John Morgan already has the battle cry for his upcoming fight to change Florida’s constitution to legalize medical marijuana.
"I’ll take God’s plant over Big Pharma’s pills," Morgan says.
Morgan, a high-profile Orlando attorney whose firm employs former Florida governor Charlie Crist, says he is willing to pour up to $3 million of his own money into a petition drive to get the issue on the November 2014 ballot.
Morgan is organizing "an army of angels" to gather the 788,000 signatures needed statewide. In his view (and mine too), marijuana is safer, better and more natural than synthetic opioids and painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone, which he says kill thousands through abuse and addiction.
If the petition drive succeeds, the amendment will need 60 percent voter approval to pass.
"Sixty percent could be a problem — it’s a tough hurdle for any initiative," Morgan told me earlier this month.
Morgan says he’s willing to roll the dice because the issue is personal for him. When his father was dying of esophageal cancer and emphysema more than 20 years ago, Morgan said marijuana helped.
"He was in pain, had no appetite," Morgan said. "At that point in life, you don’t have much." As soon as his father tried some pot brownies at his brother’s suggestion, Morgan said his father’s quality of life improved: "He was able to have a nice meal, no anxiety. … It took away the nausea from his treatments."
Medical marijuana is now legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, but the "Just Say No" mentality still prevails in the Florida Legislature. A pair of medical marijuana bills went up in smoke in the 2013 session without even getting one committee hearing. And federal law still bans marijuana for medical use, with pot classified as a dangerous drug akin to heroin and LSD.
Some polls have shown that more than 70 percent of Floridians support legalizing medical marijuana. But Morgan says most politicians are afraid of being labeled soft on drugs. Morgan emphasizes his movement isn’t for full-scale legalization, but for use overseen by a physician for conditions like cancer, Lou Gehrig’s disease and glaucoma.
He has hired Jan Mills, a former Florida House speaker and University of Florida constitutional law professor, to draft the amendment language for the petition and ballot. "We have to make sure it’s bulletproof," Morgan said. He said those interested in volunteering to gather signatures can contact him at JohnMorgan@forthepeople.com.
I asked if this was a way to boost Democratic turnout for the midterm elections and governor’s race. Morgan, a Democrat, said he’s spent a lot of time with President Obama’s top campaign strategists and "they don’t believe [this issue] moves the needle much. … But anybody who turns out for this is compassionate, and I like when polls are filled with compassionate voters."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-medical-marijuana-mayocol-b052813-20130527,0,6784570.column
"Your as mighty as the flower that grows the stones away"
Medical MJ is not a bad thing, but only full legalization is acceptable. No prescription, no registration, no loss of other rights just to use a plant.
Totally agree. But as with anything, little steps come first. The more high profile people (like this) take a stand the better we all be.
Like I said before, the dinosaur had FALLEN, just beware of the trashing of it’s tail as it dies off.
:passing-joint:
"Your as mighty as the flower that grows the stones away"
We gotta lose Obummer first. We need to vote every incumbent out of office, true, but the truly obstructionist ones like Obummer have to go. Only three years to wait I guess…
Romney would of been much worse. Co. and Wa. would never of legalized. Any talk of legalization would of been squashed.
Obama is for legalization. Many in his administration are not.
Just like GitMo – he wants to close it, but the political backlash is enormous.
The election of Obama is one of the milestones in cannabis legalization history.
Regardless of the fat of you like him or not, this is a true fact.
"Your as mighty as the flower that grows the stones away"
This flies in the face of facts. Colorado and Washington changes were seeded way back in the Clinton and Bush eras. I have been a monetary supporter of NORML for decades and I read the newsletters–Obummer is not a friend for stoners, he is a slave to big pharma.
I personally dont have anything against Obummer except for the fact is a is a lying sack of shit. Whatever he might feel personally is irrelevant to what he says publicly for the record. I think Romney would have been the same on drugs, maybe not as much of a lying sack of shit but likely just as stupid and hardline as Obummer.
We really needed Ron Paul.
I liked Ron Paul and voted for him the primaries.
But then al those racist newsletters came out, and his reaction to them was so wrong that it turned me against him.
I believe Obama was boosted immensely by the vote of the medical marijuana movement. He was a heavy pot smoker.
As president, you cannot come out and say "Hey guys, I love weed, I love sex with multiple women and I enjoy taking a mushroom now and then".
you would be laughed out of office.
Get my drift?
Here is direct quote from a Barbara Walters interview:
"This is a tough problem, because Congress has not yet changed the law," Obama said. "I head up the executive branch; we’re supposed to be carrying out laws. And so what we’re going to need to have is a conversation about, How do you reconcile a federal law that still says marijuana is a federal offense and state laws that say that it’s legal?"
That sentence says it all… he is a member of the Executive Branch. There are three branches in American government, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
The leaders of the states wanted a strong and fair national government. But they also wanted to protect individual freedoms and prevent the government from abusing its power. They believed they could do this by having three separate branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. This separation is described in the first three articles, or sections, of the Constitution.
We have a great system of government here in the USA. Doesn’t always work, but thats the beauty of it – you can always change it.
So we need to change the laws, then the EXECUTIVE branch will carry out the law.
It is up to US.
"Your as mighty as the flower that grows the stones away"
Get my drift?
It is up to US.
so true
It feels good to be running from the devil
Another breath and I'm up another level
It feels good to be up above the clouds
It feels good for the first time in a long time now