Pubdate: Thu, 15 May 2014
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2014 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/mVLAxQfA
Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Anthony Man

AGRICULTURE CHIEF DOESN'T SEE POT AS BOON FOR FLORIDA FARMERS

Don't expect to see lush fields of marijuana growing in Florida, the 
state's agriculture chief said Wednesday, even if the state's voters 
authorize medical marijuana in November.

"This is not a boon for Florida agriculture," Agriculture 
Commissioner Adam Putnam told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. 
"There won't be fields of marijuana growing in Florida."

If it comes to the Sunshine State, he said marijuana growing will be 
indoors under controlled environments.

Putnam opposes the proposed constitutional amendment on medical 
marijuana on the Nov. 4 ballot, but acknowledged that polling shows 
passage is likely.

If that happens, he said he wants enough to avoid "a pot shop on 
every corner next to gymnastics studios and tae kwon do studios where 
our kids are."

The former Republican member of Congress and possible 2018 candidate 
for governor is seeking a second term as agriculture commissioner. He 
touched on wide range of topics in the interview:

* Lake Okeechobee. It's a political plus that the Army Corps of 
Engineers sees repairing the Herbert Hoover Dike as a top priority.

"As long as Lake Okeechobee is on the top 10 list of the worst dikes 
in America, it will be funded. The day that it becomes the 11th worst 
dike in America, the funding's going to dry up."

* Everglades. There's been too little consistency and follow-through 
in restoration projects.

Every new governor and every new president wants to launch a new 
project, which he said results in "an awful lot" of partially 
completed projects. "We've had a lot of groundbreakings but not a lot 
of ribbon-cuttings."

* Nuclear power. In his role as a member of the Florida Cabinet, 
Putnam voted in favor of a plan Tuesday for two new nuclear reactors 
at Florida Power & Light Co.'s Turkey Point station in Miami-Dade County.

Without nuclear power, Florida will be "virtually entirely dependent 
on natural gas." If a hurricane disrupts a transfer station on a gas 
pipeline "and it goes down for three days, we're in the dark. And 
that is a very vulnerable position to be in."

* Climate change. "We clearly are witnessing changes in climate," 
which Putnam said human activity has "probably" exacerbated. But he's 
not how much is "man versus some natural climactic cycle."

"In some ways there's an anti-science going on, which you know the 
people on the left would say that's absolutely right. Republicans are 
deniers. But I would say there's just as many examples on the other 
side where they don't want science to be the good guide to public policy."

He cited many leftists' opposition to genetically engineered food, 
which Putnam said is needed to feed the growing world population.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom