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New Jersey Governor Sends Medical Marijuana For Kids Bill Back To Legislature

Earlier this week, a father whose two-year-old daughter suffers from a debilitating and potentially fatal form of epilepsy held New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) feet to the fire on a medical marijuana bill that would enable his daughter to access medical marijuana. “Please don’t let my daughter die,” he told Christie during a public meet-and-greet, urging him to stop stalling on signing the bill.

On Friday, Christie announced he wouldn’t sign the bill, but sent it back to the legislature to make several changes, CNN reports. The bill sent to Christie would ease access to medical marijuana for children by permitting edible forms of marijuana, which are the only mechanism for consumption for a young child; and lifting a provision that allows only three strains of marijuana for medical consumption. It would also lower the number of required doctor recommendations from 3 to 1. Christie said he would sign the bill if edible forms of marijuana are available only for minors, and if the bill requires approval from both a doctor and a psychiatrist.

Neither of Christie’s suggested changes would preclude minors from accessing marijuana. But other ill patients, particularly those with respiratory ailments, would have benefited from a provision to allow edibles, and the number of doctors was reduced from 3 to 1 because of the difficulty of obtaining sign-off from multiple doctors. Legislators did not immediately indicate whether they would entertain the changes.

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