Pubdate: Fri, 16 May 2014
Source: Tampa Bay Times (FL)
Copyright: 2014 St. Petersburg Times
Contact: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
Website: http://www.tampabay.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419
Note: Named the St. Petersburg Times from 1884-2011.
Author: Stephen Nohlgren

ANTI-MEDICAL MARIJUANA PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTED AT SCHOOL FUNCTION

ST. PETERSBURG - Parents attending a mandatory PTA meeting this month 
at Thurgood Marshall Middle School were handed a pamphlet opposing 
Florida's proposed constitutional amendment on medical marijuana.

"I was astounded. There was all this scary stuff saying how bad it 
was," said St. Petersburg resident Brock Murch, an amendment 
supporter whose daughter attends the school. "People should not be in 
the schools doing politics."

The pamphlet - whose distribution violated school system policy - did 
not specifically identify its creator, but it displayed the logos of 
Save Our Society from Drugs, a St. Petersburg lobbying group and 
Don't Let Florida Go to Pot, an anti-amendment website created by 
Save our Society and the Florida Sheriff's Association.

Representatives of those organizations did not return requests for 
comment. But both have taken high-profile positions against the amendment.

Among other things, the pamphlet contended that the amendment "would 
allow anyone of any age to use marijuana for any condition," a notion 
hotly contested by amendment sponsors.

How the pamphlets made their way into parents' hands is not entirely 
clear, but a not-for-profit coalition called the NOPE Task Force 
played a central role, with unofficial help from two Pinellas 
sheriff's employees.

NOPE has worked closely with the school system and the sheriff's 
office for several years to educate students and parents about drugs 
- - primarily the abuse of prescription medication. Several NOPE 
officials and volunteers have lost children to prescription drug overdoses.

Thurgood Marshall Principal Solomon Lowery invited NOPE's Pinellas 
director Laurie Serra to present a program on marijuana for the May 1 
parents' meeting. A pediatrician talked about negative health 
effects. Serra gave a moving testimonial about her stepson's 
overdose, mentioning that his addiction problems began with pot, Murch said.

Then at the end, Serra urged attendees to pick up a copy of the 
pamphlet on their way out.

PTA attendance is mandatory at fundamental schools. Before leaving, 
parents must prove they attended by handing in a card containing 
their child's name.

A woman handing out the pamphlet positioned herself immediately in 
front the table where school officials collected the cards, Murch said.

"She said, "Make sure you get a brochure before you put your card in 
the box,' " Murch said. "I didn't know if she was a school employee or what."

Serra did not return calls for comment, but Karen Perry, NOPE's 
executive director in Palm Beach, said the organization does "not get 
political in our presentations. We make that pretty clear."

As of Friday afternoon, Perry said, she had not yet talked to Serra 
to find out where the brochures came from.

Helping Serra hand them out were an off-duty sergeant and clerk for 
the Pinellas sheriff's department, wearing NOPE polo shirts, 
sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said.

Serra provided the brochures, Pasha said. "We don't have any of that 
stuff around."

Deputies have helped Serra hand out other printed material at other 
functions, Pasha said, and probably did not consider the pamphlet's 
political nature.

Principal Lowery was unaware that the brochures would be handed out, 
said school spokeswoman Donna Winchester.

Letting anyone distribute political material at a school function 
violates policy, Winchester said. The administration will 
"investigate the chain of events" and will make that policy clear "to 
all groups that are invited to give presentations."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom