Pubdate: Tue, 21 Oct 2014
Source: Pensacola News Journal (FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Pensacola News Journal
Contact: http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=OPINION0301
Website: http://www.pnj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1675
Author: Mary Wozniak
Cited: United for Care http://www.unitedforcare.org/

AD CAMPAIGNS RAMP UP FOR, AGAINST MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Amendment 2 is a con. Amendment 2 is compassion.

Medical marijuana is the devil. Medical marijuana is a
godsend.

There are no shades of gray in the black and white positions of the
campaigns for and against Amendment 2.

"On both sides it seems to be all or nothing," said Harris Segel,
immediate past president of the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis
Club, which had a Vote No on 2 representative speak to the group. "On
one side, it's just great, don't worry about it, it will all be fine.
On the other side, it's the devil's work. We are all going to hell in
a handbasket if it passes."

There's got to be something in between, he said.

"We need facts. We need information," said Connie Besco, president of
the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal employees for
a four-county Southwest Florida area. A representative of the pro
campaign spoke to about 60 members.

"So many people are afraid of things that are going to happen because
of marijuana being legal, and a lot of people against it are coming
out with all kinds of things that scare people," she said.

The Vote No on 2 crowd has run TV ads saying the amendment's language
is so loose felons and drug dealers will be able to become medical
marijuana "caregivers." The most recent has a doctor saying there's
nothing "medical" about marijuana.

"Medical marijuana is a trick," Dr. Madelyn Butler tells
viewers.

A digital campaign ad reads: "Will the new face of date rape look like
a cookie?" The image is of the back of a couple, arms around each
other, and a medical marijuana cookie in his back pocket. The
insinuation is that medical pot could be the new date rape drug.

Sarah Bascom, spokeswoman for Vote No on 2, responded the ad was used
many months ago. "That was in reference to a journalist who said she
ate a marijuana edible and felt comatosed and could not move," Bascom
said.

At Odds

The ads have made the pro campaign, United for Care, outraged or
defensive in turn. They respond mostly in email blasts from campaign
manager Ben Pollara and attorney John Morgan, the major face, voice
and bankroller of the campaign. Morgan also has donated in-kind radio
commercials combating what United for Care says are misleading
statements.

All the ads are "grossly misleading," Pollara said, and the date rape
ad is probably the worst. However, "The caregiver ad is
extraordinarily outrageous," he said. The claim is the only
requirement for being a caregiver is 21 and older, so drug dealers and
felons can become caregivers. But regulations to carry out the
amendment would be set by the Department of Health and the
Legislature, including those for caregivers, who must have a
state-issued identification card, he said.

"Think of a scenario in which a drug dealer gets an ID card, then
walks into a heavily-regulated business, with purchases being
tracked," he said. "Then go and illegally sell the marijuana purchased
with state ID cards in front of cameras. It's 30 seconds of pure scare
tactic."

The text of Amendment 2 says marijuana use would be legalized only for
debilitating diseases and conditions; can only be recommended by a
licensed physician; needs a written certification; needs a
state-issued ID card for patients and caregivers; and sets a time
limit on medical marijuana use. Patients cannot grow their own medical
marijuana and all other uses of marijuana (recreational) is illegal.

The Vote No on 2 campaign claims these loopholes: No doctor's
prescription required; the definition of a debilitating medical
condition can range from back pain to trouble sleeping; juveniles will
be able to legally purchase it without parental consent; "caregivers"
who dispense medical pot do not need medical training, and could be
felons or drug dealers; no restrictions on the location of "seedy" pot
shops - they could be next to restaurants, schools and churches.

"Their entire campaign has been misleading because it is not about
compassion or helping those that are truly sick," Bascom said. "If it
were, they would not have written the amendment with so many loopholes
that a truck could drive through. I have to believe that the authors
of the amendment are smart people, in which case there is only reason
for the amendment to be written so broadly - it was meant for pot for
anyone and for any reason."

The Florida Medical Association rejects it, as does the Florida
Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Florida Baptist Convention, she
saidd.

Buying Air

United for Care has been behind in ad airtime until now. Morgan has
contributed $4 million to the campaign, but nearly all that went to
getting the petition on the ballot, Pollara said.

Several thousand contributions came from individual donors, but the
campaign remained far behind Vote No on 2, which had about $1.7
million to spend at end of the September campaign contribution report.
The main contributor for Vote No on 2 ($4 million) is casino magnate
and billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

The pro camp has since raised an additional $50,000 and now have two
newer TV ads, one featuring a young child named Rebecca who suffers
from seizures, and one with Irv Rosenfeld, who is one of four
grandfathered into a former federal program that provides him medical
pot. Two earlier ads reiterate the pro points of Amendment 2 and
features Morgan's brother, Tim, who is paralyzed from the chest down
and uses medical marijuana.

Morgan also did some impromptu advertising of his own. In late August
he gave an expletive-laced speech to a group of young people at a bar
in Lakeland, urging them to vote. In response to News-Press questions,
he said: Some of my speeches will be g-rated and some will be x-rated.
Some will be humorous and tongue-in-cheek."

He remains true to his word. Morgan sent out an email blast Oct. 16
that he had participated in a debate in Citrus County the night
before. He wrote:

"And when a member of Florida's Legislature was clearly having trouble
repeating the same, intellectually dishonest talking points of the No
on 2 ads, I said, "You can't sit up here and make s* up! That works in
Tallahassee, but it doesn't work in Citrus County."

Clearing the Air

Six players in the fight pro and con medical marijuana will answer
questions about Amendment 2 today at The News-Press' town hall
meeting. Seating for the 6:30-8 p.m. session is full, but the public
can watch the town hall live on news-press.com.

PRO

Marijuana use would be legalized only for debilitating diseases
and conditions

A licensed physician must provide a written certification;

Patients and caregivers must have state-issued ID
cards.

A time limit is set on medical marijuana use.

Source - Amendment 2

CON

Loopholes in Amendment 2 are:

No doctor's prescription required

Definition of a debilitating medical condition can range from back
pain to trouble sleeping.

Juveniles will be able to legally purchase it without parental
consent.

Caregivers do not need medical training and could be felons or
drug dealers.

Source - Vote No on 2 
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MAP posted-by: Richard