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The Interview

BENEFACTOR OPTIMISTIC ON AMEND.  2

For the second time in two years, Florida voters will be presented with a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.  United for Care, which backed Amendment 2 in 2014, is also backing the 2016 measure, also known as Amendment 2.  Campaign chairman John Morgan has invested millions of dollars in both efforts.  We discussed the issue with Morgan, campaign manager Ben Pollara and Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre.  An excerpt of Morgan's responses follows.  A video of the full interview is at OrlandoSentinel.com/opinion.

Q: Amendment 2 failed in 2014.  Why are you trying again just two years later?

A: ...  No.  1, we ran it in an off-year election, where turnout was historically low ...  We still only lost by a fraction ...  We think turnout is going to be our friend this time.  No.  2, one of the great arguments against it was: It shouldn't be a constitutional amendment; it should be done in the Florida Legislature.  I think all Floridians now know that the Florida Legislature is incapable of passing anything.  ...  No.  3, we had what [opponents] called "loopholes" last time, and this time we have taken that language [and] we have eliminated all those loopholes.  So as we come back now, we're optimistic....

Q: Is the Legislature really incapable of acting? They've legalized "Charlotte's Web" marijuana for sick kids, and this year they legalized marijuana for the terminally ill.

A: They are capable of obstructing; that's what they do.  Remember this: Charlotte's Web never comes to be, but for me.  That was a reaction so that [legislators] could say to Florida, "Oh, look - we have [medical] marijuana," but it was for a fraction of the people [who need it].  We come back again, and they say, "Wait a minute - we'll do it for the terminally ill." ...  [W]hat they've done goes to a fraction of the 400,000 to 500,000 people [who] need it.  It doesn't help the people with multiple sclerosis, ALS, AIDS, quadriplegia, vets coming back.  I could go on and on and on.  So it is an effort to confuse the voters.  And the reason, Paul, quite frankly, it's simply money.  The pharmaceutical industry does not want this to happen, and the pharmaceutical industry pumps so much money into Tallahassee, into [Washington] D.C., because they want to sell us opiates that kill us, hook us, and destroy millions of families nationwide....

Q: Isn't it unwise to have this policy in the constitution if medical science changes or unforeseen problems emerge?

A: No, because remember: The gatekeepers of these prescriptions are our doctors.  If all of a sudden science comes in and says, "My god, this is terrible for you" for whatever reason, are our doctors going to prescribe the medicine then? No.  ...  At the end of the day, we have to trust our doctors.

Q: If marijuana is made legal for medical purposes, won't it be more accessible to kids for recreational use?

A: What people need to be worried about is not the medical marijuana given to very few sick people.  What people need to be worried about is, the gateway drug is the medicine cabinet ...  teeming with Xanax, Percoset, every drug imaginable....

Q: Is legalizing medical marijuana in Florida just a step on the way to legalizing it for recreational purposes?

A: ...I do believe in the decriminalization of marijuana.  ...  I believe it should be done statewide.  But the people of Florida have my word that my fight is not the legalization of marijuana.  ...  You're more likely to see me with another amendment for something like raising the minimum wage to $15 [an hour] ...  than the legalization of marijuana.  That will never, ever be my fight.  I will never put a dollar behind it.