ORLANDO, Fla. – Medical marijuana is back on Florida’s general election ballot after failing to pass a couple of years ago. 2014’s version of Amendment 2 came up just 2 percent shy of the 60 percent voter approval.
"We promised that last time we'd be back, that we only lost the battle not the war so we're coming back here in 2016 to finish the battle and win the war," attorney John Morgan told News 6 in January.
"If we can pass this, 400,000 really sick and terminally ill people will benefit day one." But while Morgan and his political dollars support the push (he’s invested millions in both the 2014 and 2016 campaigns), others have taken a more cautionary approach.
“Easing the suffering of more seriously ill Floridians by further expanding the availability of marijuana would be a welcome and compassionate move. It's the right policy, but the Constitution is the wrong place to do it,” the Orlando Sentinel editorial board wrote.
In 2014 the Tampa Bay Times editorial board recommended against voting yes on Amendment 2, but the board has different thoughts on the revised amendment on the 2016 ballot.
“Amendment 2 is a compassionate response to people in pain. State lawmakers have been given time, but have failed to adequately address this issue, leaving voters with no other option but to legalize medical marijuana,” the Tampa Bay Times editorial board wrote.
[MORE: News 6 2016 election guide]
Florida’s current marijuana law, the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act (also known as Charlotte’s Web), was passed in June 2014 and allows patients registered under the compassionate use registry to use low-THC cannabis. This means a patient who has seizures or cancer is eligible, with a doctor’s consent, to use a very specific type of marijuana as a treatment option.
According to the Florida Department of Health, low-THC cannabis does not produce the “high” commonly associated with smoking marijuana. The patient however is not allowed to grow the low-THC cannabis themselves, but can get the marijuana from an approved dispensary.
2016’s Amendment 2 has been revised and rewritten to include the expanded definition of debilitating conditions: cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, PTSD, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, or any other condition that is comparable.
It states “a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient.” The new initiative designates which caregivers would be approved to dispense medication and requires the Department of Health to issue an identification card to qualified patients.
The new ballot measure also said that minors must receive written consent from their parent or guardian for use of medical marijuana. Anyone under the age of 18 can participate in the state program, with parental permission and approval of not one, but two doctors.
If you can find one.
And once you do get that prescription, your choices of where to get medical marijuana are pretty slim. Of Florida’s 67 counties, medical marijuana is available at only six dispensaries spread across Alachua, Gadsden, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade and Orange counties.