In Their Own Words: Amendment 2’s Attorney Says Pot Could be Recommended for Throat Pain, Trouble Sleeping & Problems Eating
The proponents of Amendment 2 have frequently defended their Amendment by citing the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling on the ballot summary language; but, the Vote No on 2 Campaign today revealed that during oral arguments, Amendment 2’s constitutional lawyer, Jon Mills, said that pot could be recommended for other conditions, specifically citing throat pain, trouble sleeping and problems eating.
During his oral argument in front of the Florida Supreme Court on December 5, 2013, Mills was asked to explain the broad catchall of “other conditions,” to which he gave an example of an individual having a conversation with their doctor. During this hypothetical conversation, Mills stated that if the patient says: “I have throat pain, I can’t sleep, I’m having a problem eating…” that medical marijuana would then be an option for a doctor to recommend to someone with those issues.
To view the video clip of Mills’ statements, click the below video clip:
“The proponents of Amendment 2 have gone to great lengths to make Florida voters believe it would truly only be for those suffering from ‘debilitating diseases,’” said Constitutional Attorney Susan Kelsey. “In fact, you don’t have to look any further than their misleading ballot title – Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions.”
“Yet by the Amendment 2 attorney’s own admission, during oral arguments in front of the Florida Supreme Court no less, doctors may be able to recommend pot to someone who suffers from ‘other conditions,’ such as throat pain, trouble sleeping and problems eating,” continued Kelsey.
The title and summary is all that most voters will see on the ballot, but if they wanted more information they would have to delve deeper to see that the authors defined a “debilitating medical condition” to include cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis or other conditions.
“Nowhere in the ballot title, summary or the definition of ‘debilitating medical condition’ do the authors list things like throat pain, trouble sleeping or problems eating. Why? Because they are trying to trick Florida voters into believing that pot will only be used for the list of truly terrible diseases that they list in the definitions. But their own attorney affirms what we’ve been saying all along – this Amendment with the qualifier ‘or other conditions’ is pot for any purpose,” concluded Kelsey.
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