Long-time advocates and new NJ cannabis activists gathered in Trenton today to rally for cannabis legalization and the lack of home cultivation of cannabis or “home grow” for medical marijuana patients.
Home grow is especially popular and a rallying point for many cannabis activists. It would benefit patients who, due to their illness, cannot work a great deal. They are subsequently having issues paying for expensive medical marijuana (or clinical cannabis) on an exceedingly lean budget.
Medical marijuana from dispensaries can amount to hundreds of dollars a month. Thus, home grow is seen as a viable alternative. In addition to the price, they were angry at the poor quality of the state medical dispensary cannabis. This echoed comments made by others.
“If I have to march every couple weeks, then you’ll see me,” Derlyn Jones “DJ” Stokes said to the crowd regarding the need to fight for change.
Among those gathered were Ken Wolski, Executive Director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana in New Jersey (CMMNJ), CMMNJ Board Member Jim Miller, Edward “Lefty” Grimes, leading cannabis activist and host of Sativa Cross Ignorance is No Excuse podcast, and the prominent radical activist Ed “NJWeedman” Forchion.
According to Lefty, a prominent NJ cannabis activist and patient Jeff Oakes was unable to attend. DJ Stokes and Sanjay Chaudhari organized the protest with support from the aforementioned activists.
“This isn’t just me saying this. There’s 200 300 people involved in this. We have a louder voice,” said Chaudhari.
He added that he felt homegrow was a reasonable demand. Chaudhari is a patient himself and experienced in growing other plants.
Fighting the Good Fight for Home Grow
Home grow is an issue many Trenton insiders have conceded is not possible right now, despite the grassroots demand and its inclusion in legalization elsewhere in the country.
“Legalization, not corporatization!” the crowd chanted multiple times.
A variety of pro-cannabis activists joined Lefty’s podcast, including Brian Powers, a long-time radical activist and host of “#NJRR Live” on New Jersey Revolution Radio, who said thousands of activists are needed to flood the Statehouse and smoke inside to demand home grow, the stopping of the arrest of patients, and to demand concessions.
“You’re just kissing their ass for favors,” he said if that’s not done and traditional lobbyist tactics are deployed.
“I want to storm that statehouse armed with pounds of weed, smoke, and go tell themselves to fuck themselves!” Powers said to the applause of the crowd, citing the examples of the labor movement and Martin Luther King fighting successfully for change.
On Lefty’s podcast, Wolski argued that it’s more logical to simply fight for home grow than fight the corporate issues. But many disagreed with him.
Corporate cannabis is going to ruin everything,” said one activist, believing that the product and customers would suffer if Big Pharma entered into the market. He added that in Colorado, big conglomerates have begun to control the industry to the detriment of small businesses and those seeking strains they’re not selling.
Rally in Trenton
The issues they describe are the issues that come with the nature of the current economic system.
Cannabis reform has become quite popular, polling over 60 percent in the state and nationally. Someone summed up the situation with the blockage of adult-use cannabis as “four assholes ruining it for millions.
“A minority is strangling the majority,” said an activist.
The issue that patients can’t keep guns they bought was an issue some lamented.
The rally was planned before the defeat of cannabis reform in the legislature last week. Many were advocating it to be included in that bill as well.
Some strident activists feel the planned referendum will likely include the language of the failed bill, S. 2703, which they did not support because they did not find it sufficiently inclusive or progressive regarding criminal justice. It was also bereft of homegrow.
