Florida House Panel: Not All Marijuana The Same

March 6, 2014

With just one “no” vote, a Florida House panel signed off on a measure Wednesday that would legalize a strain of non-euphoric marijuana used to treat children wracked by potentially deadly seizures.

House Criminal Justice Chairman Matt Gaetz, the sponsor of the bill known as “Charlotte’s Web,” called the bipartisan support historic because it’s the first time in modern history that the Florida Legislature has advanced any marijuana-related measure.

“That’s because people here in Tallahassee have realized that we can’t just have a bumper-sticker approach to marijuana where you’re either for it or against it. Not all marijuana is created equally. Here, this strain of marijuana can do a lot of good and has a very low likelihood of abuse,” Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said.

Gaetz’s subcommittee approved the proposal (HB 843) after nearly an hour of testimony from parents and other advocates who believe the strain of marijuana called “Charlotte’s Web” can dramatically reduce seizures in children with a rare form of epilepsy.

Some Republican leaders, including Gaetz’s father, Senate President Don Gaetz, have galvanized support around the Charlotte’s Web measure as an alternative to a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow doctors to write prescriptions for marijuana. Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan, also the boss of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, is pushing the ballot initiative, which will go before voters in November.

Under the proposal approved Wednesday, strains of marijuana that contain .8 percent or less of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component in marijuana, and more than 10 percent of the derivative cannabidiol, or CBD, would be legal, along with the seeds of the plant. Supporters of the proposal say the amount of THC in Charlotte’s Web, which is not smoked but is ingested as an oil or paste, is not enough to get users high. The proposal also includes $1 million for research on the substance.

Peyton and Holley Moseley’s 10-year-old adopted daughter RayAnn is one of about 125,000 Florida children diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that can cause hundreds of seizures a day and does not respond to other treatments. The couple said they traveled to Colorado, where Charlotte’s Web is manufactured, and met with parents of other children who had responded to the treatment.

“These kids can walk now. These kids can talk now. These kids are saying ‘I love you’ to their parents for the first time,” Peyton Moseley told the panel.

The Florida Sheriffs Association is also backing the measure, which was amended on Wednesday to put the burden on people who are arrested or investigated to prove that the drugs they are holding meet the THC and CBD levels laid out in the bill.

Questioned by his colleagues about enforcement issues, Matt Gaetz said he hoped that state attorneys and other officials would not bring charges against growers and manufacturers or the physicians who distribute the substance to their patients.

But lobbyist Louis Rotundo, who represents a newly formed coalition of businesses and land owners interested in Charlotte’s Web, said the bill as passed poses problems for potential growers and suppliers.

“Frankly, telling me that it’s at the discretion of my state attorney or my sheriff, good men and women that they may be, leaves me a little queasy. I don’t think that you get a loan from a bank on a situation like that,” Rotundo said.

Rep. Gayle Harrell cast the only vote against the measure after asking a series of questions highlighting concerns about a lack of regulation over the substance, especially compared to other drugs.

“If you really want to solve a problem and just not legalize marijuana then you need to do it appropriately,” Harrell, R-Stuart, said.

But Rep. Dave Hood, R-Daytona Beach Shores, argued the bill is a “no-brainer” and implied that it does not go far enough to help cancer survivors like himself whom studies show can benefit from traditional medical marijuana.

“It is absolutely an abomination … for us to continue to have unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious rules that relate to marijuana,” said Hood, a lawyer.

The measure has two more committee appearances before heading to the House floor. A Senate companion (SB 1030) has not yet had a committee hearing.

by Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida

Comments

9 Responses to “Florida House Panel: Not All Marijuana The Same”

  1. Floridian Caregiver on April 8th, 2014 3:45 pm

    They included the burden of proof for the accused at the last minute to create a no-win situation. Govt. does not represent the people, they CYA and represent big money.
    Now that the limits have been dropped for contributions to those running for an office, good luck getting any support for the little guys.
    Wake up America! Ethics, rights, freedoms – sold out.

  2. William on March 8th, 2014 6:45 pm

    The liberals know if they ever get it passed it will never get repealed. The pot smokers do to. I guess 95% of the people who post in favor of legalization have never owned a business and have never tried to keep a workers compensation policy intact. When people work for you that use illegal drugs they come to work wearing sun shades and every thing else to try and hide it. They cheat any way they can to keep a job in which illegal drugs are a definite hazard. The small businesses of today have enough trouble staying afloat in this terrible economy and all it takes is 1 accident to get them kicked out of some of the contracts they hold. The business owner takes all the financial risks including their credit and their standing in the community and all it takes is 1 person coming to work high and not in their full capacity to create havoc for the small business owner! Now who are the selfish one’s? The business owner providing a job and trying to better himself or the drug user who just wants another high?

  3. perdido fisherman on March 7th, 2014 9:56 pm

    Some people need to educate themselves before spewing propaganda, marijuana has many beneficial uses as medicine, it has been demonized by certain industries who do not want to see real medicine available to the American people, these same industries would rather you take a medicine that has side effects that cause people to need more of thier medicine that causes side effects.

    Try doing some research on your own before deciding this plant is so evil no one should have it. Israel has used marijuana for over forty years with great success healing many many ailements and diseases.

    The American people have been lied to in order for certain companies and agencies to maximize profits and they will say and do anything to keep this plant from being legal. Have you ever wondered why only one side of the arguement is ever published? If not, maybe that is a question you should be asking.

    It is not only druggies who want this plant legalized, there are a great number of people who are suffering that what the chance to see if they can have some relief and comfort from this plant. There are educated people who want to prove the benefits of the medicine this plant can provide to sick people. so give it a chance.

  4. citizen on March 7th, 2014 5:01 pm

    This is good news, I’m glad to see logic prevailed and hopefully people with medical needs can at least have something new to try and help. Its great we have finally reached this point , and i hope it continues.

  5. Ben Thar on March 7th, 2014 1:54 pm

    If you’re arrested for possessing something completely legal, the burden is on you to prove it’s legal?

  6. randy on March 7th, 2014 8:08 am

    pot is dope .. all bad

  7. William 2 on March 6th, 2014 8:42 pm

    I am proud of the Florida legislature on this one!! They made the right decision here! They voted with wisdom and looked out for all Floridians instead of the ones crying to get high! Some people never grow up!

  8. scott on March 6th, 2014 2:50 pm

    I think less and less of our elected officials everyday. There is an identical volume of research on THC as CBD. This just makes me certain I won’t be voting for anybody in the next election cycle. If you accept some science, you should be able to accept all of it. Enough of these fools.

  9. 429SCJ on March 6th, 2014 5:54 am

    “Not all marijuana the same”. I agree, some is better than others.

    I remember 1976 my senior year of high school, then democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter was talking legalization. It is 2014 and here we are 38 years later.

    ?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News