Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2014 The Tribune Co. Contact: http://tbo.com/list/news-opinion-letters/submit/ Website: http://tbo.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446 Author: Jerome R. Stockfisch MEDICAL POT ADVOCATES ANSWER FOES' POINTS IN NEW PETITION TAMPA - When the campaign for a constitutional amendment to broadly legalize medical marijuana in Florida failed in November, advocates promised they'd be back. They haven't wasted much time. United for Care, the chief proponent for medicinal pot, said earlier this month that a second petition has been approved by the Secretary of State's office and the group is collecting signatures to put the issue on the November 2016 ballot. United for Care is starting from scratch - it will need to collect 683,000 signatures - and says it has addressed some key issues that caused the 2014 measure to go down. "We're back," said Ben Pollara, executive director of United for Care and head of the 2014 campaign. "One of the big lessons that we learned is that it is a tremendous undertaking to get something on the Florida ballot, and if we are going to do that, we need to start as soon as we can." United for Care is already expanding on its 2014 base. Taylor Samson, a Valrico mother, said she wasn't actively involved in the campaign last year, but is on board this time around. "This is a cause that I believe in," said Samson, who is an epilepsy patient and has been on a variety of medicines all her life. "I am a strong supporter of science and scientific research. I think that we need to give Florida the opportunity to seek alternative medicines and I want to give the medical and scientific communities the opportunity to further explore the potential benefits of medical marijuana." Petitions are at unitedforcare.org. The group is holding a Tampa volunteer meeting to discuss strategy 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Morgan & Morgan law office, 201 N. Franklin St. Amendment 2 received nearly 3.4 million "yes" votes in November - half a million more than Gov. Rick Scott received in his successful bid for a second term - but the 58 percent approval margin fell short of the 60 percent required to amend the Florida Constitution. Parsing the language of last year's amendment, opponents of medical marijuana ran a series of commercials focusing on minors, recreational availability, doctors' immunity and qualifications for caregivers. The new amendment directly requires parental consent, which was not a part of last year's campaign because proponents concluded that requirement already existed under state law. It states that those eligible for medical marijuana must have debilitating conditions and specifically rules out non-debilitating conditions, hoping to counter the argument that Floridians could receive the treatment for stress or a stubbed toe. The 2016 amendment specifically states that negligence and malpractice are not subject to immunity under the law; some interpretations of last year's measure gave doctors carte blanche to prescribe marijuana. And to address claims that caregivers - who can obtain the substance for patients - might be drug dealers or felons, the new amendment requires the Department of Health to establish qualifications and standards for caregivers, including conducting background checks. "I don't think there's any way they (opponents) can make those same distortions, what they called the "'loopholes,' with this amendment," said Pollara. But don't expect the more articulate language to assuage opponents. "We'll fight it," said Calvina Faye, executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation. "It's still an issue we feel very strongly does not belong in our state Constitution. We know if it did pass, it would backfire. And in the Constitution, it's poured like concrete and very difficult to fix." Proponents acknowledge that while the new campaign again aims to address the matter in the state Constitution, there's another angle: They hope that showcasing the popular support for medical marijuana may force the state Legislature to confront the issue. "The governor and the leadership of the House and Senate must listen to the people who gave them their jobs," John Morgan, the trial lawyer who bankrolled the 2014 campaign, said after results came in last November. "They must act on this issue." Last year, the Legislature legalized a type of marijuana known as "Charlotte's Web," a non-euphoric strain named for a Colorado child who experienced relief from epileptic seizures using the substance. But implementation of the Florida law has been difficult, with a successful court challenge of the initial rules and more hearings set for February. There are bills that mimic the language of the constitutional amendment, but House and Senate leaders have indicated they are reluctant to expand on the "Charlotte's Web" law until they see it in action, and some of the most powerful lawmakers opposed last year's constitutional amendment. Drug Free America is advocating for the Legislature to approve expanded clinical trials of drugs such as Epidiolex, which features the active "Charlotte's Web" ingredient, and Merinol, a man-made form of cannibis. "We could already have clinical trials going that are available to the children that are having the seizures, and getting answers whether this was helpful or harmful," said Faye. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have comprehensive medical marijuana programs. Two, Washington and Colorado, allow recreational use. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom