New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is looking to adjust the state's medical marijuana bill. Should Christie get his way, medical marijuana would only be available to sick children who have been given recommendations from a pediatrician and psychiatrist. “Today, I am making common sense recommendations to this legislation to ensure sick children receive the treatment their parents prefer, while maintaining appropriate safeguards,” Christie said on Friday.
Christie's words came after the parents of Vivian Wilson publicly confronted him. The two-year old suffers from a form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome, a rare condition that causes her to have several life-threatening seizures. "Please don’t let my daughter die," Brian Wilson pleaded to Christie during a campaign stop last Wednesday.
“I know you think it’s simple and it’s not,” Christie responded. The governor's statement drew criticism from Wilson and wife, Meghan, who feel he is "[making] it so difficult for parents, who are already enduring tremendous pain and heartache, to get approval for such a safe and simple medication." "There's no rhyme or reason to have a psychiatrist be part of this decision. You're talking about sick kids who aren't even mentally necessarily capable of talking. Vivian can't even talk," Wilson added.
The Los Angeles Times notes that of the 20 states that permit medical marijuana, New Jersey has the strictest rules.
[via Gawker,CNN and Los Angeles Times]
