Leaving just one hurdle left before it will be legal for the first time to toke up in the tri-state area, the New Jersey State Assembly voted today to pass a measure allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Both outgoing governor Jon Corzine and incoming governor Chris Christie support the measure and have vowed to sign it if it crosses either of their desks. That just leaves the State Senate, which is expected to vote on it sometime today, to decide the issue. If it is passed, New Jersey will become the fourteenth state nationally and one of the only states in the Northeast to allow people afflicted with illnesses like cancer, AIDS, muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis to smoke weed. But New Jersey’s law will likely be stricter than most — doctors would only be allowed to prescribe it for the most serious chronic conditions. Patients would also not be allowed to grow it on their own, or use it in public, which, when you think about it, totally takes all the fun out of having cancer, AIDS, muscular dystrophy, or multiple sclerosis.
New Jersey Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana [NYT]
Udpate: The State Senate passed it, too!
