More than 80 state legislative or statewide campaigns and campaign committees have accepted some $800,000 from the medical marijuana industry during the 2018 election cycle, according to a review of campaign finance records by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. That could mean the closure of accounts and a scramble to find a place to deposit campaign funds. Wells Fargo decided to close the campaign account of Democratic Agriculture Commissioner candidate Nikki Fried after she accepted industry money. She then opened an account with BB&T, which also promptly closed it. She now banks with Florida Community Bank. [continues 1467 words]
Politicians may have changed their tune, but the public's feelings on marijuana seem set in stone - Sun Sentinel Given that former House Speaker John Boehner is now working for a marijuana investment company and that threats by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to crack down on legal recreational marijuana were nixed by President Donald Trump, we asked readers whether any of them have changed their minds recently on marijuana legalization like some elected officials seem to have. And the answer is no. No, you have not. [continues 501 words]
It didn't get much notice because it happened the same day Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced his retirement, but former House Speaker John Boehner has announced that he's joining the board of Acreage Holdings, an investment company concentrating on the marijuana industry. In doing so, he added that his own position on legal marijuana had changed as public opinion had come around on the subject. And Boehner is far from the only previously anti-pot politician to turn into an advocate. [continues 406 words]
A judge is deciding whether Floridians should be allowed to consume medical marijuana by smoking it. Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers heard arguments Thursday on whether to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on smoking. The medical marijuana constitutional amendment voters approved in 2016 allowed the Legislature to prohibit smoking in public areas. But the law passed in 2017 to implement the amendment banned smoking entirely. Medical marijuana patients must vape the product, or else use patches, oils, edibles -- any other means but the most traditional way of using the drug. [continues 503 words]
The medical marijuana industry officially has its guidelines with the passage of a bill out of the Florida Legislature on the last day of a three-day special session. The votes were 29-6 in the Senate and 103-9 in the House. The few no votes were mostly Democrats who wanted fewer restrictions in the bill, but also a few Republicans who remain against the idea of medical marijuana on principle. Gov. Rick Scott said he "absolutely" will sign the bill. That means big changes for patients, caregivers, doctors and growers, compared with the far more limited medical marijuana law passed by the Legislature in 2014, which resulted in seven grower/dispensers in the state. [continues 906 words]
Measure Targets Concerns of Law Enforcement A medical marijuana bill that addresses the concerns of law enforcement was filed Tuesday in the state House. Unlike a Senate bill on the subject, the House measure would limit marijuana treatment to HIV/ AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, ALS, Parkinson's disease, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis or an illness which a doctor estimates will kill the patient within a year. It also bans smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes. It largely addresses problems raised by the Florida Sheriff's Association, which successfully campaigned against a proposed medical marijuana state constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2014. [continues 279 words]
Measure Also Tackles Flaws In 2014 Initiative Although a proposed medical marijuana amendment failed in the 2014 election, medical use of the plant could come to Florida as soon as July 1, 2016. That's the date by which Florida would have to begin issuing marijuana patient ID cards under a bill filed Monday by State Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg. The bill would allow patients with certain medical conditions to obtain marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. It also addresses several of the criticisms levied at the unsuccessful constitutional amendment ballot initiative. [continues 558 words]
Maybe the second time's the charm. After the defeat of Amendment 2, the medical marijuana initiative his money largely got on the ballot, Orlando attorney John Morgan is already looking toward 2016. "We walked through a forest that we'd never been through before," Morgan said. "But on the walk through the forest, we've tied ribbons around trees. We have markings now. When we walk through this forest again, we won't be in the dark. We'll be walking by familiar places." [continues 804 words]
After proponents and opponents spent more than $10 million combined, after months of campaigning across the state, Florida's medical marijuana amendment has been defeated. Amendment 2 barely missed the 60 percent needed to pass, coming in at about 58 percent. In July, a Quinnipiac poll found that 88 percent of Floridians approved of medical marijuana. How Florida got from 88 to 58 is a long, expensive journey. Before the backing of multimillionaire lawyer John Morgan, before the initiative to get Amendment 2 on the ballot, before there was ever any organized opposition, People United for Medical Marijuana got its start in March 2009, founded by a homeschooling housewife named Kim Russell. [continues 500 words]
