for New Jerseyans who had been suffering with Chris Christie in office. Christie, the least popular governor to ever hold the office in the United States, was an extremely vocal opponent of cannabis and did everything in his power to keep medical use away from his unhappy constituents.
On the other hand, with less than a week in office under his belt, Phil Murphy signed the above Executive Order and then proudly tweeted about it, stating, “For eight years, medical marijuana has been difficult to access in New Jersey. Today, we’re turning the page. A fairer New Jersey means expanding access to medical marijuana for patients in need.”
In turn, he’s gotten quite the response, including a retweeted message from veteran Tiffany Meyers: “@GovMurphy thank you for taking steps reevaluate and expand our Medical Cannabis program. Veterans like me appreciate it as do many other New Jersey residents that want a natural alternative to Opioids and benzos.”
The opioid epidemic was one of the many reasons Murphy decided to step up New Jersey’s medical marijuana program. It was also part of his platform to broadly legalize the plant for all New Jersey residents. Now New Jerseyans wait patiently for the Executive Order legalizing recreational cannabis, as originally promised.
New Jersey government has long been a corrupt landscape with dirty money exchanging hands that skimmed social programs for dollars that went who knows where. Though it’s not likely to change entirely overnight, having a politician like Murphy in office gives great hope. Especially to the hundreds of thousands of potential patients who, soon, will have much better access to much better medical marijuana options, as laid out in Murphy’s Executive Order Number 6.
