Pubdate: Fri, 18 Apr 2014
Source: Ledger, The (Lakeland, FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Ledger
Contact:  http://www.theledger.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/795
Author: Stephen Nohlgren, Tampa Bay Times

SHERIFF CAUTIONS AGAINST MEDICAL POT

SEMINOLE - Sheriff Bob Gualtieri helped Pinellas County struggle
through the dark days of prescription drug "pill mills," when shady
clinics doled out lethal opiates just for the asking.

State and local authorities finally cracked down, but Gualtieri fears
that legalizing medical marijuana would reopen those floodgates with a
new drug of choice.

"We're going to be right back to the problems we just dealt with, with
pill mills," he told an audience Thursday night at St. Petersburg College.

In Oregon, he said, just nine doctors certified 28,000 people as
needing medical marijuana. At that rate, even a $200 exam would
generate $5.6 million.

"We are going to see unscrupulous practitioners just trying to make a
buck and see places pop up all over. Somebody can go in and say, 'Doc,
I need a certification because my head hurts, or my neck hurts' and
get an unlimited supply."

Floridians will vote Nov. 4 on a constitutional amendment that would
allow regulated dispensaries to sell pot for medical purposes. With
polls indicating widespread support and politicians often dodging the
topic, the Florida Sheriffs Association stands out among a few vocal
opponents.

Gualtieri articulated the sheriffs' concerns during a panel discussion
at the college's Seminole campus.

He thinks that securing a medical marijuana card will be too easy
under the amendment, and that even headaches and menstrual cramps
might justify an identification card. Also, smoked marijuana that gets
people high is unnecessary, he said. Prescription medicines derived
from pot are already available or soon will be "without people sitting
around the table on Saturday night smoking marijuana."

United for Care, the organization that sponsored the amendment, was
represented by campaign manager Ben Pollara. The amendment specifies
that the pot would be for "debilitating conditions," not minor
headaches, he said, and the Florida Supreme Court rejected the
argument that the ballot language leaves the door wide open to any
ailment.

Some sick people do not respond well to traditional medications,
Pollara said. "If a doctor prescribes a course of treatment - whether
it is yoga, multivitamins, dietary change or marijuana -people should
be able to pursue that change without being treated like criminals."

The Sheriffs Association website outlines other law enforcement
concerns - including a study by the Colorado Department of
Transportation that found that fatal crashes with drivers testing
positive for marijuana rose from 5 percent to 13 percent between 2006
and 2011, just as the state's medical marijuana program was expanding
rapidly.

"Colorado is seeing legal and public safety issues with driving under
the influence," Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said this week in an
interview. "There is no reason to believe those problems won't follow
here in Florida."

It's much harder to prosecute marijuana-impaired drivers than drunken
drivers, Nocco said. Roadside breath tests can detect alcohol's levels
in the body, and the law sets standards for when a driver is presumed
to be impaired.

Detecting marijuana takes a blood test, which usually requires an
arrest and transport to jail.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D