Pubdate: Wed, 12 Nov 2014
Source: Star-Banner, The (Ocala, FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Star-Banner
Contact:  http://www.starbanner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1533

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE IS NOT OVER

Amendment 2, Florida's -proposed medical -marijuana measure, failed 
on Election Day because too many voters felt it had too many loopholes.

Critics overcame the proposal's widespread, even at times 
overwhelming, support by honing in on three little words: "or other 
conditions."

That vague and subjective language appeared at the end of the list of 
serious and debilitating diseases medical marijuana would be used to 
treat. The amendment's foes made a credible case that such wording 
would fuel all kinds of mischief, if not harm.

Moreover, Amendment 2 also was vastly more open-ended than the laws 
that have established medical marijuana in 23 other states and the 
District of Columbia.

There are lessons to be learned - the first being the Legislature 
needs to address this issue that 58 percent of the voters supported. 
Key shortcomings in the amendment included its failure to include age 
restrictions and limits on the amount of pot a patient could obtain, 
and qualifications for caregivers were nonexistent.

On election night, Sarah Bascom, spokeswoman for the Vote No on 2 
campaign, said the critics' attack on those loopholes provided "both 
sides of the story," revealing that the measure sought "nothing more 
than de facto legalization of marijuana."

The Florida Sheriffs Association and the Don't Let Florida Go to Pot 
Coalition released a statement praising voters for recognizing 
Amendment 2's flaws.

"We are confident that the voters of Florida have made the right 
decision," it said. "The people of Florida were too smart to buy into 
the weak language and huge loopholes into this amendment, which would 
have created de facto legalization of marijuana and given our 
children legal access."

The problem for opponents, though, is that Amendment 2 "lost" with 58 
percent support at the polls. Were it not for a 2006 constitutional 
change that requires amendments to gain 60 percent approval for 
adoption, medical marijuana would have passed - in a landslide.

This debate is not going away. According to a recent Associated Press 
report, Orlando attorney John Morgan, who pumped more than $6 million 
of his own fortune into getting the measure on the ballot and passed, 
declared that he will revive the amendment in 2016.

If he does wage this fight again, the amendment's language needs an 
overhaul. Opponents' concerns are valid, but so are those of 
supporters who sought to get relief for thousands of Floridians 
suffering from painful and debilitating afflictions.

State lawmakers must get out front on this issue so it can be dealt 
with statutorily rather than in a constitutional amendment.

The fact is, nearly half the country allows medical marijuana. And 
recreational pot is gaining traction.

"The trend is clear. The end of cannabis prohibition is imminent," 
the Florida Cannabis Coalition predicted in a statement released last week.

The 42 percent of Florida voters who opposed the medical marijuana 
measure might not like it, but with just 24 more votes in each 
Florida precinct, medical pot proponents would have soon been 
lighting up more than a victory cigar.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom