Pubdate: Wed, 18 Feb 2015
Source: Bradenton Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2015 Bradenton Herald
Contact: http://www.bradenton.com/submit-letter/
Website: http://www.bradenton.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58
Author: John G. Chase

ON MEDICAL POT LEGISLATION, FLORIDA LAWMAKERS SHOULD LOOK AT OTHER
STATES' EXPERIENCES

Florida owes much to legislators Greg Steube and Jeff Brandes for
taking the initiative to legalize medical pot. Now comes the fight to
get their bills reconciled and to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature.

For that, they should study the experiences of Maine and Rhode Island.
Both states are among the first dozen living with their laws long
enough to know how they work. Furthermore, both states get high marks
from Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the leading proponent of medical
pot in the U.S.

The Florida Legislature, if left to its own devices, will focus on
keeping medical pot from leaking into the underground market. Maine
and Rhode Island, on the other hand, have focused on such things as
how to add qualifying conditions for treatment, protections for
employment, child custody and personal cultivation.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote approvingly of solving
contentious social issues "in the laboratory of the states." Medical
marijuana is such an issue. The Florida legislators should not waste
time reinventing the wheel.

John G. Chase,

Palm Harbor
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MAP posted-by: Matt