Florida Smokable Medical Marijuana Issue May Be On Hold
June 19, 2018
In a widely expected move, an appellate court Monday refused to lift a stay on a Tallahassee judge’s ruling that would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana if their doctors approve it.
The 1st District Court of Appeal’s decision means that patients will continue to be barred from legally smoking medical marijuana for the foreseeable future — at least until the appellate court issues a final ruling on the merits of the case.
Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers last month sided with Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan and a group of plaintiffs who filed a legal challenge after the Legislature included a ban on smoking in a 2017 law carrying out a constitutional amendment broadly legalizing medical marijuana.
Gievers agreed that the text of the constitutional amendment, approved by 72 percent of Floridians in 2016, allows patients to use any form of marijuana as their treatment.
Health officials, who argued that the amendment did not expressly authorize smoking and that the state had broad leeway to regulate medical marijuana use, immediately filed an appeal, which put an automatic stay on Gievers’ May 25 ruling.
On June 6, Gievers vacated the stay, prompting the state to ask the appellate court to keep it in place. The court sided with the state on Monday, saying that Gievers’ order vacating the stay was “quashed” and that the hold “shall remain in effect pending final disposition of the merits of this appeal.”
Whether patients should be able to smoke marijuana if their doctors recommend it has set off a partisan firestorm, with Morgan — a political rainmaker and registered Democrat who largely bankrolled the 2016 constitutional amendment — stirring the political pot.
Morgan told The News Service of Florida he had expected the appellate court to keep Gievers’ ruling on hold.
“Not surprised. Rick Scott could end the appeal today. It will cost him his Senate bid. The makers of opioids are cheering him on,” Morgan wrote in an email Monday.
Morgan has repeatedly asked Scott to drop the appeal, warning that the governor’s opposition to smokable medical marijuana will alienate moderate Republicans and independents in the governor’s quest to oust U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November.
Nelson, a Democrat, recently came out in support of doctor-ordered smokable marijuana for sick patients, as have each of the Democratic candidates seeking to replace Scott as governor.
In her June 5 order lifting the stay, Gievers wrote that plaintiffs Cathy Jordan, a Lou Gehrig’s disease patient who credits smoking marijuana with saving her life, and Diana Dodson, who has neuralgia associated with HIV, would suffer without having access to smokable marijuana.
“Individual patients Jordan and Dodson are exposed to irreparable harm on two fronts. First, they cannot legally access the treatment recommended for them. Second, they face potential criminal prosecution for possession and use of the medicinal substance,” the judge wrote.
On the other hand, “there is no evidence the defendants (the state) will suffer harm if the stay is vacated,” the judge wrote.
“Lifting the stay preserves the status quo by returning the law to its previous state as it existed following the 2016 adoption of the constitutional medical marijuana rights” and before the 2017 law went into effect, she added.
But during a hearing before Gievers, Assistant Attorney General Karen Brodeen argued that there was no hurry for the stay to be lifted, in part because of a lengthy state rulemaking process. Smokable pot “won’t be available for a long time,” if the courts ultimately decide that it is legal, Brodeen said.
“There’s no irreparable harm here. Nobody, at this time, can go to a medical-marijuana treatment center and purchase smokable marijuana. That’s going to take several months down the road, after an order that requires it to be available,” she said.
The legal tangle over smokable medical marijuana is one of at least eight marijuana-related administrative or legal challenges about the state’s burgeoning cannabis industry, which some experts estimate could exceed $1 billion in revenue by 2020.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Incumbent Boutwell Qualifies To Run For Century Council
June 19, 2018
Incumbent Ben Boutwell qualified Monday to run again for his Century Town Council seat.
Boutwell was first elected to the town council in 2014. In 2016, he resigned to run for mayor. His mayoral bid was unsuccessful, and he was reappointed by the council to succeed himself. He was then re-elected to the seat in a special election.
Photo courtesy Escambia County Supervisor of Elections for NorthEscambia.com.
