Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Winter Haven - If you're a regular viewer of a certain evening game show, you might want to buy the vowel "A," which appears thrice in the word "marijuana."
With the return of a proposed state constitutional amendment allowing the medical use of marijuana, Floridians can expect to see a flurry of TV commercials airing during programs that generally draw older viewers.
"We're going to run more ads on 'Wheel of Fortune,'" said Ben Pollara, campaign director of United for Care, when asked about the strategy to sway seniors on Amendment 2. "Honestly, that's a flip answer, but it's somewhat true."
Whether the measure, a revised version of one that failed in 2014, reaches the 60 percent approval threshold in round two might hinge on whether it gains more support from voters 65 and older. The measure will be on the ballot for the Nov. 8 general election.
The 2014 proposal, also designated Amendment 2, gained approval from 57.62 percent of Florida voters - a solid majority but not the "supermajority" required for passage of constitutional amendments.
The amendment drew only 38 percent approval in the 65-and-older category. It hit or surpassed 60 percent in every other age category: 79 percent in the 18-to-29 group, 65 percent for ages 30-to-44 and 60 percent for ages 45-to-64.
Those numbers suggest that a modest gain among seniors would make passage of the amendment likely in 2016.
"When you look at the numbers, it seems like it ought to be easier to go from 40 (percent) to 45 percent among an age group than to go from 60 (percent) to 65 percent among another group," said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida.
The new Amendment 2 is a modified version of the 2014 proposal. Proponents say changes address criticisms about loopholes in the original version that would have, for example, made it too easy for residents to feign ailments and get the drug.
Pollara said United for Care, the political group created and heavily funded by Orlando lawyer John Morgan, ran only one TV commercial aimed at seniors in the 2014 campaign. Morgan used advertising time already purchased for his law firm to run additional commercials, but those didn't specifically target older voters, Pollara said.
Pollara said both sides on the Amendment 2 campaign understand the importance of the senior vote.
"We may have different pollsters, but public opinion is public opinion and seniors start out as the least supportive group and they're one of the most persuadable to oppose medical marijuana," Pollara said. "The difference between 2014 and 2016 is we're going to spend considerably more money on TV ads targeted to seniors."
Overall, the No On 2 campaign spent approximately three times more on advertising than United for Care in 2014, Pollara said. The opposition campaign drew $5.5 million in contributions from Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
That advantage should be smaller this year. Having established a network of supporters in 2014, United for Care didn't need to spend as much money this time on gathering signatures to place the measure on the ballot.
And, Pollara said, the draw of a presidential election means his group won't need to spend nearly $1 million on get-out-the-vote efforts, as it did in 2014.
Jewett said older voters are generally inclined to vote against changes to laws covering the use of marijuana. He said many seniors were skeptical about the intent of the 2014 proposal, dismissing talk of medicinal use of marijuana as a pretense for allowing recreational smoking of the drug, federally listed in the same category as heroin and LSD.
"For a lot of people that are over 65, basically they've been taught their whole life that marijuana is bad, it's a drug that's illegal for a reason, and to them it just seems like a very foreign concept to now say, 'Oh, well, not only is it not bad but it actually can be good; it can be medicinal,'" Jewett said.
Christina Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Vote No On 2 campaign, downplayed any notion that the campaign plans to rely on senior voters to stop the amendment again.
"We'll be sending our message out to all Floridians that this is nothing more than legalized marijuana; this is not medical marijuana, as the other side would have you believe," Johnson said. "We are going to be sending our message out to all voters of every age, every demographic, and we know this message will resonate across the board."
Senior support
Opposition to medical marijuana isn't universal among older voters. Some of the clients at the Winter Haven Senior Adult Center on a recent morning expressed either conditional or full support for Amendment 2.
"I would like them to legalize it for the main reason it's good healthwise," Roumoul Nicholas, 69, said during a break from the card game Kings in the Corner.
Nicholas, an Eagle Lake resident, hails from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. He said many Trinidadians use marijuana soaked in vodka as a health tonic.
Nicholas said he voted for Amendment 2 in 2014 and will do so again this year. But he acknowledged that he doesn't know many people his age who support the measure.
S. Abdul-Matin, a retired nurse, said she favors full legalization of marijuana.
Abdul-Matin, 71, said her father, who died in 2008, could have benefited from using marijuana to ease the symptoms of emphysema. She said her father's doctor suggested using marijuana, but it wasn't legal at the time in New York, where he lived.
"It helps with chemotherapy," Abdul-Matin said. "It helps with nausea; it helps with other kinds of breathing difficulties. It also helps with anxiety. People need to be helped - young people, old people. People need to be helped. I will vote for it again until they pass it."
Abdul-Matin, a Winter Haven resident, said she knows "quite a few" other seniors who voted for Amendment 2 in 2014. She said she also changed the minds of two cousins who initially opposed the measure.
Shirley Gross of Winter Haven voted against the original Amendment 2. Gross, 81, seemed undecided about the revised measure.
"My husband and I, we definitely feel that medically speaking it's a necessity," Gross said. "However, we do not feel it should be in the smoking (form). It should be given from pills or whatever in a doctor's office, where it's more controlled. Once they come with the smoking kind, we know from over the years they're going to abuse it."
Lani Buttrey of Winter Haven said he wonders whether medical marijuana could provide relief for his wife, Elaine, who has Parkinson's disease.
"If it would help her, I would go for it," said Buttrey, 76.
He said his wife also has arthritis in her knee and back, and takes prescription painkillers. He said he's heard marijuana might be a better option.
Buttrey said he didn't vote in the 2014 general election but plans to vote this year. Does he think many seniors who opposed Amendment 2 last time might change their minds?
"I think if they would see it's helping our age group, I think they'd be for it," he said. "I think it should have been legal a long time ago. ... It's from a plant; it's something that grows."
At 60, Fran Pullin of Lake Alfred was younger than most if not all of her peers at the Senior Adult Center. As she prepared for a round of bingo, Pullin said her opinion on medical marijuana has entirely flipped since 2014.
Pullin, a registered nurse pursuing a graduate degree, said she wrote a class paper two years ago arguing against passage of Amendment 2.
"The key thing is back then I was 100 percent against it," she said. "I think it was ignorance on my part."
Since 2014, Pullin said, she has learned more about the benefits of medical marijuana.
"I think you just have to open your mind to other options, but I do believe it has to be regulated," she said. "It can't be abused."
More acceptance?
The passage of two years alone might benefit backers of Amendment 2. Florida's voters, whatever their ages, have had time to grow accustomed to the concept of marijuana as medicine.
"On almost any controversial change that's happened, the more people talk about it, the more they get used to it and think of it as quote-unquote 'normal,' the more likely they are to accept it," Jewett said. "Whether that's gay rights and gay marriage or medical marijuana, I think the same general principle applies."
Pollara, the United for Care director, also cited the trend toward decriminalization of marijuana possession as a harbinger of success. Several cities and counties in Florida - including West Palm Beach, Volusia County and Tampa – have passed ordinances allowing law-enforcement officers to issue civil fines rather than making arrests for small-scale marijuana possession.
"That doesn't have any straight line toward medical marijuana, but I think it's a big acknowledgement from elected leaders who in past have been behind the curve on medical marijuana that this issue is moving forward and needs to be moved forward," Pollara said. "I think it's something that makes people more comfortable with the entire notion."
Jewett said support for medical marijuana among seniors is likely to grow as baby boomers, who grew up in an era more tolerant of drug use, blend into the demographic.
"With that generational replacement, that might help the Yes on 2 folks because as we start getting more and more into the baby boom generation, then all of the sudden marijuana is something that has always been around and something a lot of people use and is maybe not so foreign," Jewett said. "If they lose again, all John Morgan has do is wait another two, four, six years."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Amendment's Allies To Target Seniors In Florida
Author: Gary White
Contact: (888) 431-7323
Photo Credit: Rachel Leingang
Website: The Ledger
With the return of a proposed state constitutional amendment allowing the medical use of marijuana, Floridians can expect to see a flurry of TV commercials airing during programs that generally draw older viewers.
"We're going to run more ads on 'Wheel of Fortune,'" said Ben Pollara, campaign director of United for Care, when asked about the strategy to sway seniors on Amendment 2. "Honestly, that's a flip answer, but it's somewhat true."
Whether the measure, a revised version of one that failed in 2014, reaches the 60 percent approval threshold in round two might hinge on whether it gains more support from voters 65 and older. The measure will be on the ballot for the Nov. 8 general election.
The 2014 proposal, also designated Amendment 2, gained approval from 57.62 percent of Florida voters - a solid majority but not the "supermajority" required for passage of constitutional amendments.
The amendment drew only 38 percent approval in the 65-and-older category. It hit or surpassed 60 percent in every other age category: 79 percent in the 18-to-29 group, 65 percent for ages 30-to-44 and 60 percent for ages 45-to-64.
Those numbers suggest that a modest gain among seniors would make passage of the amendment likely in 2016.
"When you look at the numbers, it seems like it ought to be easier to go from 40 (percent) to 45 percent among an age group than to go from 60 (percent) to 65 percent among another group," said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida.
The new Amendment 2 is a modified version of the 2014 proposal. Proponents say changes address criticisms about loopholes in the original version that would have, for example, made it too easy for residents to feign ailments and get the drug.
Pollara said United for Care, the political group created and heavily funded by Orlando lawyer John Morgan, ran only one TV commercial aimed at seniors in the 2014 campaign. Morgan used advertising time already purchased for his law firm to run additional commercials, but those didn't specifically target older voters, Pollara said.
Pollara said both sides on the Amendment 2 campaign understand the importance of the senior vote.
"We may have different pollsters, but public opinion is public opinion and seniors start out as the least supportive group and they're one of the most persuadable to oppose medical marijuana," Pollara said. "The difference between 2014 and 2016 is we're going to spend considerably more money on TV ads targeted to seniors."
Overall, the No On 2 campaign spent approximately three times more on advertising than United for Care in 2014, Pollara said. The opposition campaign drew $5.5 million in contributions from Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
That advantage should be smaller this year. Having established a network of supporters in 2014, United for Care didn't need to spend as much money this time on gathering signatures to place the measure on the ballot.
And, Pollara said, the draw of a presidential election means his group won't need to spend nearly $1 million on get-out-the-vote efforts, as it did in 2014.
Jewett said older voters are generally inclined to vote against changes to laws covering the use of marijuana. He said many seniors were skeptical about the intent of the 2014 proposal, dismissing talk of medicinal use of marijuana as a pretense for allowing recreational smoking of the drug, federally listed in the same category as heroin and LSD.
"For a lot of people that are over 65, basically they've been taught their whole life that marijuana is bad, it's a drug that's illegal for a reason, and to them it just seems like a very foreign concept to now say, 'Oh, well, not only is it not bad but it actually can be good; it can be medicinal,'" Jewett said.
Christina Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Vote No On 2 campaign, downplayed any notion that the campaign plans to rely on senior voters to stop the amendment again.
"We'll be sending our message out to all Floridians that this is nothing more than legalized marijuana; this is not medical marijuana, as the other side would have you believe," Johnson said. "We are going to be sending our message out to all voters of every age, every demographic, and we know this message will resonate across the board."
Senior support
Opposition to medical marijuana isn't universal among older voters. Some of the clients at the Winter Haven Senior Adult Center on a recent morning expressed either conditional or full support for Amendment 2.
"I would like them to legalize it for the main reason it's good healthwise," Roumoul Nicholas, 69, said during a break from the card game Kings in the Corner.
Nicholas, an Eagle Lake resident, hails from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. He said many Trinidadians use marijuana soaked in vodka as a health tonic.
Nicholas said he voted for Amendment 2 in 2014 and will do so again this year. But he acknowledged that he doesn't know many people his age who support the measure.
S. Abdul-Matin, a retired nurse, said she favors full legalization of marijuana.
Abdul-Matin, 71, said her father, who died in 2008, could have benefited from using marijuana to ease the symptoms of emphysema. She said her father's doctor suggested using marijuana, but it wasn't legal at the time in New York, where he lived.
"It helps with chemotherapy," Abdul-Matin said. "It helps with nausea; it helps with other kinds of breathing difficulties. It also helps with anxiety. People need to be helped - young people, old people. People need to be helped. I will vote for it again until they pass it."
Abdul-Matin, a Winter Haven resident, said she knows "quite a few" other seniors who voted for Amendment 2 in 2014. She said she also changed the minds of two cousins who initially opposed the measure.
Shirley Gross of Winter Haven voted against the original Amendment 2. Gross, 81, seemed undecided about the revised measure.
"My husband and I, we definitely feel that medically speaking it's a necessity," Gross said. "However, we do not feel it should be in the smoking (form). It should be given from pills or whatever in a doctor's office, where it's more controlled. Once they come with the smoking kind, we know from over the years they're going to abuse it."
Lani Buttrey of Winter Haven said he wonders whether medical marijuana could provide relief for his wife, Elaine, who has Parkinson's disease.
"If it would help her, I would go for it," said Buttrey, 76.
He said his wife also has arthritis in her knee and back, and takes prescription painkillers. He said he's heard marijuana might be a better option.
Buttrey said he didn't vote in the 2014 general election but plans to vote this year. Does he think many seniors who opposed Amendment 2 last time might change their minds?
"I think if they would see it's helping our age group, I think they'd be for it," he said. "I think it should have been legal a long time ago. ... It's from a plant; it's something that grows."
At 60, Fran Pullin of Lake Alfred was younger than most if not all of her peers at the Senior Adult Center. As she prepared for a round of bingo, Pullin said her opinion on medical marijuana has entirely flipped since 2014.
Pullin, a registered nurse pursuing a graduate degree, said she wrote a class paper two years ago arguing against passage of Amendment 2.
"The key thing is back then I was 100 percent against it," she said. "I think it was ignorance on my part."
Since 2014, Pullin said, she has learned more about the benefits of medical marijuana.
"I think you just have to open your mind to other options, but I do believe it has to be regulated," she said. "It can't be abused."
More acceptance?
The passage of two years alone might benefit backers of Amendment 2. Florida's voters, whatever their ages, have had time to grow accustomed to the concept of marijuana as medicine.
"On almost any controversial change that's happened, the more people talk about it, the more they get used to it and think of it as quote-unquote 'normal,' the more likely they are to accept it," Jewett said. "Whether that's gay rights and gay marriage or medical marijuana, I think the same general principle applies."
Pollara, the United for Care director, also cited the trend toward decriminalization of marijuana possession as a harbinger of success. Several cities and counties in Florida - including West Palm Beach, Volusia County and Tampa – have passed ordinances allowing law-enforcement officers to issue civil fines rather than making arrests for small-scale marijuana possession.
"That doesn't have any straight line toward medical marijuana, but I think it's a big acknowledgement from elected leaders who in past have been behind the curve on medical marijuana that this issue is moving forward and needs to be moved forward," Pollara said. "I think it's something that makes people more comfortable with the entire notion."
Jewett said support for medical marijuana among seniors is likely to grow as baby boomers, who grew up in an era more tolerant of drug use, blend into the demographic.
"With that generational replacement, that might help the Yes on 2 folks because as we start getting more and more into the baby boom generation, then all of the sudden marijuana is something that has always been around and something a lot of people use and is maybe not so foreign," Jewett said. "If they lose again, all John Morgan has do is wait another two, four, six years."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Amendment's Allies To Target Seniors In Florida
Author: Gary White
Contact: (888) 431-7323
Photo Credit: Rachel Leingang
Website: The Ledger
