Pubdate: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL) Copyright: 2014 Orlando Sentinel Contact: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325 Note: Rarely prints out-of-state LTEs. Author: Webb Harris Jr. NEEDLESS SUFFERING WITHOUT MARIJUANA Thirty years ago, Florida Senate President Don Gaetz learned firsthand marijuana's effectiveness in alleviating the suffering of the terminally ill, when he illegally supplied it to a dying friend. Now, three decades later, after almost half the nation's other states have paved the way for medical marijuana and Floridians like John Morgan have managed to position medical marijuana for a statewide vote, Gaetz is eager to spread the healing. He asks, "How could I deny compassionate care to someone else's child?" Good question. Indeed, 30 years' worth of sufferers have come and gone since 1984; seven years have passed since Gaetz joined the Senate; and, all along, he has known these people could have been helped. Why, only now, is his compassion broadening? Webb Harris Jr. Lake Mary - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom