Mary Pat Angelini should retire.

Here's a novel approach, start being truthful with our children instead of relying on "messages". By the way, anyone care to see what this Angelini has to lose financially if weed is legalized? How much funding does she receive from big alcohol, tobacco and Pharma?

Mary Pat Angelini reminds me of Dick Cheney. Cheney got his jollies watching videos of water boarding. Now Angeline wants to keep sending people to prison for marijuana. Her cruelty is barbaric.

NJ has to wake up and get out of the dark ages. the religious right need to move to alabama. This state is so far in the middle ages thats why companies wont move here to bring jobs. This is the only state where you have to bring your own to a restaurant so people drink a whole bottle of wine instead of a glass. Only those who own the licenses make money.
Legalize POT period and see how much money we save fighting the so called Regan drug wars. What BS
we spend 50 billion a year on what and then spend more to lock minor offenses for pot.
Grow up, everyone in the baby boom era smoked pot and still do.
I dont but I know successful people who have smoked for 50 years already and they are millionaires.

I agree with Pastor Don, the best way to get the messaging we want to our kids is through education and parental involvement/supervision. This bill will go a long way to eliminating the criminal stigma of "offenders" caught with minimal amounts of marijuana, and will put it in its proper place alongside alcohol. The push should be to further criminalize those who deal in prescription drugs and make truly dangerous substances available. No-one has ever died from a marijuana overdose, the same cannot, CANNOT, be said for oxycodone, percocet, etc....

Marijuanna is no worse than alcohol and cigarettes. Its not. Period. I don't drink or smoke. If some one else wants to do that to their body - as long as they aren't driving - have at it. I say legalize it for adults and then tax the hell out of it - then we can spend the proceeds on policing the real drug problems with opiates and meth, etc....

  
Grantee: PREVENTION FIRST, INCOcean, NJ
Program: Drug Free CommunitiesSP014612
Congressional District: NJ-06
FY 2011 Funding: $125,000
Project Period: 09/30/2008 - 09/29/2013

Could it be that little miss angelini is getting a little something on the side?
SAMSHA gives out millions of your tax payer dollars to brainwash your children,Hey Angelini what kind of a message does that send?

Like the poll above suggested, as a driver and uncle of 5, I have to say that legalizing marijuana would emphasize an already bad message. It is a sad fact that since the term "medicinal marijuana" has been popularized, teens have been using more pot because it is taken more lightly. If pot were to be legalized, then there would be an even larger hazard on the road with drivers under the influence of legalized pot than there would be currently.

To everyone who posted a pro-decriminalization comment: Please take the time to contact your congresspeople and let them know how you feel. If we took our opinions to the correct source, maybe something will get done.

I believe decriminalization sends the RIGHT message. An honest one. We errode our credibility by saying pot is harmful....only for kids to later find out we lied. In the meantime, we actually steer them toward more harmful substances (see alcohol)...not away from them.

I'm confident Mary Pat Angelini will learn that while we can't fix stupid, we can vote it out of office.

"Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini is incorrect."

Gov Cris has wholeheartedly decided to tell the feds to shove it when it comes to sports betting.He doesn’t care that it is federally illegal; he is going forward with it regardless. Yet he still hasn’t followed through with getting medical cannabis to patients here in New Jersey. Also, Gov. Christie said he doubts he will sign off on lowering the penalty for small amounts of cannabis for personal consumption, even though that is what the majority of his constituents want. We still have cannabis classified by the federal government as dangerous on the order of cocaine, opium and methamphetamines. Otherwise law-abiding citizens are thrown into prison and come out with tarnished records and probably worse addictions than before they went in. Now they have to resort to criminal behavior because they can’t get a decent job with a criminal record. Prohibition creates more crime than it prevents. Common sense does not seem to be a big priority when politicians’ wallets and future political aspirations are concerned. Gambling is addictive and ruins families, and yet that is fine with our governor.This kind of hypocrisy should not be allowed; he shouldn’t be able to pick and choose simply based on his own preferences. We the people should be allowed to choose for ourselves if we want to smoke cannabis or cigarettes, drink alcohol or gamble, not the government. If cannabis had lobbyists like sports betting does, you could bet on it being legal in no time.