Forester: Good Management Prevents Pine Bark Beetles
June 19, 2018
by Escambia County Forester Cathy Hardin
Pine bark beetles rarely affect healthy trees. Impacted trees generally have been stressed in one or more ways during the past year or two. Stressors can include drought, flooding, lightning, fire, wounds to the trunk or larger limbs, compaction of soil, poor soil, competition, etc.
While there has been a slight upward trend in Southern Pine Beetle infestations in other parts of Florida, so far, the western panhandle has been spared. Southern Pine Beetles are potentially the most devastating of the southern pine bark beetles. In an outbreak, SPB can spread fast, killing many trees in a “spot” that gradually spreads outwards.
The best treatment for pine bark beetles is prevention through good forest management. To help combat one of the most economically devastating forest pests of the Southeast, the Florida Forest Service is accepting applications for the 2018 Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program from non-industrial, private forest landowners through June 29.
This program encourages sound management by providing incentive payments for landowners who conduct a first pulpwood thinning and offers partial cost reimbursement for activities such as prescribed burning, mechanical underbrush treatments and the planting of longleaf or slash pine rather than the loblolly pine, the beetle’s preferred species.
To obtain an application or to learn more about the Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program, visit FreshFromFlorida.com/SouthernPineBeetle/Prevention. Or contact the Escambia County Forester Cathy Hardin at (850) 587-5237.
This Is Qualifying Week For Local Candidates (With List Of Offices On The Ballot)
June 19, 2018
It’s qualifying week for local seats on the 2018 ballot. Qualitfying continues in Escambia County until noon on Friday.
Candidates can file their paperwork at the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) office on the second floor at 213 Palafox Place, or Wednesday only from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the Century Town Hall council chambers (available to all candidates, not just those for Century council).
The Primary Election will be held August 28, 2018, and the General Election will be November 6, 2018.
The following local offices are up for election in 2018, each listed with the current office holder.
Century Town Council
- Council Seat 3: Ben Boutwell
- Council Seat 4: Gary Riley
- Council Seat 5: Sandra McMurray Jackson
Pensacola City
- Mayor: Ashton Hayward
- Council District 2: Sherri Myers
- Council District 4: Larry Johnson
- Council District 6: Brian Spencer
Escambia County Commission
- District 2: Doug Underhill
- District 4: Grover Robinson
Escambia School Board
- District 1: Kevin Adams
- District 2: Gerald Boone
- District 3: Lee Hansen (Linda Moultrie resigned)
Judicial County Court
- County Court Judge Group 2: Joyce H. Williams
- County Court Judge Group 4: Amy P. Brodersen
- County Court Judge Group 5: Kerra A. Smith
Special Districts
- ECUA District 2: Lois Benson
- ECUA District 4: Dale Perkinsfsan
- SRIA: Thomas A. Campanella
- Escambia Soil & Water Group 1: Betty Wilson
- Escambia Soil & Water Group 2: Austin Courson
- Escambia Soil & Water Group 4: Lynn Laird
An Angel At Chick-fil-A: Lost Engagement Ring And A Shared Date
June 19, 2018
Imagine Chloe Leonard’s feeling of panic.
The young McDavid woman was at the Chick-fil-A on Nine Mile Road when she realized she had lost her engagement ring.
She said the employees went out of their way to help search the entire restaurant with no results. She was back at her table, when her “angel” appeared. She knows that Chick-fil-A employee angel only by her first name Karen.
“As soon as I had given up on finding it, Karen came up to my table holding my ring,” Leonard said. “She went out of her way to keep looking and found it in the parking spot next to my car.”
Leonard was extremely thankful that she had her ring engagement ring back.
“I know for a fact God placed Karen there just for me,” she said.
And his really happy story even has another interesting twist. Karen’s wedding anniversary is October 6.
Leonard will marry Cameron Harp, the absolute love of her life, on — are you ready for this? October 6.
“I found out Karen’s anniversary is the same exact day as Cameron and I are planning to get married, she said. “God is so good.”
