Pubdate: Fri, 20 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 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE HEATS UP Sides Square Off Over Amendment 2 at Chamber Breakfast. The governor's signature on a narrow medical marijuana law this week did not temper the debate at the Thursday morning Chamber of Commerce breakfast surrounding an amendment that would greatly expand that law. Forty minutes seemed not nearly enough to get a primer from representatives on both sides and answer the questions that rolled in on its heels from an audience of about 180. And hours after the debate in downtown West Palm Beach adjourned, both proponent and opponent speakers were planning their next stops just days away. Voters across the state are ravenous to learn what Amendment 2 will mean for them. "They're going to be talking about this through November," said Dennis Grady, CEO for the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. Ben Pollara, campaign manager for Amendment 2 advocates United for Care, won the coin toss and opened the discussion by saying Florida addresses only a small group of patients with one very specific form of marijuana. "If a doctor recommends a course of treatment, that patient should be able to follow that course," Pollara said. "The doctor-patient relationship should not be criminalized." He said marijuana in a variety of forms and strengths should be available in a physician's toolbox. Perhaps most of Pollara's time was spent anticipating the opposition's oft-repeated criticisms - what No on Amendment 2 people refer to as the amendment's loopholes. Jessica Spencer, the statewide coalition director for Vote No on 2, said those loopholes should give voters pause. Voters are being asked to pass an amendment in the state constitution and opponents, including Spencer and the coalition, argue the wording is too broad and vague. "It's very loosey-goosey," she said. The loopholes, as the Coalition calls them, refer to things that aren't spelled out in the legislation and the potential abuses the coalition anticipates. Issues about who can get the drugs, who can distribute the drugs, who will regulate the businesses that sprout as a result. Pollara said these criticisms miss the mark. "That language wasn't in there because it's a constitutional amendment. They don't just become law and that's it," Pollara said. Everywhere the speakers go, they hear from people frustrated and seeking answers to help loved ones with chronic illness and pain. Said one person in Thursday's audience: "It is hell going through epileptic medications." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom