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Medical Marijuana Signatures Top 540K Of 683K Needed
January 22, 2014
With a surge of petitions before a February 1 deadline, backers of a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana had submitted 542,211 valid signatures to the state as of mid-day Tuesday, according to the Florida Division of Elections website.
People United for Medical Marijuana must reach 683,149 valid signatures by Feb. 1 to get the proposal on the November ballot.
The group also still needs Florida Supreme Court approval of the proposed ballot wording, which has drawn opposition from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Republican legislative leaders. Gov. Rick Scott also maintained his opposition Tuesday to legalization.
“I’ve said all along I’m against illegal drug use,” Scott told reporters after an appearance in Tallahassee. “I’ve watched how it impacts families. The attorney general gave her best advice to the Supreme Court.”
Comments
18 Responses to “Medical Marijuana Signatures Top 540K Of 683K Needed”
It looks like the people that do not want MMJ in Forida is up for reelection.
Do you think that if they stop the bill from being on the ballot this year (2014).
that they will be reelected …..WE THE PEOPLE DO NOT THINK SO…They will be looking for a new JOB….
Scott has overstayed his use time for Crist to take another go.
Well, Colorado has had legalized pot for almost 3 weeks now…No rise in deaths ,or crime, no rush to plant fields of pot…(well maybe this spring)there are legal issues that lawmakers did not take into account and those issues are currently biting the lawmakers on their butt. If Florida legalizes pot then I hope they have all their ducks in a row before they do.
Scott and Bondi need to GO!!!
First of all I have smoked marijuana for over thirty years. I don’t steel from anyone. I have held a job all of my adult life including 4 years in the military. In almost thirty years I may have missed thirty days sick time. marijuana is not a drug it is a herb that the good lord himself put on this earth, @ mike j. I don’t know what drug or drugs the guy was on that hit your step mother but marijuana does not make you hallucinate. I also agree with fingers crossed if you have ever been drunk then you have experienced something a lot worse than marijuana. @ Bob all medical marijuana isn’t smoked you can get it in a pill form or it can be vaporized. As Shawn R. said, people come out of the dark ages. most of the crap you were taught about marijuana when you were young is just that crap. I don’t need medical marijuana myself but I very much support the legalization of it. OH yeah next election lets vote Scott out.
I would love it if people would research issues before regurgitating outdated misinformation.
-Morphine, Cocaine and Methamphetamines are given to patients in need by doctors. Plus, many of today’s drugs came from plants.
-There will always be people who abuse drugs and alcohol, and while it doesn’t excuse them, they are most likely already doing it, despite the illegality of pot. However, some states (ELEVEN) have seen a decrease in teen pot use since they allowed the medicinal stuff:
“19 states and Washington, D.C. currently provide legal access and protection under state law for seriously ill patients whose doctors recommend the medical use of marijuana. Generally, these laws are working well and providing patients with relief and protection from arrest. Since 1996, when the first effective medical marijuana law passed, data have shown that concerns about these laws increasing youth marijuana use are unfounded: Of the 15 states with available before-and-after data, none have reported statistically significant increases in teen marijuana use. In fact, 11 have reported decreases.”
p.s. @Bob – Iget what you’re saying, but you don’t smoke a pack of joints (or more) a day like people who smoke cigarettes, it would be more like a couple of puffs a few times a day, so I think that’s like comparing apples to oranges. Just my opinion tho. I have no science to back that up, at the moment. And from what I’ve found, the law would not allow one to “burn a blunt” outside of the home.
@Mike J.
I’m sorry about what happened to your Mother In Law, but you need to understand that if the driver was actually hallucinating and believed he saw an angel, that this was not the fault of marijuana. Marijuana does not cause actual hallucinations. Most likely he was taking another drug along with it; possibly it was laced with an actual hallucinogen(An issue which can be avoided by actually regulating its growth and sales). If he actually only ingested marijuana, then he was psychotic and was bound to have an episode at some point without proper attention – And it’s unfortunate that it was behind the wheel of a car.
And regardless of whether or not smoking marijuana impairs the skills of drivers, please consider this : All of the stoners who are going to get medical licenses purely for recreational use – They are already smoking. Making it medically legal is not going to suddenly create a bunch of new potheads taking advantage of it. The stuff is readily available on street corners. The biggest difference will be that they won’t be thrown into prison where most first time offenders learn how to be real criminals.
Of course he is in opposition of it. He hasn’t watched his family slowly starve to death unable to eat from chemotherapy..and his grandmother can afford the finest treatment for her glaucoma. I’ve watched family members die from poor nutrition while receiving chemo for cancer…I know if marijuiana had been precribed they may have had a fighting chance. But without nutrition the chemo kills you before the cancer does. Its crazy to be ok with high doses of oxycontin and xanax..because its “legal”…when you have something with almost no side effects that would serve the purpose. And he says he’s against “illegal drug use” well…then make it legal..and see how much better this state would be!
Ok, so it’s awful and dangerous to smoke cigarettes but smoking weed is ok? What about the health concearns from inhaling smoke? What about second hand smoke? Can I smoke weed anywhere I please? Can I fire up a blunt in a restaurant if my back stats hurting? Is all of that now ignored since it’s weed and not the evil tobacco?
My feelings were changed on this subject when news reported on several cases of young children having seizures — some dozens per day — that were relieved by “Charlotte’s Web” a strain of the drug.
There are many medical benefits for cancer patients as it can increase their appetite and help them maintain body weight and nutrition that the cancer medications suppress.
Glaucoma patients have long had relief from the effects of marijuana.
I think that before someone jumps onto the town stump to protest this they should ask one question, “If my child or my loved one — or myself — was ill and suffering and nothing else worked for them would I want marijuana treatments?”
I am not advocating that one should be able to walk into the local convenience store and buy a baggie of recreational pot along with their 12 pack of beer and pack of cigarettes which are of course legally taxed.
But I do feel that if a person’s quality of life, or life itself, can be improved through the use of medical marijuana then it should be not only allowed but should be a moral requirement.
And for the record, I do not “smoke the stuff” yet would not hesitate to put my name on the ballot because I believe that folks like AG Smith, Polly Ann, Shawn and others have a right to access anything that will help make them well or relieve their symptoms and suffering.
I do not believe God put us here to suffer and be in pain nor should we have to stand by helplessly when our loved ones are in distress because an aid is “illegal”….if there is a solution it should be explored. Will get off my soapbox now.
I will NEVER support this issue and I DO HAVE chronic pain in my legs all the time that doctors have not been able to solve. Do we want more people driving “under the influence”? We already have alcohol and prescription drugs causing driver impairment. Medical marijuana will add to the troubles of the driving public. More people will be injured and killed in traffic accidents that could have been avoided. Yes, many people will invent ailments and convince doctors to prescribe it so that they can get legally high on the stuff. It WILL happen!
@ShawnR, my Dad’s wife (step-mother) was almost killed by a guy who was high on pot and was hallucinating about an “angel” on the hood of his car, so he intentionally rammed his car into her car hard enough to break the seat mounts and injure her badly. Her sternum was cracked, her body bruised, and car totalled all because of a guy who was high and should not have been driving. So YES you people out there will try to drive with medical marijunana in your system and will get other people hurt or killed. That will be repeated all over Florida.
Maybe it would help my medical problem, but I’m not going to be SELFISH and have that also risk the lives of everyone else.
And that’s MY opinion! Have a nice day!
If Florida follows what Colorado has done the amount of money generated by medical and recreational marijuana plus the lottery would be insane. There is absolutely nothing wrong with marijuana other than the gangs and violence that go along with its distribution.
I think if a person that is against it and has never tried it were to try it they would change there perspective on the HERB.
If you have ever been drunk then you have experienced something worse than marijuana.
Scott will use all the dirty tricks possible to keep this from passing, lets not forget his wife owns a major drug testing facility.
This is funny, now they have the names of everyone who smokes the stuff.
It’s time for people to come out of the dark ages and get unbrainwashed from all the propaganda perpetuated since the end of prohibition. It’s also time for the conservatives in this Bible belt to quit making people suffer because of their conservative ideals. More people die every year from pain medication than heroin and cocaine combined… People who have died from Marijuana? ZERO, and if you say you know someone who did, get it on medical record with a prestigious medical school because its NEVER been documented or proven to cause a death. It helps more medically on NUMEROUS conditions than any one pill does.
Wise up, get educated and help your fellow man and this planet.
I think it be pass because it could alot men and woman with med. Need! It prove fact that with ur eyes what can esle could it help!!
Medical Marijuana Signatures Top 540K Of 683K Needed
January 22, 2014
Yay.
Now, let’s hope we can get the ballot initiative language squared away so that the ISSUE can be PUT TO A VOTE by the PEOPLE.
Works for me.
I have a spinal cord and nerve root damage. I have been told it may help. I THINK IT SHOULD BE available- legally..in order for me to find out. I AM unable to use the
Prescriptions, that are normally given .. I am willing to try it, if you will please pass this petition..and make it legal. I HAVE DONE studies, and spoken to others who say it does help. Thank you!