Ken Wolski, executive director of Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey, has been a long-time advocate for the legalization of recreational marijuana for adults in New Jersey, which voters approved on Tuesday.
The high school senior put passion and pen to paper. Wise beyond his years, he understood the requisite process: research before writing, clarity and accuracy a must. get it right before you write.
And when his term paper was completed, Trenton Central High School student Ken Wolski, Class of 1966, read it over and likely saluted himself with a nod, satisfied he'd made a case about the therapeutic benefits of a misunderstood drug called marijuana.
While the button-down establishment, many of whom were regularly getting buzzed at a three-martini lunch, condemned the drug as the devil's helper, Wolski tuned out the noise and delved deeper, finding the silver lining the establishment ignored. The kid detailed marijuana's medical benefits for those with glaucoma and asthma and how cancer patients reported cannabis helped reduce the severity of nausea, pan, insomnia, and other side effects associated with chemotherapy treatments. He explained how marijuana was more helper than horror. How for those with medical afflictions, marijuana was reefer gladness.
But as Wolski penned his paper imparting the medical benefits of the drug, the law viewed it much differently. The penalty for first-time possession of marijuana carried a minimum sentence of 2 to10 years and a $20,000 fine. Smoke a joint, go to jail. Lunacy.
Fifty-four years later, how things have changed.
Due in large part to the impassioned work of Wolski, a registered nurse and founder and executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey, marijuana will become legal in the state. By a 2-to-1 margin, voters on Election Day approved a ballot question to amend the state Constitution to legalize cannabis for those at least 21 years old. The program is expected to be up and running by the middle of next summer.
"I'm very gratified about the voters for so overwhelmingly passing this Constitutional amendment for possession, use, growth, and transportation to buy and sell cannabis," said Wolski. "It's really a great feeling and, quite frankly, it's long overdue."
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While pre-election polling on the issue indicated the measure would pass, Wolski tempered his excitement and kept working. During the summer, he personally wrote a letter to every college and university president in New Jersey, explaining the ballot question and asking them to work with students to vote. He also kept the ballot question in public view with a vibrant presence on social media. There was work to be done. Popping champagne corks would have to wait.
"We were pretty confident it would pass, but didn't want to be overconfident," he said. "We pretended we were behind and worked hard the last couple months before the election to get the vote out. We felt we'd already convinced people of the state of the benefits of legal marijuana, but we still had to get them out to vote."
While pleased the measure on legalizing marijuana passed, Wolski had hoped it would've happened decades ago.
"I really thought marijuana would be legalized by the early 80s," he said. "Instead, there was a resurgence of the war on drugs, increased penalties for any drug use, and increased enforcement that led to mass incarcerations. From 1984 to 2006, the prison population exploded, the most in the history of New Jersey, and to this day still is."
For many years, Wolski, a registered nurse, advocated for the legalization of medical marijuana in New Jersey, which became law in 2010. He and other marijuana advocates beat the drum through meetings, conferences, educational programs regulatory proposals, rallies, demonstrations, press conferences, media interviews, op-eds, debates, and symposium. In 2015, he testified before the state Senate Judiciary Committee for the drug's recreation legalization.
As a marijuana user himself to ease the symptoms of osteoarthritis, Wolski's expertise on the drug's efficacy is not merely data driven. What he penned to paper as a healthy teen, his aching body vouches for today — Marijuana: more helper than horror.
And now, thanks to Wolski and New Jersey voters, the drug will be more easily accessible than ever before.
"I'd have to say the advent of medical marijuana did a lot to break the stigma of marijuana," he said. "It wasn't a conscious decision when we started the coalition for medical marijuana in 2003. We didn't endorse legal marijuana until 2014. Our thought about medical marijuana was to get the wounded and sick off the battlefield, and stop arresting them. When it passed, the public was aware most would be helped, not hurt, including senior citizens dealing with typical problems of aging"
There are those who will never see marijuana as anything but a gateway drug that possesses no redeeming qualities. Coaxing their heads out of the sand has long been a futile exercise. Fortunately, we don't need to hear from them anymore.
The people have spoken.
Columnist Phil Gianficaro can be reached at 215-345-3078, pgianficaro@theintell.com, and @philgianficaro on Twitter.
Will Joe Biden push for federal legalization or is he complicit with the current marijuana laws that are shrouded in racism? I hope he does the right thing with his time in office.
Will Joe Biden push for federal legalization or is he complicit with the current marijuana laws that are shrouded in racism? I hope he does the right thing with his time in office.
I've read that it may happen. Can a president just not remove it from the list of banned substances? The entire concept of needing the government's permission is ludicrous...seriously...no one is ODing on Cannabis that I'm aware of...how many of these low life politicians down a 1/2 bottle a scotch every day?
Will Joe Biden push for federal legalization or is he complicit with the current marijuana laws that are shrouded in racism? I hope he does the right thing with his time in office.
