Minutes after a group of New Jersey lawmakers entered the stark industrial Medicine Man marijuana cultivation center, an employee in blue scrubs rushed between them, pushing a plastic cart filled with pots containing a dozen leafy, two-foot-tall cannabis plants.

There was a scramble by the legislators and their aides to clear a path, and then chuckles and "wow"s.

"Oh, my God, It's like a celebrity just came through," Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (R., Monmouth) quipped - referring to the pot, not the worker.

With Gov. Christie's surprising reversal on expanding the medical marijuana program comes a new batch of very different bills that would allow recreational cannabis in New Jersey.

Christie is not likely to change his strong opposition to legalization, even though he signed a bill last month allowing patients with post-traumatic stress syndrome to obtain cannabis. It was the first time a mental-health condition was added to the list of qualifying ailments.

But lawmakers say three legalization bills introduced this year would get discussions started, in anticipation of Christie's term ending in 2018.

With Gov. Christie's surprising reversal on expanding the medical marijuana program comes a new batch of very different bills that would allow recreational cannabis in New Jersey.

Christie is not likely to change his strong opposition to legalization, even though he signed a bill last month allowing patients with post-traumatic stress syndrome to obtain cannabis. It was the first time a mental-health condition was added to the list of qualifying ailments.

But lawmakers say three legalization bills introduced this year would get discussions started, in anticipation of Christie's term ending in 2018.

It is possible that New Jersey could become one of the first states to tax and regulated marijuana in a manner similar to tobacco – creating one of the most liberal marijuana laws in the United States.

Earlier last week, State Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll introduced a piece of legislation (A4193) aimed at legalizing a recreational cannabis market that would operate under the same restrictions the state already has in place for people who buy cigarettes. The lawmaker's goal is make legal weed available in supermarkets and convienience stores, giving cannabis users the same access to the herb as smokers have for their daily vice.

A New Jersey State Assemblyman on Thursday introduced a bold, cannabis-friendly bill that would legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in the Garden State.

The proposed law – A4193 - would legalize marijuana and “provide for records expungement” for certain past marijuana offenses. In addition, the bill would make it possible for New Jersey retailers to sell cannabis products similar to tobacco products, including at local convenience stores.

Veterans and others in New Jersey can now legally treat their post-traumatic stress disorder with marijuana.

Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed a measure Wednesday allowing people to use marijuana if their PTSD isn’t treatable with conventional therapy. In a statement sent with the announcement of the bill signing, Christie noted that federal officials estimate up to 20 percent of veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with PTSD.

But Christie also directed the state’s health commissioner to promulgate additional regulations that provide “clear objective criteria” regarding the drug’s use for PTSD. Christie has said he wants to make sure legalizing medical marijuana doesn’t become a backdoor into legalization for recreational use.

Marijuana advocates petitioning Gov. Chris Christie to sign a bill that would add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of illnesses that would qualify a person for the state's medical marijuana program have enlisted the help of nearly 18,000 people.

The Joint Blog, which bills itself as a "cannabis news and information website," created an online petition last month to push Christie to sign the legislation advocates say will help New Jersey's veterans.

If you have intractable epilepsy and want to use medical marijuana, you’re qualified in pretty much every state in the country for a medical marijuana program. However, chronic pain, autism and irritable bowel disease won’t likely get you into the legal marijuana dispensary.

Most states require you to be way sicker than that. Some states make it a breeze with eligible illness lists a mile long — like Illinois’, which will includes everything from glaucoma to Tourette’s. Other states make it even harder than they do here in Jersey. For instance, Oklahoma allows for the use of CBD oil only. You can’t smoke it or ingest any other way. Legally, that is.

A bill currently on the desk of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's would add PTSD to the state’s list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. The measure passed both chambers of the state Legislature with broad bipartisan support, but Christie's record on cannabis is so abysmal that the bill's prospects are still up in the air. 

A quick breakdown of the vote in the Legislature revealed:

Study from: 

Projectknow.com (http://www.projectknow.com/)

original study here :

http://www.projectknow.com/discover/high-school-drug-use/

American teenagers are more likely to smoke marijuana than binge drink, a new report reveals.

Meanwhile in Europe, marijuana consumption is minimal while drinking levels are far higher than in the United States.

The data, published in a recent report by addiction-awareness firm Project Know, will reignite the national debate on marijuana legalization as the election approaches.