In a significant victory for advocates of the initiative, a divided Florida Supreme Court on Monday ruled 4-3 that the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana passes legal muster and can now appear on the November election ballot, giving Floridians a direct say. Polls have shown a 3-to-1 majority of Floridians favoring legalization.
Health & Society
Hendry County, With Highest Uninsured Rate in Florida, Sees Little Impact From Obamacare
Thirty-five percent of Hendry County’s 33,000 residents under 65 lack health insurance, but nearly a month after the health law’s expansion of coverage began, local health officials say little has changed for most uninsured residents.
Virulent Flu Season Aside, Potent RSV Bug Is Taking a Toll on Florida Children
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is serious and highly contagious. There’s no vaccination around to keep your little one from catching it. And its seasonal duration is longer in Florida than in any other state, stretching from mid-August to March.
Medical Marijuana Initiative Gets Needed Signature to Make November Ballot, Pending Court Clearance
With 710,508 validated signatures statewide in Florida— 27, 359 more than the required 683,149 — and reaching signature requirements in the bare minimum of 14 congressional districts, People United for Medical Marijuana beat a Feb. 1 deadline for submitting petitions to the state.
Fulfilling Pledge, Rep. Travis Hutson Files Animal Cruelty Bill Inspired By FPC Student
Animal abuse may cost abusers far more in penalties and punishment if a bi-partisan bill inspired by Flagler Palm Coast High School student Morgan Purtlebaugh and filed by Rep. Travis Hutson last week becomes law.
California Sharply Improves Regulatory Oversight of Assisted-Living Facilities
The wide-ranging array of proposed regulations would mandate annual inspections of the facilities and increase the size of financial penalties that the state can levy for failures in care. The proposals would also step up mandatory training for assisted living employees, require facilities to employ registered nurses in some instances and demand that California post inspection results online for the public to review.
Obamacare’s Popularity Overwhelms Florida Blue as System Crashes, Costing Enrollees
Many who signed up and paid Florida Blue for their new plan between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 say the insurer has lost them in its computer system. Now, when they go to the doctor or try to get a prescription filled, they have to pay the bill themselves or cancel.
Marijuana Legalization: A Dissent
We can all recite the arguments for legalization of marijuana. But making marijuana available to anyone over the age of 21 seems to me to be a sad statement of societal surrender, rather than an uplifting event, argues Steve Robinson.
Again Breaking a Pledge, Children’s Advocacy Center Sets Ultimatum On Rape-Crisis Intervention as Top Cops Scramble
The Children Advocacy Center’s promise in July to provide rape-crisis exams to adults in Flagler and Volusia counties turned out to be relatively hollow, and was followed by an ultimatum that the CAC would get out of the business altogether by June, triggering a furiously critical response from State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Sheriff Manfre and other local top cops.
14 For ’14: What Will Command
Florida’s Attention This Year
From the governor’s race to the economy to gambling to common core and the continuing battles over health care, here are some of the issues that will dominate the political landscape in the year ahead, some of which focusing the nation’s eyes on Florida yet again.