I've read that it may happen. Can a president just not remove it from the list of banned substances? The entire concept of needing the government's permission is ludicrous...seriously...no one is ODing on Cannabis that I'm aware of...how many of these low life politicians down a 1/2 bottle a scotch every day?
Anyway, I hope legalization comes real soon.
That, and the chokehold that federal prohibition is putting on those that are trying to set up shop in states that have legalized it is ridiculous. The black market will continue to thrive as long as it is illegal federally.
Im hoping. Our State government though is so inefficient in getting something like this done. The same side cant agree on a slam-dunk issue. They failed 2 years ago, last year was on its way to failure, but Covid stopped it in its tracks.... and this year feels no different than the previous 2. It has started out the same with Cuomo talking the big game, but he fades when the time to shit or get off the pot gets close and then the clock runs out. If we ever got to vote on it, it would easily pass.
Almost convinced that it is going to have to come down federally.
However, the bordering states almost all have it. There are plenty of rollouts that we can just copy/paste into New York. Maybe that gets done this year? We really could use the revenue, and perhaps Cuomo will have an appetite to do something that again casts him onto the National consciousness?
Made gummies I combined lime & raspberrie flavors hence the dark colors probably need 4 to really feel them, I also mode square ones by using an ice tray but not full to the top those came out really strong! Ate one today and I was flying really good all day took today off from work and man what a gorgeous day🤘
Will Joe Biden push for federal legalization or is he complicit with the current marijuana laws that are shrouded in racism? I hope he does the right thing with his time in office.
I've read that it may happen. Can a president just not remove it from the list of banned substances? The entire concept of needing the government's permission is ludicrous...seriously...no one is ODing on Cannabis that I'm aware of...how many of these low life politicians down a 1/2 bottle a scotch every day?
Anyway, I hope legalization comes real soon.
That, and the chokehold that federal prohibition is putting on those that are trying to set up shop in states that have legalized it is ridiculous. The black market will continue to thrive as long as it is illegal federally.
It’s legal here in Canada and I buy exclusively off the black market. The government weed is overpriced.
Will Joe Biden push for federal legalization or is he complicit with the current marijuana laws that are shrouded in racism? I hope he does the right thing with his time in office.
I've read that it may happen. Can a president just not remove it from the list of banned substances? The entire concept of needing the government's permission is ludicrous...seriously...no one is ODing on Cannabis that I'm aware of...how many of these low life politicians down a 1/2 bottle a scotch every day?
Anyway, I hope legalization comes real soon.
That, and the chokehold that federal prohibition is putting on those that are trying to set up shop in states that have legalized it is ridiculous. The black market will continue to thrive as long as it is illegal federally.
It’s legal here in Canada and I buy exclusively off the black market. The government weed is overpriced.
The issue here in Illinois is taxes on legally bought products. From the Illinois policy website "Illinois slaps a 10% tax on products containing less than 35% THC (the psychoactive substance in cannabis), a 20% tax on cannabis-infused edible products and a 25% tax on products with more than 35% THC".
Still not sure why we need permission to smoke a plant. Of all the shit people put into their bodies...Cannabis should be the least of anyone's concern...
But government loves to control and I detest these governments...
Still not sure why we need permission to smoke a plant. Of all the shit people put into their bodies...Cannabis should be the least of anyone's concern...
But government loves to control and I detest these governments...
Every snippet of this book in every article I have read about it is cringeworthy...we were sold and voted in a marketing campaign that underdelivered.
Comments
Gianficaro: For marijuana advocate Ken Wolski, legalization of drug was long overdue
Ken Wolski, executive director of Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey, has been a long-time advocate for the legalization of recreational marijuana for adults in New Jersey, which voters approved on Tuesday.
Hampton 2016
Anyway, I hope legalization comes real soon.
Almost convinced that it is going to have to come down federally.
However, the bordering states almost all have it. There are plenty of rollouts that we can just copy/paste into New York. Maybe that gets done this year? We really could use the revenue, and perhaps Cuomo will have an appetite to do something that again casts him onto the National consciousness?
Hampton 2016
Hampton 2016
it looks like flattened elephant dung
Big Pharma had nothing to do with it, eh? LMFAO.
Mexico is legalizing Cannabis
Mexico cannabis bill: Senate vote paves way for legalisation (yahoo.com)
Still not sure why we need permission to smoke a plant. Of all the shit people put into their bodies...Cannabis should be the least of anyone's concern...
But government loves to control and I detest these governments...
The dispensary I ordered from at 2pm today didn’t get here until 7. The horror!
They threw in a couple of really nice J’s as an apology for the glitch
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
The yield looks wonderful too...almost sculpture-esque
Jeesh....
And WTF...
The US is such a fucked up country.
It looks like a hard-ish butter or candy with eye drops of tincture?