It is expected that New Jersey’s newly elected governor, Chris Christie will not endorse the legislators’ efforts to pass a medical marijuana law.  Resultantly, a proponent of the “Compassionate Medical Marijuana Act” disclosed that a movement is in process to get the bill posted for a vote on December 7, 2009, January 7, 2010 or January 11, 2010, before Christie takes office.

Although the Senate passed a bill in February, the Assembly amended it in a number of different areas.  One of the major differences is that the Senate’s version would allow both a primary-care physician to prescribe marijuana/pot and the patient to grow their own small quantities of marijuana/pot.  The Assembly bill, however, prohibits patients from growing their own marijuana/pot plants.  In addition, the physician’s authority to dispense marijuana is limited to one ounce per patient during a 30 day period.