Pubdate: Tue, 11 Feb 2014
Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
Page: A1
Copyright: 2014 The Palm Beach Post
Contact:  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
Author: John Kennedy

SPONSORS SAY POT BILL PUTS 'PATIENTS BEFORE POLITICS'

2 Democrats: Legalize Medical Marijuana Before Nov. Ballot.

TALLAHASSEE - Two Democratic lawmakers Monday urged the Republican-led
Legislature to legalize medical marijuana, pre-empting a November
ballot proposal that many say is likely to help Gov. Rick Scott's
Democratic challenger.

But Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, and Rep. Joe Saunders, D-Orlando,
said politics should not be part of the discussion when patients'
suffering could be eased more quickly by prescription pot.

The lawmakers were flanked at the Capitol by two-dozen supporters,
including several patients who rely on marijuana - now obtained
illegally - to ease chronic pain.

"This is a bipartisan issue," Clemens said. "I guarantee you that
standing behind me there are not Democrats, Republicans or
independents. They are people who want to see relief for their
families. And they don't belong to any party."

The legislation (HB 859, SB 962) is named the "Cathy Jordan Medical
Cannabis Act," honoring a 64-year-old Manatee County woman suffering
for years from Lou Gehrig's Disease. She and husband, Robert, were
among those asking lawmakers to act on the legislation. "This bill
puts patients before politics," said Robert Jordan, 65, reading a
statement from his wife. "It also recognizes that cancer won't wait
for a ballot."

Ryan Roman, 30, whose cancer has spread from his spine to brain over
the past nine years, was accompanied by his 2-year-old daughter,
Giavanna, who played on his wheelchair.

"This bill would allow people to get the help that they need and not
feel that they are going to get in trouble or have to look over their
shoulder," Roman said.

A sharply divided Florida Supreme Court last month approved letting
voters decide whether to legalize marijuana use for an array of illnesses.

Leading Florida Republicans, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and
House Speaker Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz, urged
justices to strike down the measure, sponsored by the organization
United for Care.

They argued that it misled voters, and would result in a state awash
in prescription marijuana.

Gov. Rick Scott did not file a brief in the case. But following the
court's 4-3 ruling, Scott said he was troubled by the possibility of
medical marijuana adding to the state's long-held problems dealing
with drug dependency.

"I cannot endorse sending Florida down this path," Scott
said.

By contrast, Scott's Democratic challengers, former Gov. Charlie Crist
and former Sen. Nan Rich, both hailed the decision.

Crist's employer, Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan, had already spent
millions of dollars financing the petition campaign that got the
measure before justices.

Twenty states and Washington, D.C., have legalized the use of
marijuana for treatment of medical conditions including cancer,
chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease and epilepsy.
Eleven of the states have enacted such laws through ballot measures,
similar to that promoted in Florida by United for Care.

Although Democrats have publicly downplayed political shadings of the
ballot proposal, several analysts say it is likely to bolster voter
turnout in November when Scott faces a tough re-election challenge.

Polling shows that legalizing marijuana in Florida is supported by a
majority of Republican voters as well as Democrats and independents,
but Seth Crawford, a sociologist at Oregon State University who has
studied medical marijuana ballot initiatives, earlier told The Palm
Beach Post that Democratic-leaning voters and younger voters are
considered those most motivated to turn out to support legalizing
prescription pot use.

The apparent political divide in Florida has been underscored by the
opposition of such traditional Republican allies as the Florida
Chamber of Commerce, Florida Medical Association and law-enforcement
groups to the ballot measure.

The Drug Free American Foundation and Save Our Society From Drugs,
groups founded by Republican fundraiser and anti-drug proponent Betty
Sembler, also say they will combat the measure.

Sembler's husband, Mel, is a former Republican national finance
chairman and ambassador who helped finance the anti-medical marijuana
effort in Colorado.

Despite urging by Clemens, Saunders and others Monday, Republican
legislative leaders have shown no sign of taking up the issue when the
Legislature convenes March 4. Weatherford, the House speaker, earlier
warned of the "Coloradofication" of Florida, "where the end game is a
pot shop on every street corner."

Still, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Shalimar, son of the Senate president, is
sponsoring legislation (HB 843) that would legalize a marijuana
extract known as "Charlotte's Web" that has been shown to help
children suffering from epileptic seizures.

Because it contains such a small amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or
THC, the active chemical in marijuana, Charlotte's Web users do not
get high, unlike the marijuana that could be dispensed in Florida if
the ballot measure is approved, or the legislation by Clemens and
Saunders suddenly catches fire.

Clemens has sponsored the medical marijuana measure for four straight
years, and has yet to get a hearing. But Monday he said he thought
this could be the year. "I receive emails and phone calls every week,"
Clemens said. "They come from people across the political spectrum.
I'm not trying to politicize this issue at all. This is an opportunity
for us to get ahead of the constitutional amendment. There's no reason
for any patient to wait."  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D