Pubdate: Fri, 01 Aug 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: Barney Bishop Page: 17A AMENDMENT 2 NOT ABOUT RELIEF, IT'S ABOUT GETTING HIGH Proponents have argued that Amendment 2 is about providing compassionate care for people who have debilitating symptoms, pain, or are dying. But if compassionate care were what the amendment is only about, then the authors would have specifically cited non-euphoric medical weed in the amendment's language. That's why this amendment is a fraud. It's a stalking horse, a sham. This amendment is not really about compassionate care; it's about getting high. Medical marijuana is already going to be available for medically needy patients because Florida passed the "Charlotte's Web" law Medically needy patients will already have access to medical weed, and the Florida Department of Health is having a second workshop this week to set rules on regulating the growth and distribution of the Charlotte's Web strain. Thus, if Amendment 2's authors want to help just the medically needy, their proposed amendment is unnecessary. Why does this amendment try to legalize pot that gets you high? Because according to them, pot will help people to live through pain, reduce or stop seizures and help people who are dying. This is exactly what the Charlotte's Web advocates also said about their strain of pot, but their patients won't be getting high. Charlotte's Web is a strain of marijuana that provides medical benefits without causing the patient to feel the euphoria that regular marijuana provides, experts say. The real motivation of Amendment 2's authors is to stimulate young, liberal Democratic voters to go to the polls on Nov. 4 to vote for the Democratic candidate for governor. How duplicitous. To make matters worse, the amendment specifically says that beyond a detailed list of serious diseases, someone can get pot "for any other condition." That's the fraud. In California and Colorado where medical marijuana is legal, only 6 percent of users are taking it for cancer, epileptic seizures, etc. Ninety-four percent are using pot for pain, inability to sleep, or other bogus reasons. This is just "pill mills" redux. We just spent millions of taxpayer dollars and years of effort to rid ourselves of this scourge. Now we'll have pot shops everywhere. The average user of med weed in California is not a sick person. The average user is a 32-year-old white male, who contends he's in "pain" and needs pot for relief. In fact, in California pot shops, the doctors who are recommending marijuana to patients have signs in their offices telling patients that they will recommend marijuana if someone says he's simply in pain. Even Jon Mills, the author of the amendment, told the Florida Supreme Court that "any other condition" could mean a sore throat or the inability to sleep. But that's what we have over-the-counter drugs for. The vast majority of Floridians don't need pot that gets you high to fix a sore throat or promote sleep. If anything, we'll have more obese Floridians because pot causes some people to get very hungry. Another example of the difference between Charlotte's Web and Amendment 2 is that the amendment allows users to smoke the medical marijuana. Tobacco studies show that smoking itself is harmful. People who need Charlotte's Web are going to be able to get this non-euphoric strain soon in Florida. This amendment is a scam! It plays on the heartstrings of everyone who believes in compassion yet it makes marijuana available to thousands of users who are not medically needy or could use over-the-counter drugs for their ailments. Amendment 2 is about getting high. It's a precursor to the legalization of recreational marijuana. Barney Bishop III, a former president of Associated Industries of Florida, is the President & CEO of Barney Bishop Consulting, LLC. Column courtesy of Context Florida. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt