NJ Senate Seeks To Defy Governor Over Marijuana
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Democrats in the New Jersey Senate say they're planning to move forward with a vote Monday to force Gov. Chris Christie to rewrite strict new rules on medical marijuana.
The vote is scheduled even though Christie and the state Assembly's prime sponsor of medical marijuana struck a deal on regulations last week.
Sen. Nick Scutari, who sponsored the bill in the Senate and was not part of the compromise plan, says the deal does not eliminate significant hurdles to patients and distributors. He says the overly strict rules make the program unworkable.
Senate President Steve Sweeney says he has the 21 votes needed to send the administration back to the drawing board.
Activists are upset that Christie wants to cap the potency of the marijuana that can be sold, eliminated home delivery and requires prescribing doctors to be certified in addiction counseling.
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