Pubdate: Sat, 01 Nov 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
Page: A1

LOSS WON'T KILL POT PUSH

John Morgan Says He Would Consider Getting Medical Marijuana On 2016 Ballot

Florida medical marijuana honcho John Morgan hopes for a victory on 
Amendment 2 when polls close on Tuesday. But a loss may not end the 
campaign, Morgan told the Tampa Bay Times on Friday. As long as the 
vote is close to the required 60 percent approval threshold, Morgan 
said, he will try again in 2016.

'I plan to win this," he said, saying his internal polls show it 
winning by a thin margin. 'But if I lose a battle, I can damn sure 
still win the war." Most of the $5 million or so that Morgan or his 
Orlando law firm spent on the amendment campaign went toward 
collecting more than 700,000 signatures to put the question on the 
2014 general election ballot.

Until this week, Morgan said, he would not have considered another 
medical marijuana campaign.

'I had always told myself I wouldn't spend this kind of money again," 
Morgan said. But early this week, 'I got to thinking I wouldn't have 
to. I have 900,000 signatures and addresses" of people who signed the 
current petition. 'I have 400,000 people who have communicated with 
us. This time I had to collect signatures in five months, next time I 
would have two years." Next time would also be a presidential year, 
which should energize the youth vote, Morgan said. Younger voters the 
strongest advocates for medical marijuana - typically turn out in 
higher numbers during presidential elections.

'This would be a day in the park,' he said.

Under Florida law, any group sponsoring a constitutional amendment 
designates a general election date, then must gather hundreds of 
thousands of signatures from registered voters to put it on the 
ballot. Then the Supreme Court must approve the ballot language.

To initiate another medical marijuana campaign, Morgan's United for 
Care organization would have to repeat those steps.

Under Amendment 2, doctors would certify that patients with 
debilitating conditions could benefit from marijuana. Licensed 
dispensaries would sell it.

Recent polling on the amendment has been mixed. A poll commissioned 
by the Tampa Bay Times and other media partners this week put medical 
marijuana approval at only 46 percent. Survey USA, a national 
robo-calling firm, reported support this month in the 51 to 52 percent range.

But a University of North Florida poll taken a few weeks ago measured 
67 percent approval and Morgan said his organization has been 
tracking approval at 61 to 62 percent for the past few weeks.

If the vote 'comes in the low 50s or high 40s, I'll say, 'Okay, I'll 
never go down that road again,"' Morgan said.

But if the vote is within a few points of the required 60 percent, he 
said, he will crank up again in January.

One decision would be whether to keep the present ballot language or 
alter it for strategic reasons, he said.

Opponents contend the qualifying conditions Amendment 2 describes are 
too loosely written. They say that minor ailments could be called 
'debilitating" conditions by unscrupulous physicians and result in 
pot mills like the Florida prescription pill mills.

'Amendment 2 places no restrictions on the location of seedy pot 
shops," Vote No On 2 says on its website. 'Look for 'pot docs' to 
spring up next to restaurants, schools, churches and supermarkets.' 
The Florida Supreme Court ruled in January that 'debilitating' 
conditions would be of a serious nature similar to cancer, chronic 
pain and other specific conditions listed in the ballot language. But 
the pill mill argument still resonated with many voters.

Likewise, opponents took the amendment to task for protecting doctors 
against lawsuits or regulatory sanctions related to recommending pot 
- - necessary because pot would remain illegal under federal law.

The court said that was a narrow protection covering only the act of 
recommending marijuana, and that doctors who also committed fraud or 
negligence could still be sanctioned.

Without such civil immunity, the court said, a medical marijuana 
system could not function.

Still, legal protections frequently put amendment supporters on the 
defensive. Morgan, a personal injury attorney whose firm sometimes 
sues physicians, joked Friday about the irony of defending legal 
protections for doctors.

'I've wanted to lift every immunity the Legislature has ever given 
them," he said.

Morgan said he would consult the amendment's author - University of 
Florida law professor Jon Mills - about any ballot language changes.

But maybe the amendment would be best left as is, Morgan said. The 
Supreme Court has already validated the ballot language and would be 
unlikely to reverse that ruling.

Another strategic issue is how the Legislature might react to another 
marijuana amendment campaign, he said. Just as the Legislature 
approved the use of a noneuphoric strain of pot known as Charlotte's 
Web for seizures this year, it might further widen the use of medical 
marijuana if faced with a 2016 amendment campaign, Morgan said.

Young voters turning out for medical pot would tend to favor the 
Democratic presidential candidate, Morgan said. Florida's 
Republican-dominated Legislature might try to defuse that by passing 
a medical marijuana law.

'There are two ways to win wars," Morgan said. 'By atom bombs, or 
Trojan horses. As long as you win, it doesn't matter."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom