By Chris Goldstein  - Photos by C. David Freitag

The golden dome of the New Jersey State House in Trenton shone under the setting sun on the seventh of June. With the legislature out of session the streets were nearly empty on the Sunday evening. Then, as the shadows fell over the weathered façade, a quiet gathering of medical marijuana supporters began to light candles in a vigil for those medical patients who have died, waiting for legal cannabis access.

Although Trenton has a somewhat well deserved rough-and-tumble image, the 100 block of W. State Street is clean; lined with old brownstones on one side then anchored on the other by the oldest state capitol building in the nation.

Directly across the street, opening a wide space between buildings is the state war memorial. The newly designed area reaches back with curved walls and features a prominent statue of Victory at the center. She is strong, almost erotically feminine in her bronze, determined presence. This was a gathering for the fallen of another kind of war, a civil war, a senseless war; Americans versus Americans over a non-toxic plant.

 It was indeed a sense of victory that was with medical marijuana advocates as that week, the NJ Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee passed The Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (A804) forward to a full Assembly vote. This could be the final phase for the 4-year old legislation that Governor Corzine said he would sign.

NJ would be the 14^th state to have active, legal medical marijuana access and could be the 5^th to regulate the concept through the legislative process. Many of the advocates holding the warming glass candle holders knew Cheryl personally.

It was from these granite steps and rose-colored marble columns in Trenton that Cheryl and Jim Miller began a personal crusade for medical marijuana in the Garden State. But today it was her empty wheelchair, photos of Cheryl and her spiritual presence instead of her in person. In 2004 Cheryl died of MS complications. For what were ultimately her last years, she lived a life of intense activism and social dialogue that has inspired thousands across the country.

 The truth is that Cheryl and Jim were in-your-face activists even though MS had left Cheryl wheelchair bound. She ate marijuana in front of the state house. She ate cannabis in front of members of Congress, the rolling camera of the press and police. They did this so that everyone watching could see the visible improvements over a few hours when she did utilize this therapy.

They rolled her wheelchair/hospital bed into Washington DC and to be directly in front of politicians. They didn’t just advocate, they challenged the powers-that-be and the public to educate ourselves about medical marijuana. The images of Cheryl and Jim in these activism moments have been seen across the country and moved many to action. Some of those moved to do something have been legislators, such as the NJ medical marijuana bill's Assembly Sponsor, Reed Gusciora.

So on June 7^th, the day Cheryl passed away, her husband Jim held this vigil at the state house in a memorial arranged by longtime friend William Haney.

 This year it had added meaning because Cheryl and Jim’s dream of legalized medical access may be turning to reality with A804 right here in Trenton. Cheryl and others were remembered, victories celebrated and the work to be done was defined.

It would be difficult to describe the speeches and testimonials but thankfully we have video.  More info at www.cmmnj.org