Pubdate: Fri, 04 Dec 2015
Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL)
Copyright: 2015 Orlando Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325
Note: Rarely prints out-of-state LTEs.
Author: Bethany Rodgers

ALTAMONTE CENSORS MEDICAL POT TERMS

Sellers Can't Use Many Words to Describe It

For any medical-marijuana joints interested in coming to Altamonte 
Springs, the most descriptive business names have already gone up in 
a puff of green smoke.

In fact, the previous sentence contains no fewer than six words that 
these establishments would be barred from using.

All total, Altamonte Springs leaders have prohibited 27 terms from 
appearing in the titles of medical-marijuana retail centers, 
including the words "medical" and "marijuana."

And "dope,"

"ganja" and "grass."

"Hemp"? Banned.

"Cannabis"?

Banned.

"Mary Jane"?

"Wacky tabacky"?

Banned and banned. The list of prohibited terms was tucked inside a 
package of rules for medical-marijuana facilities that want to open 
in Altamonte Springs. The ordinance passed unanimously at a Tuesday 
night commission meeting.

City Manager Frank Martz said the section excluding certain words was 
added so establishments don't sound like a place to get illegal drugs.

To prevent creative euphemisms, the ordinance also bans synonyms to 
the forbidden words. Big, green pot-leaf images and other 
"illustrative graphics" are taboo, too.

These strict prohibitions could raise First Amendment concerns, said 
Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties 
Union of Florida.

Courts have authorized governments to police businesses that are 
making false or misleading claims about their products, but not to 
censor words that officials find objectionable, he added.

"If municipalities begin down that road, what's next?" Simon wrote in 
an email. "Will the Council entertain complaints that medical 
facilities remove reference to 'breast' cancer or 'testicular' cancer 
because someone wants to shield the public from words that reference anatomy?"

He continued, "Business owners should not be forced to perform 
linguistic gymnastics based on the whims of a city council that is 
arbitrarily designating what words are acceptable."

Altamonte Springs leaders gave the new regulations final passage 
following a roughly five-minute public hearing without any citizen 
comment or discussion among commission members. The portion relating 
to business names wasn't mentioned.

The new ordinance does not come in response to a particular business 
proposal but is in preparation for anticipated growth in the medical 
marijuana industry, Martz said.

Tom Angell, founder of the group Marijuana Majority, said he's never 
come across a provision like the one Altamonte Springs passed. And he 
said he's not sure what it will accomplish.

"Why wouldn't you want medical-marijuana facilities to use the words 
'medical' or 'marijuana' in their name? Who are they trying to fool?" 
said Angell, whose organization advocates for marijuana-policy overhaul.

Mary Sneed, an attorney who helped the city craft the ordinance, 
defended the naming restrictions as "in keeping with the standards in 
Altamonte Springs." She also said they'll help safeguard the city 
from public-safety issues.

Though Sneed mentioned California as being plagued by problems 
associated with loosened marijuana laws, the link between 
medical-marijuana dispensaries and increased crime has been disputed.

Sneed said she looked at municipal laws in California and throughout 
Florida when constructing the Altamonte Springs proposal. She could 
not immediately recall where the section barring 27 words originated 
but said she drew language from an ordinance passed by a municipality 
near Fort Lauderdale.

The town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea last year approved 
medical-marijuana regulations, including business-name restrictions 
nearly identical to the ones adopted in Altamonte Springs.

Branding and advertising aren't as important to the business model 
for medical-marijuana facilities, because physicians will be 
referring patients directly to dispensaries, Sneed added. She said 
she would expect the term "compassionate use" to appear in many business names.

Just last week, the state awarded medical-marijuana licenses to five 
growers. The growers will also be in charge of distributing the 
substance, and though none of the five is based in Altamonte Springs, 
they will be allowed to place retail centers in various locations 
across the state.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom