Florida: Medical Marijuana Supporters Are Back With New Petitions

[Jacob Redmond]

Give these weed fans some credit: they're not quitting. In the 2014 election, Florida voters came painfully close to pushing forward a constitutional amendment that would have legalized medicinal cannabis use across the state; it fell short by just two percentage points.. But as promised, legalization proponents are back with a new petition. They've also begun refilling the war chest with campaign contributions. All this is happening as cities and counties across the state are considering their own de-criminalization efforts.

There are actually two petitions circling right now. One is being proposed by the Florida Organization of Reform. This petition, titled the Cannabis as a Dietary Supplement for Personal and Medical Use; Funding for Teacher Salaries Act, is pretty self-explanatory – under the fine print of the proposal, legalized cannabis sales for anyone 21 years-old and up would be subject to a 10 percent sales tax.

"This tax may be lowered but not raised above 10%, with revenue strictly and evenly dispersed amongst public school teacher salaries," the proposal reads. "The intent of this revenue is to immediately, constantly, and aggressively increase salary pay of current public teachers. No more than 25% of revenue can be used for new teacher hires in a given year."

The second petition is being pushed by some familiar characters. People United for Medical Marijuana successfully gathered signatures for the petition that eventually made it's way onto the 2014 ballot. The same group is trying again for 2016 with its latest petition.

This group, spearheaded by Orlando super lawyer John Morgan, is already pocketing significant contributions. The Tampa Bay Times reports that in June, the group raised $293,000 in contributions. $233,000 of that came from Morgan's own law firm; Coral Gables philanthropist Barbara Stiefel, a major backer of the 2012 initiative, also forked over $40,000 in June.

At this point, for either proposal to get off the ground, the key now is collecting the ol' John Hancocks. A proposal needs around $680,000 signatures before it can be submitted to the Florida Supreme Court for review, the crucial step before landing on the ballot.

News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Legalization Backers Are Back with a New Petition Drive | New Times Broward-Palm Beach
Author: Kyle Swenson
Contact: Broward/Palm Beach News and Events | New Times Broward-Palm Beach
Photo Credit: A7nubis via Wikimedia
Website: Broward/Palm Beach News and Events | New Times Broward-Palm Beach

 

[Happy Hemper]

This is the first that I have heard of the Dietary Supplement for Personal and Medical Use; Funding for Teacher Salaries Act and if this is the first that I have then you can bet most citizens have not. Their facebook page is that of the sponsoring organization "Florida Organization of Reform" and a link to the petition is there. You can also download the petition by a google search for "Dietary Supplement for Personal and Medical Use; Funding for Teacher Salaries Act" the first link returned should be titled "CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PETITION FORM" so download the form, fill it out and mail it in. This latest petition is far more liberal than the one from People United for Medical Marijuana and it would be great if we could get it on the ballot too and fantastic if we could get it passed.

 

[Going Down]

 

[Going Down]

Happy Hemp, thanks for the heads up! I'm on board! Sounds like a great idea to get all of the teachers on board! Keep in touch!