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
ECAT Offering Free Rides For Dump The Pump Day
June 19, 2018
Escambia County Area Transit will join with other public transportation systems nationwide to participate in the 13th annual National Dump the Pump Day on Thursday.
ECAT is offering free rides for everyone on Dump the Pump Day to encourage residents and visitors to hop on board ECAT and to ride public transit for the day.
The slogan of this year’s National Dump the Pump Day is “Dump the Pump. Ride Public Transit.” Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association, the 2018 National Dump the Pump Day is a day that encourages people to ride public transportation in order to get where they need to go, instead of driving a car.
File photo.
Atmore Splash Pad Back Open
June 18, 2018
The new splash pad in Atmore is open again, according to Mayor Jim Staff. The splash pad was closed for a week for additional improvements. The splash pad was opened about a month ago at South Trammel Street and West Craig Street, just behind Heritage Park on South Main Street. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Low Tax Opportunity Zones Approved For Escambia County, Including Century
June 18, 2018
Great news – @USTreasury approved Florida’s Low Tax Opportunity Zones. These Zones will help foster continued success in our state by bringing new capital investment and more jobs to areas in every Florida county.
The U.S. Treasury has approved Gov. Rick Scott’s recommendation that seven census tracts in Escambia County be designated as “Opportunity Zones”, including Century and the immediately surrounding area.
“These Zones will help foster continued success in our state by bringing new capital investment and more jobs to areas in every Florida county,” according to the Governor’s Office.
Low Tax Opportunity Zones, as established in the federal Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, encourage long-term investment and job creation in targeted communities by reducing taxes for many job creators. Low Tax Opportunity Zones enhance local communities’ ability to attract businesses, developers and financial institutions to invest in targeted areas by allowing investors to defer capital gains taxes through investments in federally established Opportunity Funds.
“The Pensacola area has created 19,400 jobs since December 2010 and these new Low Tax Opportunity Zones will spur even more private investment and job creation. I look forward to seeing the new businesses and jobs that are created in these target areas,” Scott said.
“These Zones will make a real and lasting difference in some of our highest-need areas by helping to bring new capital investment and more jobs to every county across the state. They will also bring additional investment to rural communities and urban areas, ensuring that every Floridian has the chance to live the American Dream in the Sunshine State,” the governor added.
“The new Opportunity Zone program will have a lasting impact for families in the Panhandle by offering tax incentives to attract businesses. This program will grow the local economy, create jobs and provide assistance to hardest-hit areas,” said Cissy Proctor, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The federal government will now begin the rulemaking process to designate how Opportunity Funds are created and how businesses, developers and financial institutions can invest in qualified Zones.
Pictured top: The Century Business Center. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Free Summer Meals At The Century, Molino And Main Libraries
June 18, 2018
Free summer meals are available at the libraries in Century, Molino and downtown Pensacola.
The meals are available through a partnership with West Florida Public Libraries and Feeding the Gulf coast through Friday, August 3 for children 18 and younger.
Meals are available as follows:
- -Century Branch Library, 7991 N. Century Blvd: Tuesday-Friday, lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
– Molino Branch Library, 6450-A Highway 95A : Monday-Friday, breakfast from 9-10 a.m. and lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
– Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St.: Monday-Friday, breakfast from 9-10 a.m. and lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
Pictured: Free summer meals at the Molino Branch Library. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Area Unemployment Rate Slips Slightly
June 18, 2018
The Escambia County area unemployment rate was 3.3 percent, down very slightly from 3.4 percent last month, according to the latest numbers announced Friday.
The industry with the highest growth over the year in Pensacola was construction with 1,000 new jobs. The Pensacola area had 4,639 job openings, including 1,154 openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
As of May, Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent, a drop of 7.0 percentage points since December 2010; this drop is faster than the national decline of 5.5 percentage points. In the past year, 124,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 1.2 percent, which is greater than the national labor force growth rate of 1.1 percent.