Contributions Go to Both Sides of Amendment 2 Supporters and opponents of medical marijuana have received large donations to keep their messages going. With one week to go before Election Day, supporters and opponents of medical marijuana have received large donations to keep their messages going. For the main organization supporting Amendment 2, People United for Medical Marijuana, the new money has been enough that their message is finally airing in TV ads. According to campaign finance records posted Friday, People United received five six-figure donations in October, making it the best month of the year for contributions to the medical marijuana cause. [continues 476 words]
Medical Marijuana Backers Spread Message, Stop for Debates in Delray, Hallandale People United for Medical Marijuana is taking its campaign to the streets - literally. Which is why a big blue bus with "Vote Yes On 2" pulled into Gulfstream Park, a gambling mecca in Hallandale Beach. Most folks here come for the thoroughbred racing or the slots. But not today at Christina Lee's, the racino's Asian eatery. Here, after a buffet featuring egg rolls and fried rice, the South Florida Tiger Bay Club heard a debate between Ben Pollara, the campaign manager for People United, and an opponent of Amendment 2, Javier Correoso. [continues 866 words]
Coming soon to a TV near you: anti-pot ads. Coming to a parking lot near you: a pro-pot bus. As Election Day draws nearer, the two sides of the medical marijuana debate have diverged in how they're getting out the message. Drug Free Florida, the primary group fighting Amendment 2, will be running television ads across the state. People United for Medical Marijuana will be driving a bus around the same territory. The fact Drug Free Florida had about $3 million in September, while People United had just a few hundred grand had a lot to do with their choices. [continues 352 words]
Doctor, Lawyer Square Off Over Effect of Amendment 2 Will Amendment 2 give seriously ill people a chance to treat their symptoms with medical marijuana instead of potentially deadly prescription drugs? Or will it give doctors carte blanche to recommend it to just about anyone, turning Florida into a pot paradise? Medical marijuana's biggest backer in the state brought his case before the Sun Sentinel's editorial board on Friday, and faced off against a politically connected medical doctor who opposes medical marijuana in general, and Florida's Amendment 2 specifically. [continues 427 words]
With the primaries over, Florida voters will be focusing on the November ballot and political action committees will be spending millions of dollars on advertising to help sway them. But on one of the major issues - the medical marijuana initiative called Amendment 2 - the primary support PAC suffers from a serious monetary disadvantage. People United for Medical Marijuana and its public face, United for Care, have raised almost $6 million through Aug. 21. On the other side of the issue, Drug Free Florida has raised about $3.2 million. [continues 510 words]
Medical marijuana is now legal in the state of Florida-but can be used only in specific cases. The Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, known as the Charlotte's Web law, creates a registry of users and gives guidelines for when doctors may prescribe the drug. Separate legislation protects the identities of people on the registry. The law makes only one strain of pot legal for medical use, as opposed to Amendment 2, the proposed state constitutional amendment that goes before voters in November. The amendment would legalize all cannabis for medicinal use. Here are the basics of what you need to know. Q: So, now can we all light up? A: No. Relatively few people will be able to use marijuana under the which specifically excludes smoking pot. It legalizes only an extraction of the marijuana plant, a cannabis oil that is then taken orally. [continues 709 words]
Unlike many colleagues in the Democratic Party, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz says she has serious reservations that keep her from supporting Amendment 2, the state constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana in Florida. "I have concerns that it is written too broadly and stops short of ensuring strong regulatory oversight from state officials," she said. "Other states have shown that lax oversight and ease of access to prescriptions can lead to abuse, fraud and accidents. Also, given Florida's recent history in combating the epidemic of 'pill mills' and dubious distinction as having among the highest incidents of fraud, I do not believe we should make it easier for those seeking to abuse the drug to have easy access to it." [continues 170 words]
Robert Platshorn, perhaps more than anyone else, could tell you that dealing in marijuana doesn't pay. But the man who served more time in federal prison than any other first-time nonviolent marijuana offender in history, won't tell you that. Instead, he wants you to get in the business. Legally, of course. Anticipating the passing of Amendment 2, which would legalize medical marijuana in Florida, Platshorn has put together a Meet the Experts Medical Marijuana Conference, which takes place in Hollywood on May17. [continues 847 words]
