Pubdate: Wed, 01 Oct 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: William E. Gibson
Page: A1

SIDES FIRE UP AD WAR ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Twenty-three states have adopted similar measures, but the Florida 
campaign has drawn national attention because it would be the first 
Southern state to legalize medical marijuana.

TV viewers in Florida this week are seeing the first attack in an ad 
war over medical marijuana, as polls point to a close contest on a 
constitutional amendment to legalize the illicit weed.

Opponents launched a $1.5 million round of statewide ads that flash 
words from the amendment across the screen while claiming it gives 
legal cover to drug dealing.

"Amendment 2 isn't what it seems," an ominous voice tells viewers. 
"Its caregiver provision gives legal protection to marijuana dealers. 
Even felons and drug dealers could be caregivers.

"They don't call it the Drug Dealer Protection Act, but they should."

It's just the start of a battle over the airwaves on Amendment 2, a 
proposal to legalize marijuana for patients suffering from 
debilitating illnesses. Twenty-three states have adopted similar 
measures, but the Florida campaign has drawn national attention 
because it would be the first Southern state to legalize medical marijuana.

Proponents plan to fire back this month with TV ads of their own. A 
version already running online depicts doctors tending to vulnerable patients.

"Voting yes on 2 will allow doctors to recommend the medicine they 
feel would ease the pain and suffering of thousands of sick 
Floridians," a soothing voice tells viewers. "Vote yes on 2 and trust 
our doctors to decide what's best."

Both sides of the intense debate are pouring millions of dollars into 
the campaign.

Drug Free Florida, which sponsored this week's TV ads, has raised 
$3.22 million, according to the National Institute on Money in State 
Politics. Some $2.5 million came from Sheldon Adelson, a 
philanthropist and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and a generous 
contributor to Republican candidates.

United for Care has raised $6.15 million to promote the amendment.

John Morgan, an Orlando lawyer and Democratic super-donor, 
contributed $3.78 million to the cause. Morgan and Barbara Stiefel, a 
Coral Gables philanthropist, each pledged this week to match any 
other donations - a 2-to-1 match.

"I have put millions in to make this happen," Morgan told prospective 
donors, "but we need millions more."

Early polls indicated that as many as 88 percent of voters supported 
the idea of providing marijuana for medical purposes. But opponents, 
including the Florida Sheriffs Association, attacked Amendment 2, 
saying its loose wording created loopholes that would open the way to 
"pot docs" recommending marijuana for recreational use.

Recent polls indicate support is slipping. A Survey-USA poll this 
month, for example, found that 53 percent of Florida voters supported 
the amendment, 32 percent opposed it and 15 percent were uncertain.

Promoters say their polling shows that public support is holding 
steady at 69 percent. The amendment requires 60 percent "yes" votes 
to be approved.

"I live in reality, and it will obviously tighten up between now and 
Election Day," said Ben Pollara, campaign manager of United for Care.

He and Morgan plan to lead a campaign bus tour across the state next 
week, with stops in Orlando and Tampa on Monday and Tuesday and South 
Florida on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Orlando stops will include "Get out the Vote" rallies in the 
black community and at the University of Central Florida. The South 
Florida stops include rallies at Florida Atlantic University in Boca 
Raton and a community center in Delray Beach, plus a town-hall-style 
meeting in Miami Gardens.

Opponents who banded together in a "Don't Let Florida Go to Pot" 
coalition are sounding warnings about the amendment at public forums 
across the state and through Internet videos.

"We're not just talking about joints or pipes or brownies," Seminole 
County Sheriff Don Eslinger says in one video segment. "Other states 
are seeing a dramatic increase in edible products - THC-infused 
products - that are clearly attractive to children. We're talking 
about lollipops, candy bars, 'Pot Tarts,' 'Krondike Bars' . . ."

This week's ads say the amendment would allow "caretakers" to 
dispense illegal drugs without first submitting to a criminal background check.

Bob Jordan of Manatee County immediately took offense. The longtime 
advocate for medical marijuana - caregiver for his wife, Cathy 
Jordan, who has ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease - told reporters:

"Of all the people they could have picked on, why do they pick on the 
caregivers? I took it as a personal insult. To equate me to a drug 
dealer, when I love my wife and I'm keeping her alive, it's an insult."

"This is about the patient ," he and other amendment promoters say.

Both sides expect to keep up the ad war until Election Day, Nov. 4.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom