Great post!

I still don't understand why it has been proposed as an Amendment to the state constitution instead of a state passed law. Am I missing something? If we amend our constitution it would be extremely difficult to backtrack if it didn't work out as expected. Or is that the end game?

I believe John Morgan thought it would be easier to have it passed by popular vote than legislatively. I may be wrong but I know of no reason that it HAD to be a constitutional amendment.

Morgan and Morgan - For the People (well, on second thought, for some of the people).

Rags123: I can't answer your questions because I don't know the answers. When my sister was ill and smoked pot, it was illegal and medical marijuana was only beginning to peek over the horizon. I certainly did not mean to imply you are unfeeling and unsympathetic -- I was merely trying to show that for some people marijuana works. Again, I don't know why, and I don't know if any other drugs work as well. I know what I've read on this thread, but that doesn't mean it is the truth. Doesn't mean it is not the truth either, just saying I personally have not done the research. If you are really that interested, perhaps you could do some research, add the links, and get back to us. Please don't think I am being a smart aleck by saying that. I just know for me if I am interested in a subject I do my own research.

From what I hear the proposition put forth was not worded very well. I am not a Florida resident yet but if the proposition was worded strongly in favor of medical marijuana in controlled circumstances, I would vote yes.

If it had hints of recreational marijuana I am not sure how I would vote. I do not smoke pot, but there is a great deal of pot being smoked out there (.05% of the population of Florida smoke pot for whatever reason, see link below), and it is unregulated. Perhaps regulating and taxing it would provide the smokers with untampered pot and the state with much needed revenue. I saw a program on CNN regarding the regulation of pot in Colorado, and the whole operation from growth to sales is tightly run. Apparently there are different strains for different needs -- some strains are very helpful for insomnia, some strains are good for depression, and others help with pain.

Again, I sure didn't mean to make you feel guilty or like you weren't being heard; I did read your posts and never thought you were old, uncaring, stupid or anything else. I was just putting my two cents into the pot (no pun intended).


Marijuana legalization sweeps the 2014 midterm elections - Vox

///

jomar: Marijuana according to the experts has 4 times more carcinogens than cigarettes. Cigarettes are regulated and yet they find there way to very young people

It should be according to "Some" experts.

...and I am sure our kids and grandkids can find recreational marijuana cheaper than what medical marijuana would cost - and with no sales tax!

Get Real
 

Lets get real. The ones who should provide the assessments of marijuna are the professionals who deal with addicts. When someone comes in the door and has OD'd saving them is the major concern. When someone comes in the door because of a court order the goal is getting them back to being sober and drug free, when someone comes in the door and saying they really don't need this Rehab, getting them to understand they would not be there if they weren't addicted and effecting their family or society and abusing them. When someone comes in the door and is hung up on coke, meth, etc. it is critical to determine (a) how they started and (b) what triggers them. The cemical build up is not relevant as none of what they are doing will help them recover and be aware as why they are addicted. They usually don't care. For some facts are Alcohol has the some chemicals as embaling fluid and is the only drug that effects every organ of the body, 15-20% of marijuna users will end up using coke, meth, heroin and some dying. The ones really harmed by the use of mind altering drugs are the families and unfortunately the children within the family. Most addicts "don't care". Whether it be marijuna, alcohol, meth, coke, or heroin all will have a bad impact on the family and society as the very purpose of using is to avoid reality which is key to a sound society and family. Those that try to compare one to the other are only comparing the "bad effects" as other than using some marijuna for pain for the sick that is the only purpose of the comparison. Those that overlook the usage and make excuses or enable should understand serious users may/will die and by enabling you are just helping them t die quicker. By not enabling them you are at least giving them a chance to live. Yes, marijuna is a "gate way" drug and you can scream from the highest building that it is not and that only proves you have no idea of what you are talking about and why the Professionals should be the source of decisions on mind altering drugs. Get real and stop enabling if you are, and rely on Professional addiction experts as opposed to politicians. Go to Al Non, NA or AA meetings to truly understand addictions and the terrible impact on our society.:ohdear:

...and a senior using marijuana to relieve pain of cancer or to deal with the effects of chemotherapy is going to turn into a heroin user and start committing crimes to feed their heroin habit?

This is Medical Marijuana that was on the ballot.

Besides, it is a moot point now. The narrow minded voters of Florida saw to that.

Case closed.

Anyone seen the video of Morgan drunk, he is such a sleez bag

No didn't see it.......and , it would certainly add a whole lot of beneficial information to this discussion.........:shrug:

First, at the risk of you getting a "big head" :), allow me to once again compliment your postings on this issue. I think one of the best things about message boards like this is the ability to debate logically, see new ideas, and prompt investigation. You have done that for me, without the usual quips and one liners that folks normally use and try to disguise that as being knowledgable.

I did some reading based on your post and again will say loud and clear that it is obvious in reading your posts that I am not in the same ballpark as you in knowing the subject, but that is fine. Most of what I will say you can take as a question because I surely am not to pass myself off as any kind of expert on this subject.

I will start at the end. I still have questions and concerns about MEDICAL marijuana. As do the American Medical Association, although they feel strongly that whatever needs to be done to further study should be done ASAP. I also believe that the American Cancer Association are in that camp.

I did find two drugs that supposedly will do what cannabis will do for patients....Marinol and Zofran....both of which I am sure you will find fault with, and that is fine with me.....both have side effects but so does medical marijuana.

I find it difficult to support the use of a "drug" that has not gone through the process of being approved by the FDA. As I said, drugs INCLUDING marijuana have side affects.

Actually you probably know this but HEROIN also has a number of beneficial things it can do for us medically. THAT fact shocked me as I read and I sure hope that is not the next drug being pushed on a ballot to approve for use.

I also find it difficult to VOTE on a ballot on a subject like this. I think you said about deciding based on medical science and I have strong doubts as to whether the voters voted on this based on medical science. It has been politicized and if there were to be a movement to find more drugs that can mimic the good things about medical marijuana, I would probably support that. I just hope in my lifetime I am not faced with a ballot that wants to legalize both marijuana and heroin which appears not beyond the reasonable.

Again, I appreciate your instilling in me the need to investigate this further and I will continue to read more as I go.

I doubt if you will ever convince me to support recreational marijuana but you did get me to look further into medical use and for that I am glad.

I will read your response and I am sure that will generate more reading for me but as I said....THAT is one main function of a message board.

Thanks for not quipping and generalizing. I am not, as charged, narrow minded in anyway...those who make that charge are the narrow minded. I am also not unsympathetic as charged also.

Thanks for allowing some conversation and please continue....

Florida has a GOP legislature and governor and very gerrymandered districts which will certainly maintain GOP legislative control into the foreseeable future. The war on drugs has been conducted by both parties but to a far greater extent the GOP which regularly features accusations of Dems being "soft on crime". As more states have liberalized their marijuana laws the political question became, can it happen in Florida. No way with the present legislature.

To see how well medical marijuana has done in the Florida legislature check 2013 SB 1250 Senate Bill 1250 (2013) - The Florida Senate
which the GOP directed legislature refused to even have a hearing or a vote.

The 2014 minor medical marijuana bill SB 1030 was passed in part to attempt to co-opt the push for Amendment 2. Posters on this forum have said, well we already allow Charlotte's Web so there is no need for Amendment 2. By the way our local Florida State senator, Alan Hays was one of the 16 out of 141 who voted NO on the bill
Senate Bill 1030 (2014) - The Florida Senate

In Florida the prospect of meaningful reform bringing us into conformity with other states is not happening with our legislature. That is why the supporters of MM went directly to the voters. I think it is likely it will come up for a vote again. With a slightly more diverse and younger electorate as you tend to get in Presidential election years, it is more likely to pass.

Your two cents accepted :)

I was just a bit annoyed, not at you or others with real stories, but those who must for some reason make these little uninformed quips as if they have the final answer on anything that might come up.

Sometimes, enough of that and I can get a bit defensive. Your story was read, appreciated and contributed to my continually trying to learn more about this.

I am not happy about it being political....but I am only one person. And for recreational use, I cannot see me EVER agreeing with that. Our young people deserve much more from us. They are already being desentized on drug use from this debate

Rationalize in haste, repent in leisure
 

I get very concerned when some people attempt to sound so cerebral and rational about this subject as if they were absolutely right and thus have the moral high ground. First, let's set aside that perhaps the medical community will find benefit with cannabis oil extract removing the THC high. Let's also set aside that the medical community learning from the abuse of opoids works with the FDA in strict metering of this extract. Let's assume everyone agrees with this very narrow purpose. If so we can eliminate the medical marijuana canard and call a spade a spade.

The real debate here is about finding a way to get recreational use legalized.
Proponents speak of decriminalizing it and yet like gambling criminals always find a way in the back door because they will not be denied the billions up billions of dollars it will bring. So from that prospective all that was done is that criminals now have a way to continue illegal activities with the blessing of the government. because they will also continue black markets

Proponents are also politicians who salivate over taxes but they will end up paying out more because of the damage legalized marijuana will bring to their state.

Proponents claim that by legalizing it it can be regulated but alcohol and cigarettes are heavily taxed and regulated and politicians keep telling us how much it is costing us in medical care. The young will be able to get marijuana and according to experts it has a 6 point drop in IQ in one study and a 8 point drop in another along with memory loss. Essentially we have enough slackers in our country now without giving them more in which to enjoy their relax style.

You have to be very naive and/or have an incentive to want recreational marijuana enacted....and again it is being slipped in with the canard called medical marijuana.

So intellectualize til the cows come home but dope is called dope for an obvious reason. Rationalize in haste repent in leisure

If you were to Google his name you will find one very interesting history .

:shrug: who's name?

It was completely another agenda. It had nothing to do with pain relief. It was not going to be controlled by the medical community. It was thinly veiled recreational marijuana. I don't really care what anybody gets high on as long as they don't bother me, kill me or annoy me, but call it what it is.

If any person who wants to smoke pot can get it so easily than it can be obtained for a person suffering just that easily too.

I am skeptical. VERY skeptical.

I suppose that I would move to one of the States that have approved medical marijuana if I had a medical need for the drug. 57-58% approval by a very conservative State is pretty remarkable when you really think about it! In most "elections" it's a landslide.

On the other hand, you are breaking federal law any State you go. We live in a great country.......how be it confusing sometimes.

Another interesting fact: Charlie Crist is an attorney for Morgan & Morgan. Although he has never be assigned a case, he was paid nearly $300,000 in 2013. Maybe he hasn't been in court because it took him 3 tries to pass the bar.

Charlie Crist: Touted as attorney for Morgan & Morgan, but hasn

Actually, unfortunately, the case is far from closed. Its sponsor has further plans to pursue his dream of getting rich(er) from pot.

It seems to me the intelligent, well informed, concerned voters of Florida saw the proposed law was poorly drafted, with lots of ambiguity and loopholes and would likely be a step toward legalizing recreational cannabis. Just look at who sponsored it! It did not come from a group of oncologists, ophthalmologists or other medical professionals. It came from a profane trial attorney with multiple DUI's.

The opposition was from the drug manufacturers and they duped a minority of the voters into voting NO. Remember that 57% voted YES. I imagine that Rick Scott and his cronies in Tallahassee got big political payoffs from these drug manufacturers.

You continually use the term "narrow minded" when referring to everyone in Florida who does not agree with YOU.

I assume you adopted this term from the Growth and Opportunity Project, but am not exactly sure how you apply "narrow minded" to over 3 million fellow citizens who have well founded fears, not only over the theorem presented but even more over the actual language in the ammendments.

I also wonder about those who support the ammendment but offer nothing to support their position except for the calling names of those who voted against it, and attempting to make anyone opposed to changing the state constitution relative to a medical decision, not supported by the AMA, the American Cancer Society or any other mainstream respected medical authority feel guilty.

Do you also support the use of heroin for medical reasons, as it also has value that has been supported in medical circles ?

This may pass eventually, but there are alternatives that those who are not so "narrow minded" according to YOUR use of the term, which supposedly makes them "open minded" refuse to discuss. This is why the motives here are questioned.

Do you REALLY believe that?

I am sure that proof of this series allegation of the governor getting a payoff will be forthcoming...nobody would make that kind of accusation without some basis.

Actually, most of those who opposed that were folks involved in the Just Say No type organizations and The Florida Sherifs organization., but will wait to hear about the drug company payoffs.

Absolutely
 

Based on ignorance and lies put out about the drug.

Sort of like the payoff the governor received ? OR the fact that there are alternatives ? Those kind of things ? Or maybe the poorly constructed wording of the ammendment ?

Which

PS....this will be taken care of by the legislature....the CORRECT WAY. To allow for the proper control. This group getting this on the ballot spent most of their time on COLLEGE CAMPUSES..,,,,wonder why ? They had an agenda and it was not MEDICAL MARIJUANA.

THAT is where the deceit comes in !

Wow...I think Wiilie Wonker is in the Chocolate Factory.

I voted yes, but let's get back to John Morgan and his motives, which were pretty simple. He was trying to mobilize young voters in hopes that they would also vote for his law partner Charlie Crist. He lost on both counts.

You have a pretty good fix on it !!!!

Novel Idea
 

I have a novel idea. Those that tout the need for marijuna and the wonders it will bring should study the impacts that Colorado has seen. What they will find is that traffic violations have gone up 12.5% because of the drug BUT and BIG BUT..the impact on the youth in middle and high schools have a number of the school official very concerned. They have noted that kids are getting their pot from the loose ways the parents are casually treating it. The kids are smoking it like it is just another candy. They leave school for lunch and go across the street and smoke pot. It has had a significant impact on the schools. They even light up in school.
THERE IS NO ARGUMENT THAT MARIJUNA HAS A PROFOUND NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE HEALTH OF THE POPULATION UNDER 21. EVERYTHING FROM BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND BIRTH DEFECTS. PLEASE DON'T CHALLENGE THIS FACT UNLESS YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!
No where in any note have I disagreed with providing marijuna to those that are honestly sick and it would lessen their pain, etc
But, again big but..do some homework to understand the true effect that marijuna has on a society. :ohdear:

All your points are well taken. You will now hear how you are talking about recreational use and the ammendment was for medical.

I submit that our younger folks are being desensitized to marijuana use. They have grown up with irresponsible discussions of this drug and see nothing wrong with it.

I am with you....we are doing a great disservice to our younger people.

Next on the agenda.....hey, look what Heroin can do, and trust me there are medical benefits to heroin and that will be next. People making money while crippling (making self absorbed, dependent) an entire generation.

[QUOTE=Rags123;965150]I am sure that proof of this series allegation of the governor getting a payoff will be forthcoming...nobody would make that kind of accusation without some basis."


If the post was re-read, it would be noted that the post stated, "I imagine ..." A person is entitled to whatever they want to believe. Now, if the post stated "I know for a fact", it would be a different story. But it didn't.

One could also ask for proof of a statement that "they had an agenda and it was not medical marijuana." Is that a known fact or a belief?

Not at all.

A quick read of the proposed amendment reveals a poorly written, ill conceived document. When you consider that our government cannot administer a well designed program, you have got to know that a jumbled mess like the proposed amendment would be a disaster.

Another shot at this should be based upon an approach that will not open the door to unqualified "caregivers" as distributors. Medical grade marijuana prescribed by "select" doctors and prescriptions filled by pharmacists would allow this proposal to fly right through to acceptance.

