Tide Turns Against Florida Marijuana Amendment

The tide is turning against Amendment 2, which legalizes marijuana in Florida. As Floridians gain a knowledge and understanding of the impact of this initiative the more they reject it. Two recent examples provide proof that the tide is turning.

Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos. Photo by Tim Shortt, FLORIDA TODAY)

The first is an op-ed titled “Say no to Amendment 2” by Dr. Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos in Florida Today. Dr. Haridopolos is president of the Brevard County Medical Society and a board-certified family practitioner. Dr. Haridopolos writes, “As a mother and physician, it’s important for me to shed light on Amendment 2 and how I feel it will hurt our communities, neighbors and, most importantly, our children — just like pill mills did in the all-too-recent past. If Amendment 2 is successful, it will unquestionably act as an open invitation for disreputable pot docs to open up shop in Florida.”

“I do not know any credible physicians who would recommend smoking pot to their patients. And if it passes, the language of the amendment is so loose, it will allow marijuana to be recommended to anyone, of any age for any medical condition. It is a thinly veiled step toward the full-blown legalization of pot,” notes Dr. Haridopolos.

Dr. Haridopolos warns, “[I] believe lenient pot regulations will be exploited by financial opportunists and recreational users, as pot docs will not be required to prescribe marijuana, but only give a recommendation for it. This will allow them to avoid any legal consequences and have immunity from prosecution. Marijuana will be sold by pot shops and not in medically controlled facilities like pharmacies. Users will not be monitored by physicians after they receive the recommendation to obtain marijuana, and there will be no consumer protection when it comes to quality or dosage control. For instance, consumers could be inhaling mold and pesticides.”

The concerns of Dr. Haridopolos were echoed at a recent meeting hosted by the Florida Department of Health (DOH). John Kennedy in his Palm Beach Post article “Harsh questions make marijuana workshop not so mellow” reports, “Florida’s new medical marijuana law drew dozens of questions Monday at the state’s first workshop aimed at crafting regulations for the non-euphoric product to be available under doctors’ orders Jan. 1. But the Department of Health’s scheduled daylong hearing on implementing the new law was enough to harsh the mellow of many marijuana supporters. Lawyers, growers, pharmacists and marijuana business organizations all took shots at a wide range of provisions in the 16-page draft rule floated by the department.”

Kennedy writes, “Much of the criticism centered on how the five growing and distribution centers scattered across the state would be selected and operate. Questions about product quality, local zoning, security, and DOH’s proposal to throw the competition open to a lottery if more than one grower sought a license in a region dominated testimony from a host of speakers.”

“This is completely different from a liquor license or something like that,” said Joel Stanley of Colorado Springs, who along with his brothers, helped develop the marijuana strain called Charlotte’s Web that would be authorized under the Florida law.

Kerry Herndon, who runs nurseries in Homestead and Apopka, called the idea of deciding a grower through a lottery, “profoundly bad public policy.”

Kennedy writes, “But some advocates warned that hundreds of license applications would flood the state. Many would be solely seeking the chance of winning the lucrative prescription pot lottery with little concern for quality.”

“These are going to be huge, huge operations,” said Kim Russell, of People United for Medical Marijuana, which supports a more sweeping medical marijuana proposal that will be on the November ballot.

As reported before, Amendment 2 is written so broadly so as to legalize marijuana in Florida. The Devil is always in the details.

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Tide Turns Against Florida Marijuana Amendment

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