Pubdate: Sun, 26 Oct 2014
Source: Pensacola News Journal (FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Pensacola News Journal
Contact: http://static.pnj.com/contactus-form/
Website: http://www.pnj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1675
Author: Jon Mills
Note: Jon Mills, a state constitutional law professor, is a former 
speaker of the Florida House and dean emeritus of the University of 
Florida College of Law. He defended the Amendment 2 ballot wording 
before the Florida Supreme Court.

SUFFERING? DON'T MOVE TO FLORIDA

Retired Air Force Capt. Jeff Lahman served 25 years in the Air Force
including time in special ops. He ended up with a series of injuries
and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

He and his wife, also an Air Force officer, lived in Arizona. He was
prescribed a large dose of oxycodone and other pain killers. Those
prescription medicines brought him to a new low. A doctor suggested he
try medical marijuana. He did and it changed his life. He was himself
again. His wife saw the difference. Just last year he moved to
Florida. He is a strong supporter of Amendment 2 because it would
allow him to legally consult a Florida doctor about using medical marijuana.

Cathy Jordan was diagnosed with ALS in 1986 and given five years to
live. She and her husband, Bob, moved from Delaware to Florida hoping
a milder climate would help her condition. Doctors offered every
prescription possible. Nothing worked. She began hoarding drugs with
thoughts of suicide. She tried medical marijuana with the help of Bob
and it worked. It acts as a muscle relaxer, anti-depressant and
stimulates her appetite. In 2013, six officers entered her home and
confiscated her medical marijuana.

Christopher Cano lives in Tampa. He was arrested for possession of 24
grams of marijuana he had bought to ease his father's terminal
dementia. Doctors had given Christopher's father a year to live when
they diagnosed him in 2010. Christopher had used marijuana to
successfully treat his father's debilitating condition, appetite loss
and insomnia for four years until his arrest last April.

Jeanette Bokland spends every day caring for others as a nurse in
Orlando. The side effects of her chemotherapy treatment for breast
cancer almost drove Jeanette to quit fighting her cancer altogether
until a friend from Colorado recommended medical marijuana. Jeanette
now feels like herself again. Do we believe she should be arrested?

Jeff, Cathy, Christopher and Jeanette all live in Florida. If they
lived in any of 23 other states they could lawfully count on access to
a treatment that works in each one of their unique cases. Medical
marijuana is an option for people in 23 states but not in Florida.

Voters should seek the truth about medical marijuana and not be misled
by hypothetical horror stories. Amendment 2 provides many people
suffering from debilitating medical conditions with a better option to
treat their pain than oxycodone and other addictive prescription
drugs. States that allow medical use of marijuana have seen a 20
percent drop in oxycodone deaths. There is no rise in crime because of
medical marijuana. These states also haven't seen any increase in use
of marijuana among youths; in fact, some have even seen a decline in
youth consumption. All that has happened in states that have legalized
medical marijuana is less suffering

Amendment 2 does one simple thing: it allows a Florida citizen to seek
the advice of a Florida physician about whether medical marijuana can
help them. Only if the doctor concludes that they have a debilitating
condition will they be able to obtain medical marijuana from a state
licensed dispensary.

We don't know when we ourselves will become a patient who may benefit
from medical marijuana. But we all know someone who could have
benefited from at least the option of something that can reduce pain
and suffering.

Don't Floridians deserve that chance?
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MAP posted-by: Richard