Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL) Copyright: 2014 The Palm Beach Post Contact: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333 Author: Sonja Isger Page: B6 CHAMBER DEBATES POT TODAY AT BREAKFAST Medical Marijuana Event Is Open to the Public at $35 Per Ticket. WEST PALM BEACH - Florida voters will decide this November whether the state should expand its freshly minted but narrowly defined rules for the use of medical marijuana. The arguments in favor or against have long matured, leaving the plant's tie-dyed images buried in a conversation that now invokes references to industry, economics, cultivating and marketing. So, there was little pause when the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches decided the matter was worth a debate. That debate begins at 7:30 a.m. today at the Palm Beach County Convention Center during the chamber's breakfast. The event is open to the public. Tickets can be bought at the door for $35. But if you're already booked, or saving your cash, you can follow along at palmbeachpost.com/potdebate. "Anytime you have a statewide ballot issue in Florida it's important that the electorate and the citizenry make themselves aware of the issue," said the chamber's CEO Dennis Grady. "The best service we can provide to business men and women is to bring both sides together in a forum and let them speak." And answer questions. This week Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a bill allowing physicians to prescribe Charlotte's Web, a low-THC cannabis used to treat patients with cancer or illness that cause seizures, including epilepsy in children. But Amendment 2 would expand the types of marijuana that could be used and broaden the spectrum of illnesses it could be used to treat to include Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's and HIV/ AIDS. California passed the first law permitting medical marijuana in 1996. Now, 23 states (including Florida) and the District of Columbia have adopted laws permitting some form of medical marijuana. The two viewpoints will be argued by Ben Pollara, campaign manager at United for Care, the group that campaigned to put the proposal to a vote, and Jessica Spencer, statewide coalition director of Vote No on 2, which has dedicated a website to what it reports are loopholes in the amendment that it believes should give voters pause. Each will be given time to make a case and questions from the audience will follow. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom