Crop of problems has left N.J. medical marijuana program in budding stage

Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 7:29 AM
By Amy Brittain/The Star-Ledger



Various types of marijuana are on display at a nonprofit cooperative medical marijuana dispensary, in October 2009, in Los Angeles, Calif. A medical marijuana dispensary could be coming to Montclair pending state approval.

The state?s medical marijuana program is in such disarray that it may not be fully launched until mid-2012 at the earliest or as late as 2013, a full three years after it was signed into law, a Star-Ledger review shows.
Interviews with state officials and representatives from the selected dispensaries and a review of various documents reveal myriad problems besetting the program, from difficulties finding locations for the pot centers to the vetting of personnel.

Amid growing criticism that the program is floundering, Gov. Chris Christie?s spokesman, Michael Drewniak, defends the governor?s position on the program and the seemingly slow pace in getting it started.

?Our intention always has been and remains to implement this law for the benefit and relief of patients qualified to receive legal, medicinal marijuana,? he said in an e-mail late last month.

Consider what has to be done.

Of the six proposed dispensaries, only two have found a home. Greenleaf Compassion Center has secured a location in Montclair, and Compassionate Care Foundation Inc. has signed a lease in Westampton in Burlington County, center officials said.

In Moonachie and Maple Shade, town officials recently rejected plans for two different dispensaries.

Before any of the groups can start growing the crop, the state must give them permission and award a permit. Until that point, dispensaries say they are stuck in a sort of holding pattern, ready to go but waiting for the green light.

?The day we can get permission, we can be up and running in four months,? said Joe Stevens, CEO of Greenleaf. ?Our main concern is every day we receive calls from patients, 10 to 30 calls a day, wondering if they?re going to be qualified for the program. As you?re aware, their questions are going unanswered. We?re well-capitalized to wait for the department, but no business can last forever without income.?

There are other problems: Operating rules for the program, which were proposed by the state Department of Health and Senior Services nearly nine months ago, have yet to be adopted. The proposed rules contained contentious points, such as a 10 percent limit on THC and a cap on the number of strains, that advocates have been fiercely fighting against.

Meanwhile, the health department has yet to make seemingly ground-level decisions, such as how the patients? I.D. cards would be produced. Also, the state has not published the names of 108 doctors pre-registered to recommend medical marijuana, leaving patients wondering how and where to find a qualified physician. The department isn?t even sure if it will publish them.

?That is under review,? said Donna Leusner, a spokeswoman for the department.

And, in the most recent development, representatives of four proposed pot clinics, three of which were rejected by the state, have filed separate appeals challenging the way the health department selected the six winning applicants this past spring. If successful, the appeals could shake up the selection results, even further delaying the program.

The appellants include Montel Williams, a former TV talk show host who became an advocate for medical marijuana after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
?MORE QUALIFIED?

?It looks like we?re crying over spilt milk, but we?re not,? said Williams, speaking by phone from Israel, where he recently traveled to learn about medical research and patient care. His proposed center, Abatin Wellness, is modeled after a clinic he?s worked with in Sacramento, Calif.

?I believe our application is more qualified than many of the applications that went in,? he said. ?It?s apparent some non-existent system must have been used to come up with that decision. I want the powers that be to take another look.?

The appeals, obtained by The Star-Ledger through an open public records request, were filed separately and contain a variety of complaints, some that are vague and only briefly noted on the official appeal form.

THE VETTING

Then there is the vetting process. Over the past two months, Star-Ledger stories have reported on questions about the backgrounds of some people linked to two of the centers.

Two directors at the Foundation Harmony, a proposed North Jersey center, had gone bankrupt, the newspaper found. Additionally, a medical director had been accused of insurance fraud, and the foundation boasted of ties to a Colorado pot training school that was later suspended in that state. Foundation Harmony wanted to open up in Moonachie, but the Bergen County borough did not back the proposal.

Former talk show host Montel Williams, pictured in this January file photo, became an advocate of medical marijuana after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Earlier in the fall, the newspaper also reported on Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation, a Central Jersey center with ties to a Monmouth County multi-millionaire accused of profiting from a massive Ponzi scheme run by Solomon Dwek, the state?s most famous conman.

Ken Wolski, of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana in New Jersey, said he believes the state tried to award the contracts as objectively as possible. He worries the appeals could have unintended consequences.

?Well you know, it certainly could further delay the implementation of the program, which would not be in the best interests of the patients of New Jersey,? he said.