Gupta: 'I am doubling down' on medical marijuana
By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent

updated 8:40 AM EST, Thu March 6, 2014

Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores politics of pot

A growing number of patients want cannabis as a medicine
"It is irresponsible to not provide the best care we can," Sanjay Gupta says
Those with influence are paying attention to the debate
The public has become intensely engaged

(CNN) -- It's been eight months since I last wrote about medical marijuana, apologizing for having not dug deeply into the beneficial effects of this plant and for writing articles dismissing its potential. I apologized for my own role in previously misleading people, and I feel very badly that people have suffered for too long, unable to obtain the legitimate medicine that may have helped them.
I have been reminded that a true and productive scientific journey involves a willingness to let go of established notions and get at the truth, even if it is uncomfortable and even it means having to say "sorry."
It is not easy to apologize and take your lumps, but this was never about me.
This scientific journey is about a growing number of patients who want the cannabis plant as a genuine medicine, not to get high.

It is about emerging science that not only shows and proves what marijuana can do for the body but provides better insights into the mechanisms of marijuana in the brain, helping us better understand a plant whose benefits have been documented for thousands of years. This journey is also about a Draconian system where politics overrides science and patients are caught in the middle.
Since our documentary "Weed" aired in August, I have continued to travel the world, investigating and asking tough questions about marijuana.

I have met with hundreds of patients, dozens of scientists and the curious majority who simply want a deeper understanding of this ancient plant. I have sat in labs and personally analyzed the molecules in marijuana that have such potential but are also a source of intense controversy. I have seen those molecules turned into medicine that has quelled epilepsy in a child and pain in a grown adult. I've seen it help a woman at the peak of her life to overcome the ravages of multiple sclerosis.

Can medical marijuana help seizures?

I am more convinced than ever that it is irresponsible to not provide the best care we can, care that often may involve marijuana.
I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.
I should add that, although I've taken some heat for my reporting on marijuana, it hasn't been as lonely a position as I expected. Legislators from several states have reached out to me, eager to inform their own positions and asking to show the documentary to their fellow lawmakers.

I've avoided any lobbying, but of course it is gratifying to know that people with influence are paying attention to the film. One place where lawmakers saw a long clip was Georgia, where the state House just passed a medical marijuana bill by a vote of 171-4. Before the legislative session started, most people didn't think this bill had a chance.

More remarkable, many doctors and scientists, worried about being ostracized for even discussing the potential of marijuana, called me confidentially to share their own stories of the drug and the benefit it has provided to their patients. I will honor my promise not to name them, but I hope this next documentary will enable a more open discussion and advance science in the process.
Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, defined as "the most dangerous" drugs "with no currently accepted medical use."

Neither of those statements has ever been factual. Even many of the most ardent critics of medical marijuana don't agree with the Schedule I classification, knowing how it's impeded the ability to conduct needed research on the plant.
Even the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora Volkow, seems to have softened her stance; she told me she believes we need to loosen restrictions for researchers.

Along the way, the public has become intensely engaged. Our collective society has paid closer attention to this issue than ever before, and with that increased education, support for medical marijuana has only grown, including in some unexpected places.

Pete Carroll, the coach of the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks, said the National Football League should explore medical marijuana if it helps players. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hasn't dismissed the idea, saying that if marijuana is reconsidered by the medical establishment, the league would treat it the same as any other medicine. Goodell also says the NFL is following the science that suggests marijuana may help recovery from concussions.
Recently, I had the chance to tell him that the United States already holds a patent on medical marijuana for that very purpose. Patent No. 6630507: Cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke or trauma.

However, this particular issue still bothers me: How can the government deny the benefits of medical marijuana even as it holds a patent for those very same benefits? Members of the Food and Drug Administration declined my repeated requests for an interview.