What about the message our leaders are sending to everyone; the fact that they have Marijuana as a schedule I drug yet they have a patent for a synthetic version of THC called Marinol which was created by mimicking the main component of the Marijuana plant so at least in that case it had medical value and they have also been giving out actual Marijuana to patients for years; most noticeably Mr.Rosenfeld with his books and hundreds of interviews confirming this; what about the fact that even when evidence and facts are presented the head administrator of the D.E.A didn't know or didn't want to say if Heroin was more harmful than Marijuana; or the fact that you are a CRIMINAL for consuming something that brings you relief from an illness even if your dying from Cancer. That "message" of hypocrisy and lack of attention to facts and evidence by our government should the real concern. Besides if you talk to your kids straight and raised them right you have nothing to worry about, in fact you should be happy and thankful that prohibition is running it's last lap because it is because of prohibition that violence, gangs and cartels revolve around Marijuana. Marijuana is not dangerous; it's the people who are currently controlling it that are.

the mixed message is, you can go to work everyday Drunk & thats ok ... but a small hit of weed you will be fired if you have a random drug test at your job.
to many drug companies will be out of business, including pain management, & insurance companies, ... drugs with or without a RX is a money making business, the only Diffrence is when you go to the ER or Doctor, they give you vicodon, oxycodine etc... WAY worse then a a small hit of natural weed. & Much more addicting....ok teens & 20 somethings sometimes smoke weed here & there But their parents chances are either Drink Or are on some type of " pain management Drug" THATS THE MIXED MESSAGE!

FACE THE TIME'S IT HELPS PEOPLE THERE ARE SO MANY POSITIVE'S HELP TAX;S BEEN AROUND FOREVER AND A WAYS WILL.

Alcohol legal, Pot illegal. What a joke. The problem is that the government can't profit from it because people could just grow it in their backyards. It has been proven to be a great natural pain medication. The decriminalization of marijuana and the end to the "War on Drugs" (that we are losing anyway at the cost of billions of taxpayer dollars annually) would mean the end of huge government agencies and jobs. So it will never happen. More political BS. Let the parents parent and keep government out of our homes and families.

@ Howard... I THINK, that in Calif. where they can grow it, that the govement does montior what ppl are growing & does get a pay back from the people that grow their own... basically ar taxed on it... If I remember my history right. this was very similar to what our settlers Did with the Govmt with tobacco . in fact I think they where MADE to grow tobacco ...

They aren't legalizing pot. They are de-criminalizing pot. They are fining small time pot users instead of clogging up the over-crowed jails. Makes good sense to me. The pot smokers that get caught are having to pay instead of the state having to spend money on housing their @sses in jail.

Marijuana is not hurting anyone, it's the people who don't know the facts, medicinal uses, and economical benefits of it that are creating the problems and holding back our evolution as a nation. What's worse: A marijuana user, or an alcoholic/perception drug abuser? think about it.

Nick, check out the facts from the Department of Justice and CDC, not the pothead bloggers. Oh, and sorry if we interrupted you while you with our comments while you were rolling your joint... : )

I don't smoke tobacco or weed however I think weed in small amounts should be decriminalized. As a matter of fact, tax it and most of our month problems in this state and country will go away. Nothing is worse than cigarettes and they are legal and taxed. While they are at it, legalize prostitution and tax it. You can't legislate peoples bad habits, but we can impove the economy with the tax bounty. Just my own thoughts.

Someone pull out the old Cheech and Chong movies!

I have one very simple point, teenagers can get just about every drug much easier than alcohol or cigarettes. this is for the simple fact that a liquor store is governed and regulated. they have to sell to people of age or they get fined and maybe lose their buisness. drug dealers face the same charge no matter who they sell to. repeal the controlled substances act, sell drugs in stores governed similarly to liquor stores and you will reduce teenage drug use. then use the tax money to fund our failing education system which, in a very small part, could include a realistic approach to drug education. I have three children who are. ring educated my way in regards to drugs, my 8 year old could tell you that our laws are counter-intuitave and yet our governer can't see it.

If there is any legitimate evidence out there that can successfully prove that marijuana is a drug with side effect along the lines of cocaine and heroin, I have yet to see it. The truth is that it is no more harmful than alcohol and tobacco, and it's time we quit wasting money pursuing, arresting, trying and incarcerating anyone who possesses it. We are in debt to the tune of $15 trillion as a nation, so it's time we stopped wasting taxpayer dollars on stupid things like this. Anyone who seriously buys into this Reefer Madness nonsense (as Chris Christie & Mary Pat Angelini apparently do) should be voted out of office at the earliest opportunity. They are clearly not intelligent or mature enough to be representing us in any elected office.

Dear Chris Christie,

Wouldn't you rather a young child break into your hidden ounce of weed, or would you rather he or she find a nice big bottle of vodka in your cabinet? Guess which one could kill the poor little fuck?

Very Progressive representative of NJ ! Marijuanna and GUN Laws are archaeic we have some of the Greatest Dinosaurs ever discovered and its called the NJ STATE Legislature. I never saw a person high on pot start a fight but plenty of alcohol ruled ones (Think Lighthouse in Waretown) You can bet your ass this Broad has smoked pot! just sayin'

If they can't make a buck off of it, nothing changes keep voting for these useless incumbents!