Petition Calling on New Jersey Governor to Sign Medical Cannabis PTSD Bill Gets 11,000 Signatures in 5 Days
A petition calling on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to sign Assembly Bill 457 into law has received over 11,000 signatures in just five days. Assembly Bill 457 would allow those with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to legally purchase, possess and use cannabis to help treat their ailment.
The proposal was given approval by the state’s legislature on August 1st, with a 29 to 9 in the Senate and a 56 to 13 vote in the Assembly. The measure now sits on the desk of Governor Chris Christie, who has the option of signing it into law, allowing it to become law without his signature, or vetoing it.
“We are calling Governor Christie to quickly sign it into law, allowing those suffering from the ailment to use a medicine that research has continually shown is beneficial”, the petition states.
The petition refers to two recent studies; a government-funded study released in 2014 using human trials which found that “the cannabinoid system may serve as a promising target for innovative intervention strategies (e.g. pharmacological enhancement of exposure-based therapy) in PTSD and other fear learning-related disorders”, and a study published in 2015 by the U.S. National Institute of Health which found “a pharmacologic rationale for the use of cannabinoids to manage the three core PTSD symptom clusters: reexperiencing, avoidance and numbing, and hyperarousal.”
“I’ve seen first hand how marijuana has helped my veteran friend cope with his PTSD”, says Jennifer Oliveira of Edison, New Jersey, who recently signed the petition. “It is better than the other drugs big pharma try to push.”
“22 Veterans succumb to their PTSD and take their own lives each day”, says Anthony Liberte of Sicklerville, New Jersey, who also signed the petition. “Cannabis can and will help many of them. Was their wartime less dangerous than a medicinal herb? Are their lives not worth saving?”
Those who have yet to sign the petition can do so by clicking here.