This past year, President Barack Obama told the New Yorker magazine, "I don't think (marijuana) is more dangerous than alcohol." And yet, as alcohol remains available to any adult, the president has not moved to remove marijuana from the list of the most tightly controlled substances in the country.
Since I started my reporting on this topic, I have mostly resisted temptation to inject a subjective moral equivalency into this discussion, such as pitting alcohol against marijuana or reminding you that cocaine and methamphetamine are actually more available than marijuana to patients, physicians and medical researchers: They are Schedule II drugs, with recognized medical uses. Or telling you that on average, a person dies every 19 minutes in this country from a legal prescription drug overdose, while it is virtually unheard-of to die from a marijuana overdose.

But, with a discussion like this, consistency does matter. Terms matter, too.
We are talking about a medicine, known scientifically as cannabis. In order for people to start thinking of this substance as a medicine, perhaps we should start calling it by its medical name, something that was suggested to me by medical marijuana advocates pretty much everywhere I went this year.
I've tried to pull together these latest developments in our new documentary, "Cannabis Madness." Although the 1936 film "Reefer Madness" was propaganda made to advance an agenda with dramatic falsehoods and hyperbole, I hope you will find "Cannabis Madness" an accurate reflection of what is happening today, injected with the best current science.

You will meet families all across the country -- a stay-at-home mom from Ohio, a nurse practitioner from Florida, an insurance salesman from Alabama -- more than 100 families who have all left jobs, homes, friends and family behind and moved to Colorado to get the medicine that relieves their suffering.
As things stand now, many of these good people don't ever get to return home. Why? Because transporting their medicine, even if it is a non-psychoactive cannabis oil, could get them arrested for drug trafficking. And so they are stuck, cannabis refugees.

You will meet them, and if you're like me, you'll be heartbroken to hear their stories, but you'll also have a lump in your throat when you see the raw, true love these parents have for their sick children.

History books may one day draw a parallel between this chapter of medical marijuana and the story of David and Goliath. Playing the role of David's slingshot, which ultimately brought Goliath to his knees, would be a 2-year-old girl named Vivian Wilson. She inspired her father to challenge the system in a spectacular way that caused a nation to stop for a moment and take note.
For months, we have filmed and followed the Wilson family with all of their trials and tribulations, and you will meet the whole family in the upcoming documentary.

I am a father myself, first and foremost. I don't want my children taking or being offered a psychoactive substance. As a neurosurgeon, I know that the developing brain is more susceptible to the most harmful effects of cannabis and that brain development continues well into our mid-20s.

I also worry that generations from now, my great-grandkids will find Internet headlines referring to me as the "pot doc." I do hope they will also read the rest of the story and understand the lives of the countless people who have suffered needlessly when a plant could have helped. I hope they know that I have dedicated my time to researching the medical literature, speaking to the scientists in person and piecing together a fact-based presentation meant to educate, not frighten.

I hope future generations won't consider me naive. Yes, I know there is a concern that many people out there will feign ailments just to get marijuana. But withholding legitimate treatment for the needy is a very unjust way of addressing that concern.

As a physician and reporter, I feel a deeper obligation to present the real stories, soundly supported with the science from all over the world.
When I first apologized for my previous marijuana reporting, I was thinking about the impact that reporting may have had on Charlotte Figi. She is a sweet little girl whose brain was locked in nearly nonstop seizure activity. Without success, she tried seven different medications, stringent diets and high-dose supplements. Modern medicine had nothing more to offer, which is why her parents turned to an ancient plant. As you know, it worked.
And, as you will see, she is one of so many patients out there, suffering from different ailments, who believe cannabis rescued them when nothing else did.
For conditions like Charlotte's, the American Epilepsy Society says that there are a million people for whom existing therapies do not control their seizures. The society recently said anecdotes about medical marijuana "give reason for hope" and said it supports "well-controlled studies that will lead to a better understanding of the disease and the development of safe and effective treatments."

You should know that Charlotte continues to do well. When I saw her around the holidays, she ran over and gave me a hug. She looked me in the eyes, took me by the hand and led me all around to meet her friends. She is a delightful, happy and now healthy little girl.

I know the discussion around this topic will no doubt get heated. I have felt that heat. But I feel a greater responsibility than ever to make sure those heated discussions are also well-informed by science.