State & Local Government

Drug Policy Alliance

www.drugpolicy.org

MEDIA ADVISORY
January 27, 2012

Medical Marijuana Patient Surrenders Today; Pardon Sought from Gov Christie

Somerville – Multiple sclerosis patient John Ray Wilson will appear at the Somerset County Courthouse today at 8:30AM. He is expected to be taken into custody to serve the reminder of a five-year prison term for growing seventeen cannabis plants. The NJ State Supreme Court refused to hear his latest appeal. He was convicted just before the New Jersey medical marijuana law was passed in 2010.

"John Ray Wilson exemplifies the fact the NJ has some of the most retroactive, ill-advised draconian marijuana laws in the country," said civil rights attorney William Buckman who represented Wilson in the appeal.

"The notion that taxpayers should pay to lock up a sick man for 5 years is ludicrous and tragic," said Buckman, "The governor should quickly commute his sentence."

Governor Chris Christie could intervene. State Senator Raymond Lesniak issued a press release yesterday also renewing that call: "I am disappointed by the recent decision of the Supreme Court to deny the appeal of John Ray Wilson. Mr. Wilson was not selling drugs on our streets. He was merely trying to alleviate the symptoms of a dreadfully painful and regressive disease. It is unconscionable that this Friday he will be behind bars."

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) has been keeping up demonstrations in support of John since his original trial. The group plans to hold solidarity events for Wilson while he is in prison. A support rally is planned in front of the court house today.

John Wilson's case has symbolized the ongoing plight of New Jersey's medical cannabis patients.

For more information about this release, please contact Ken Wolski or Chris Goldstein.

WHAT: Support rally for John Ray Wilson
WHERE: Somerset County Courthouse 40 N Bridge St, Somerville
WHEN: 1/27/2012 - - - 8:30AM ET

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ  08618

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NJ Supreme Court: 5 Years in Prison for MS Patient Growing Marijuana

Family, senators and community seek pardon from Governor

Trenton, NJ – January 24, 2012 - Multiple sclerosis (MS) patient John Ray Wilson is preparing to resume his 5-year prison sentence after the state Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal on January 20. Attorney William Buckman called the result “wrongheaded and a vicious travesty.”

Wilson was arrested on August 18, 2008 and charged with “manufacturing” 17 marijuana plants that he used to treat his MS. Wilson faced 20 years in state prison for this crime.   

The jury was not allowed to hear details about Wilson's condition, essentially removing his only defense. In December 2009, Wilson was acquitted of the most serious charge but convicted of a second-degree charge of manufacturing marijuana. He was sentenced to five years in prison on March 19, 2010. Members of the community protested outside the courthouse in Somerville. 

On July 26, 2011, an appellate court ruling affirmed the conviction and sentencing. The court agreed with the trial judge there was no “personal use” exemption to the charge. They agreed that five years in prison for this crime was an appropriate sentence.

Governor Chris Christie ignored appeals from state Senators Nicholas Scutari and Raymond Lesniak seeking a pardon. The official pardon request to the Office of the Governor remains active.

“This is further proof that there is no justice for medical marijuana patients in New Jersey," said Ken Wolski, RN, executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ).

MS is a qualifying condition for marijuana therapy in New Jersey according to the two-year-old Compassionate Use Act, but the state’s Medicinal Marijuana Program is not operational yet.

The National MS Society confirmed that standard therapies often provide inadequate relief for the symptoms of MS and that marijuana helps with MS symptoms such as pain and spasticity and could limit disease progression. An estimated 15% of people with the disease use marijuana for symptom relief.  

Chris Goldstein on the Board of Directors at CMMNJ said, "How many more seriously ill residents are we going to pay to send to prison? We call on Governor Chris Christie to demonstrate his compassion for qualifying medical marijuana patients and his commitment to a new stance on non-violent drug offenders by issuing a pardon for John Ray Wilson."

For more information about this release, please contact Ken Wolski (609) 394 2137 or Chris Goldstein (267) 702 3731.

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc. www.cmmnj.org
219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ  08618