A “medical” marijuana shop in Venice, California. Expect to see throughout Florida if constitutional amendment 2 is passed.
Amendment 2 is very, very wrong. The scare tactics are by the “yes” side scaring people into a belief that the intent of the amendment is for medical purposes. There are certainly those who want this in for that reason. But, all who I’ve talked to, read of, heard of deep in the bowels of funding & promoting the campaign plan to take advantage of the 3 words in the amendment : “or other conditions”.
This is not a scare tactic. This is a fact. “Or other conditions” can be used to legally purchase marijuana for a headache or migraine. It’s what is happening in other states. Why wouldn’t it be? If it’s legal for “medical” “or other conditions” it would have to be available. Will physicians write “certificates” for headaches or migraines? What do you think? Those who want to use it can, and apparently are openly saying they will, take full advantage of the bad language of the amendment. John Morgan and other lawyers have been very explicit in threatening to sue if every letter of the amendment is not passed as is.
The constitutional amendment is very clear of the intent with those loose words, “or other conditions’. The only other thing the amendment is very clear, with no loose words, is that this amendment must be set into action 9 months after being voted in “or if the Department does not begin issuing identification cards and registering Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers within the time limits set in this section, any Florida citizen shall have standing to seek judicial relief to compel compliance with the Department’s constitutional duties.” This is one reason why John Morgan is involved.
You can read the actual text of the amendment here: http://tinyurl.com/onzqov8
Just go to the No Facebook page and look at all the “yes” people who flood it and look at what they are writing. 99% are writing about full legalization. It has been bragged to me how they are being paid to derail us of the “no” side. They don’t care about the medical aspects. It’s about soon introducing a full legalization amendment in our state. There’s unbelievable amounts of money to be made from all this. Only just learning about Wall Street’s internet in all this. Apparently stock guys are funding the yes vote because they are gambling on cannabis stocks to soar if 2 is passed.
Why do you think there are applications to open 20 “medical” marijuana shops on International Drive in the tourist hub of our state? Wait until you see where else they can open. That is not a scare tactic. If “medical” marijuana stores are approved by the amendment, it’s going to be real hard to move them. You think it’s hard stopping a Wal-Mart from opening, try stopping these shops. I happened to have worked and still involved in zoning issues in our state. These shops would be technically low impact, need little parking and would be considered medical. I can’t see a reason not to have the stores open in beach areas, tourists spots, downtowns, anywhere you find a hospital. Those municipalities and counties who try to stop the stores based on an element they sell in the store can expect to be sued. This is not a scare tactic. It’s our state’s zoning laws.
Who has the “war chest”? The yes crowd is overflowing with cash. I’m at ground zero in this fight, traveling the state and seeing this everywhere. They have tons of volunteers and paid volunteers, fancy signs, bumper stickers, video setups, etc. I haven’t seen so much money in a campaign except for presidential elections. I doubt we’ll ever see the total raised by the yes crowd, but I would guesstimate it’s in the many tens of millions of dollars.
Speaking of which, John Morgan is also working hard to get Charlie Crist in office. Word is he is angling for some kind of post in the Crist administration. Might it have something to do with “medical” marijuana? I know folks who have known Morgan for a very long time. Even those who like him have few good things to say about him. Anything he is involved with is to be suspect based on that alone.
There’s also false comparison of marijuana and oxycotin and other bad drugs. Use marijuana instead of oxycotin? Two wrongs don’t make a right. There are hundreds of times more people with problems with marijuana than oxycotin. Don’t believe me? I’ll take you to a treatment facility and you can hear it for yourself. Or go find some prostitutes or homeless people. They’ll tell you.
That’s one thing being entirely avoided by the yes crowd. The underbelly of Florida’s economy. it’s there and mostly based in marijuana and it’s not going away. The hope is for this amendment to be foolishly passed and the market will grow, as it has in other states. More buyers or marijuana means more sales of other drugs. It’s a bonanza for the cartels and why shouldn’t it be? They are just a business trying to make money. Get more people accepting the idea of lessening their reasoning abilities with marijuana and they are going to be offered more ways to do it. First one is free. Here, try it. Come back if you want more. Sound familiar?
What’s in it for the “vote no on 2” side? Certainly not the money to be gained if voted in. I am not being paid to write this, in fact I’m actually losing money writing this. 80% of those I know, like me, that are opposed to this are those of us who have had to deal with the addiction issues of friends, family or patients who use marijuana. Many of those on the psychiatric side against this would profit significantly if this is passed. But they understand what will happen if this passes and don’t want to see what they are seeing happen in other states who are passing variations of this amendment. Any of us who have treated or sat in a rehab or addiction meeting know it all starts with marijuana. We know it’s more than a “gateway” drug. It’s a passport by sellers to their full array of even more addictive drugs. They are banking on this passing.
This amendment would be far more acceptable if the words “or other conditions” weren’t explicit in the constitutional amendment. But, it is. The cost to our state would be too great. From “medical” marijuana shops to an explosion of addiction issues. The intent is clear – Legalize marijuana in Florida. This amendment needs to be written with tighter language and less opportunities for lawyers to profit from it.
All of this, and more, is why I’m voting NO on constitutional amendment 2.
End note: As I did with the effort of getting the lottery in and my warning that it was a fraud, I will also do here – I am going to be heralding a “I told you so” as Florida fights back an amendment if it passes. I’ll add you can tell me the same thing if garish “medical” marijuana shops don’t open, if marijuana use in schools does not skyrocket in three years, if treatment centers for addiction is not way up in five years and continues to soar, if lawyers aren’t suing all over the place within the year to get shops open. Those are plenty for people to come and say “I told you so” to me if any of that list doesn’t happen. Since all are already occurring in other states and Florida is one of the major drug distributors now, I suspect I will never hear an “I told you so” from those who vote yes. Do expect to hear it from me.
