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On November 4th, voters will decide if Florida will join 23 other states and District of Columbia in legalizing medical marijuana. There are passionate arguments for and against amendment two. While using marijuana as a medicine may seem odd to some, it was just 77 years ago that that the plant, also known as cannabis, was considered a promising treatment option by the top doctors in America.
To some the 1930's era film Reefer Madness is known as an American propaganda/exploitation film. It's about high school students lured by pushers to try marijuana. The students then experience a series of unfortunate events, including a hit and run accident, manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape, and eventually a descent into madness -- all seemingly caused by marijuana use.
The campaign against marijuana also had racial undertones, something attorney John Morgan -- a supporter the efforts to legalize medical marijuana -- touched on during a February Tiger Bay discussion: "Reefer Madness stood for the prepositions that the negro male would use marijuana to seduce the white woman and that our county would be destroyed because of marijuana. That's the basis for the laws in America today," Morgan says.
Prior to the "Reefer Madness" campaign marijuana was frequently used as medicine. There are references in ancient records going back 2000 years before Christ that detail cultures using cannabis as a medicine. But the film and other public service announcements pushed by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics eventually resulted in multiple laws geared toward prohibiting the plant's use. The efforts culminated in the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which was the first to make possession or transfer of cannabis a crime. The act was passed despite the objection of the American Medical Association (AMA) and efforts from Dr. William C. Woodward, who spoke to congress on behalf of the AMA, saying "There is no evidence that marijuana is a dangerous drug."
He went on to say prohibiting it "loses sight of the fact that future investigation may show that there are substantial medical uses for cannabis." In recent years, the AMA has called for the review of marijuana's classification as a Schedule 1 narcotic, and has called for increased clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines
Those sentiments are being echoed here in Florida. Former Suncoast resident Rene Petra moved to California in order to legally treat her son with medical marijuana. "He had CBD, THC and he hasn't had any seizures, that's number one," she says. "And he's able to function properly or better than he's ever been able to." It is cases like that of Rene's son that led John Morgan to put his name behind the United for Care campaign. The group gathered enough signatures to place a medical marijuana initiative on the November general election ballot.
But as voters get ready to decide whether marijuana becomes legal as a medical treatment option for those with serious diseases or conditions, opponents of Amendment 2 are concerned about the ballot language. "There are significant loopholes in here that provide no safeguards for our communities," says Jessica Spencer with the group No on Amendment 2. She is joined in her fight to defeat the measure by many in the law enforcement community. "I don't want to take anything away from somebody that they believe will help them," she says. "My problem with this amendment is the vagueness and how broad it is." In addition to concerns about the ballot language, Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight says he is also worried about the crime rate.
"That creates a whole extra crime problem for us where it goes underground and people start manufacturing it and selling it because it's cheaper for people to buy because it's not taxed," Sheriff Knight says. "So we will see an huge black market come along with this." "These scare tactics about organized crime and the cartel, it's a fear tactic to make us all shut down because we hear the cartel is here, marijuana is here is on the street," Morgan says.
As voters weigh the pros and cons of medical marijuana, the owner of alt-med, a company approved to provide medical marijuana if amendment two passes says this issue is not about getting high. "This is a medical issue it is a freedom issue, this is about- letting patients get the benefits of- a plant that has been in use for over three-thousand years" said AltMed CEO David Wright. Like all revisions to Florida's constitution, Amendment 2 requires 60 percent of voters to say vote yes for the measure to pass.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Mysuncoast.com
Author: Bobeth Yates
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Debating medical marijuana and Florida's Amendment 2 - Sarasota News | Mysuncoast.com and ABC 7: MySuncoast Health
To some the 1930's era film Reefer Madness is known as an American propaganda/exploitation film. It's about high school students lured by pushers to try marijuana. The students then experience a series of unfortunate events, including a hit and run accident, manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape, and eventually a descent into madness -- all seemingly caused by marijuana use.
The campaign against marijuana also had racial undertones, something attorney John Morgan -- a supporter the efforts to legalize medical marijuana -- touched on during a February Tiger Bay discussion: "Reefer Madness stood for the prepositions that the negro male would use marijuana to seduce the white woman and that our county would be destroyed because of marijuana. That's the basis for the laws in America today," Morgan says.
Prior to the "Reefer Madness" campaign marijuana was frequently used as medicine. There are references in ancient records going back 2000 years before Christ that detail cultures using cannabis as a medicine. But the film and other public service announcements pushed by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics eventually resulted in multiple laws geared toward prohibiting the plant's use. The efforts culminated in the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which was the first to make possession or transfer of cannabis a crime. The act was passed despite the objection of the American Medical Association (AMA) and efforts from Dr. William C. Woodward, who spoke to congress on behalf of the AMA, saying "There is no evidence that marijuana is a dangerous drug."
He went on to say prohibiting it "loses sight of the fact that future investigation may show that there are substantial medical uses for cannabis." In recent years, the AMA has called for the review of marijuana's classification as a Schedule 1 narcotic, and has called for increased clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines
Those sentiments are being echoed here in Florida. Former Suncoast resident Rene Petra moved to California in order to legally treat her son with medical marijuana. "He had CBD, THC and he hasn't had any seizures, that's number one," she says. "And he's able to function properly or better than he's ever been able to." It is cases like that of Rene's son that led John Morgan to put his name behind the United for Care campaign. The group gathered enough signatures to place a medical marijuana initiative on the November general election ballot.
But as voters get ready to decide whether marijuana becomes legal as a medical treatment option for those with serious diseases or conditions, opponents of Amendment 2 are concerned about the ballot language. "There are significant loopholes in here that provide no safeguards for our communities," says Jessica Spencer with the group No on Amendment 2. She is joined in her fight to defeat the measure by many in the law enforcement community. "I don't want to take anything away from somebody that they believe will help them," she says. "My problem with this amendment is the vagueness and how broad it is." In addition to concerns about the ballot language, Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight says he is also worried about the crime rate.
"That creates a whole extra crime problem for us where it goes underground and people start manufacturing it and selling it because it's cheaper for people to buy because it's not taxed," Sheriff Knight says. "So we will see an huge black market come along with this." "These scare tactics about organized crime and the cartel, it's a fear tactic to make us all shut down because we hear the cartel is here, marijuana is here is on the street," Morgan says.
As voters weigh the pros and cons of medical marijuana, the owner of alt-med, a company approved to provide medical marijuana if amendment two passes says this issue is not about getting high. "This is a medical issue it is a freedom issue, this is about- letting patients get the benefits of- a plant that has been in use for over three-thousand years" said AltMed CEO David Wright. Like all revisions to Florida's constitution, Amendment 2 requires 60 percent of voters to say vote yes for the measure to pass.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Mysuncoast.com
Author: Bobeth Yates
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Debating medical marijuana and Florida's Amendment 2 - Sarasota News | Mysuncoast.com and ABC 7: MySuncoast Health