The most voluminous appeal was filed in March by a group called Natural Medical Inc., represented by attorney Neal Wiesner. The group, which never actually applied for a permit, has a for-profit structure and is seeking the seventh, eighth and ninth permits to operate centers, challenging the state?s decision to allow only nonprofit groups to apply.
The other two appellants are Garden State Medical Marijuana Associates, a group run by an internet cafe entrepreneur, and Abunda Life Center, a religious hotel retreat center in Asbury Park.
Garden State?s spokesman, Ron Simoncini, said the selection process was flawed because the state scored the centers, in part, based on their locations but later allowed the winners to scrap their planned sites.
?If the state is allowing people to move, they should take the highest scorers and indicate a specific location for them or ask them to move to a specific region and create a solution,? Simoncini said.
Garden State had hoped to open its center in Secaucus, mainly because of the accessibility to public transportation, he said.
?We have a location, he said. ?We have a rock solid relationship with a landlord. We?ve got drawings of the site. Our security package is integrated.?
FEELING FRUSTRATED
Now, Simoncini said he?s frustrated to hear reports that vetting efforts are moving slowly. Like others watching the program unfold, he suggests that the state?s decision to select centers before doing background checks is a backward procedure. The vetting, he said, should have been done before the selections were made, not after.
There ?should have been a more comprehensive review that included interviews and due diligence prior to the selection,? he said.
Gov. Christie has expressed deep reservations about the program, which was signed into law by his predecessor, Jon Corzine.
?One thing your stories (about the vetting process) are proving is that our concerns about this law and its implementation were well-founded, and that any rush to implement would be fraught with hazard,? said Christie?s spokesman, Drewniak, in an e-mail.
?On top of issues that have arisen with these initial (alternative treatment center) applicants ? issues we feared could arise with groups and individuals who want to grow and distribute an illegal, controlled substance ? the federal government continues to take or threaten new civil and criminal enforcement actions elsewhere in the country in states with loosely run medicinal marijuana programs.?
CRITICIZES NEWSPAPER
In the same e-mail, he criticized The Star-Ledger for what he said was a mischaracterization of the program?s status.

Video: Gov. Christie gives go-ahead for N.J. medical marijuana program
Gov. Chris Christie today said the state will move forward with a "limited, medically-based" medical marijuana program. Though it's not a law he would have signed, he said his priority is getting care to those who need it. (Video by Megan DeMarco / The Star-Ledger)
Watch video
?Unfortunately, your latest story continues to give readers the inaccurate impression that the early selection of these alternative treatment center operators ? for meeting threshold requirements only ? made it sound like a done deal for them,? he said. ?That?s unfortunate and inaccurate.?
In March, the health department announced ?the licensing? of six medical marijuana centers, heralding them as the ?winning? and ?successful? applicants in a news release published online. Soon after, Gov. Christie called for a program delay, eventually three months, to seek guidance on federal laws.
Since then, health department officials have moved forward with the six chosen groups, often seeking status updates and holding conference calls to discuss progress, records show.
But Drewniak reiterated that nothing has been completed and that the vetting is ongoing. He also criticized the newspaper for trying ?to take credit for a new level of vetting? after the first story ran.
?We?ve been telling you all along: No person or entity unfit to operate an ATC and distribute medicinal marijuana will be licensed,? Drewniak said in his recent e-mail.
A co-sponsor of the state?s medical marijuana law, Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), told The Star-Ledger the latest reports about the program have been ?concerning.?
?The last thing I want to see is the program fail or have any individuals involved that are not of the best quality of character,? Scutari said. ?I?m hoping that the administration gets on the ball.?
WORRIED ABOUT RULES
Scutari said he is also worried that the rules governing the program have not been officially adopted by the state. The health department, tasked with administering the state?s medical marijuana act, has to finalize the proposed rules and send them to the New Jersey Register for publication, after which they are considered adopted. The head of the Division of Administrative Rules, Mark Stanton, said that as of yesterday, the notice of adoption had not been filed.
Leusner, the spokeswoman for the health department, said this is not unusual, considering the complexity of the program. The rules were re-proposed in February, and the department hopes to have the rules finalized by the end of the year, she said.
?There has been no delay,? she said. ?The department has one year to develop an adoption of rules. This is a complex program which has received considerable public input.?
Meanwhile, nearly two years after the state law was passed, patients are voicing their frustrations.
Gayle Gavinski, a 62-year-old disabled pharmaceutical worker, has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 22 years, battling spasms that twist her muscles into knots of excruciating pain, diminish her ability to think clearly and render her prone to falls. To ward off the effects, she takes three prescription drugs. Her only exercise is walking Max, her Maltese dog, around their South Plainfield neighborhood.
When the law was passed, Gavinski considered giving pot a try, hoping for some relief. She and thousands of patients in the state are still waiting for that chance.
?I just resent Gov. Christie for it, because he?s dragging his feet,? she said. ?It?s cruel for the people who could benefit from it.?