Deal on N.J. medical marijuana law paves way for summer start

New Jersey lawmakers and Gov. Chris Christie have worked out a deal on medical marijuana regulations.Christie said he was convinced by the primary Assembly sponsor of the law to allow six centers to grow the pot and dispense it to patients.Christie had wanted only two growers and four distribution centers.Assemblyman Reed Gusciora said the agreement means the program can begin in the summer.”If we didn’t reach a compromise and we declared the regulations null and void obviously the governor and the department would go back to the drawing board and that would even drag this even out further,” said Gusciora. “You could envision the final regulations coming two years down the pike.”Other regulations for the program could be altered after a two-year monitoring period.The Senate sponsor of the law, Sen. Nick Scutari would like to see changes in other rules such as the potency of the marijuana. He said Friday he has not decided whether to pursue a vote in the Senate to repeal the regulations.