Orlando, Fla. – Voters will have a chance this November to approve or reject a proposed amendment on medical marijuana.
The measure failed two years ago, but the ballot language has changed.
Just as he did two years ago, attorney John Morgan, chairman of United for Care, will draw plenty of attention to his disabled brother Tim Morgan’s efforts to put medical marijuana in the state’s constitution.
“I was on OxyContin. I smoke pot now. I eat chocolate. There are no drugs involved,” Tim Morgan said.
“They have kept the language the same, but just wrapped in a prettier package,” said Dr. Jessica Spencer, policy director of Vote No On 2, which is funded by Drug Free Florida.
Spencer said a dangerous difference in this year’s amendment is that there is no cap on the number of patients to which a caregiver could provide cannabis.
“So it’s an unlimited amount of patients that someone could have and they could actually charge them. So it is legalizing the role of the drug dealer,” Spencer said.
Voters will see other key differences in the ballot language. In 2014, the title read, “Use of marijuana for certain medical conditions.” It now reads, “Debilitating medical conditions.” Also, cannabis was for “specific diseases” two years ago. Now, they use the term “medical conditions.”
In a move aimed at appealing to people’s wallets, the previous amendment said, “Sales tax revenue cannot be determined.” The new one predicts a “substantial increase in sales tax revenue.”
The two biggest donors to the Drug Free Florida committee are Sarasota’s Mel Sembler and Mitt Romney, fundraisers who founded a drug treatment center. They gave $1 million, and Carol Jenkins Barnett, daughter of the founder of Publix Supermarkets, gave $800,000. Her donation is noteworthy in that she recently disclosed she has Alzheimer’s disease. A new study published by the National Institutes of Health indicates marijuana may help with some symptoms of that disease.
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Full Article: Voters To Decide On Proposed Amendment On Medical Marijuana
Author: Greg Fox
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