Proposals by two Republican lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana have a slim chance of passing this legislative session, based on the comments of a Senate committee chairman who helps control the fate of that chamber’s measure.
marijuana
Florida Republican Files Bill to Extend Medical Pot Access to AIDS, Cancer and Other Ills
The proposal (SB 528), filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, includes a detailed regulatory structure that would place requirements on patients, doctors, growers and retail stores. Patients could only get “medical-grade” marijuana if their physicians sign off on the need.
Sheriff’s K-9 Units Sniff 2 Drug Busts; Unusual Heroin Arrest Echoes National Crisis
Two Palm Coast residents arrested in separate traffic stops were arrested on numerous drug-trafficking charges, including, in one case, heroin trafficking, which reflects the rise in the use of the drug nationally.
Attention Florida Pot Growers: State Would Pick 5 Nurseries To Cultivate Marijuana Under New Rule
A panel comprised of the director of the state Office of Compassionate Use, an accountant and a member of the Drug Policy Advisory Council would pick five nurseries to grow, process and dispense medical marijuana under a revamped rule released Thursday by the Florida Department of Health. The selection committee would take the place of […]
Florida’s Pot Legalization Forces Open 2-Front Offensive: Legislature and 2016 Ballot
After falling just 2 points short of victory in November, medical-marijuana advocates will take their battle to the Florida Legislature, and failing that, will place the initiative on the ballot again in 2016.
Pot Amendment: For Debilitating Diseases or an Open Door to Full Marijuana Legalization?
A briefing on Amendment 2, the proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana: supporters say it’ll help the sick, opponents claim it’s flawed and will result in “a joint in every backpack.”
I’m 67 Years Old. I Smoke Pot. And It’s Time to Make It Legal, Period.
If anyone thinks that passing Amendment 2 is not a step toward legalizing recreational marijuana, then you’re been ingesting too much of the wrong kind of drugs, argues Thomas O’Hara, who is voting for Amendment 2 because it’s a step toward full marijuana legalization.
Meet Tim Morgan, the Man Behind John Morgan’s Push for Medical Marijuana
Tim Morgan, John Morgan’s younger brother, suffered a severe spinal cord injury as a lifeguard while trying to save someone, and suffered excruciating pain. Marijuana helped him. His brother has devoted himself to legalizing pot for others with medical needs.
For the Pot:
Five Questions For John Morgan
Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan is spearheading a move to pass a constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana in the state, putting millions of dollars of his own money and his considerable public-speaking skills behind it.
Lessons for Florida from A California Pot Tourist
If Florida’s voters approve Amendment 2, our state will have an opportunity to implement a marijuana law that avoids heading down California’s cynical path, argues Karen Cyphers. It will be a challenge, but the reward of fostering an honest, quality health-care system is well worth the effort.
On Medical Pot, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach Governments Are Smoking the Wrong Stuff
Flagler Beach’s actual and Palm Coast’s planned zoning restrictions on medical marijuana are wrong-headed, needlessly antagonistic toward medical pot users, and based on more misinformation than public expectations on medical marijuana.
Backing Down From Stricter Rules, State Regulators Would Allow Mobile Pot Delivery
Florida pot dispensers could truck their product to patients, under a revised rule proposed by health regulators in advance of a workshop Friday about the state’s move to a limited type of medical marijuana.
Briefing : Amendment 2, Medical Marijuana Legalization
The Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative, known as Amendment 2, is on the November 4, 2014 ballot in Florida. The measure would legalize medical marijuana through an amendment to the state Constitution. Here’s a briefing, including the ballot summary and the full text of the amendment.
Regulators Draw Sharp Criticism Over Controls On Florida’s New Pot Industry
At the top of the complaint list: concerns about a proposed lottery system to award five organizations the chance to grow, manufacture and dispense a type of medical marijuana approved by Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature this spring.
Jitter Echo: Opponents of Amendment 2 Launch “Don’t Let Florida Go to Pot” Campaign
Opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana launched the “Don’t Let Florida Go to Pot” campaign Tuesday, warning that passing the measure would lead to widespread abuse. Proponents of the measure are discrediting the campaign.
Rocky Mountain High or Reefer Madness? Legal Pot Comes with Risks
Legal pot is attracting new and possibly naïve users — creating risks that some don’t bargain for. Second, the public health system’s desire to protect people may be well-intentioned, but regulation and efforts to track the health effects have a ways to go.
Cops Net 61 Pot Plants in Mondex Grow House; Sheriff Doubts Owner’s “Personal Use” Claim
Dwayne Reed, a 49-year-old resident of 5637 Nutwood Avenue in Bunnell was fingered to police by an anonymous source as having marijuana plants, but claimed he used them because of illness, not for distribution. He faces a third-degree felony, pending the State Attorney’s review of the case. Reed meanwhile remains free.
Busy Tallahassee as Red-Light Camera Ban, Pension Phase-Out and Pot Phase-In Animate Lawmakers
Lawmakers seemed to be drawing closer this week to giving a green light to a limited form of medical marijuana, while some of them complained that red-light cameras were spreading across the state like weeds.
Arrested For Felony Child Abuse and Pot Possession: The Mother’s Account
Sophia Zhudro is the 30-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s B-Section who was arrested on Jan. 24 for marijuana possession as she was parked with her 15-month-old on the side of a residential street in her neighborhood. She tells her side of the story, taking issue with the way the incident was related by police.
In an Unusually Brutal Arrest, a Palm Coast Woman Is Charged With Child Abuse Over Minor Pot Possession
Sophia Zhudro, 30, was parked on a quiet, residential street in Palm Coast’s B-Section when she was detained, then arrested and charged with child abuse because deputies found a small amount of marijuana in her car (near in in the child seat). Zhudro’s traumatized child was forced out of her arms by four deputies and turned over to DCF.
Supreme Court Clears Medical Marijuana Pot Proposal; Floridians Vote On It November 4
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.
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.
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.
Marijuana Use Barely Up, Synthetic Drug Use Sharply Down, Along With Other Narcotics
The use of synthetic marijuana products and bath salts dropped sharply in 2013 among students in middle and high school as students increasingly see the products as dangerous, according to the most authoritative annual drug and alcohol survey, with marijuana use up slightly but most other drugs showing declines.
A Pope Gays Can Love, Blaming Homelessness on God, Christmas Pot and German Beer: The Live Wire
Pope Francis is gays and lesbians’ person of the year, Mayor Bloomberg blames homelessness on god, Florida again ranks as the most dangerous state for the homeless, Facebook goes commercial, the F-35 boondoggle and Mandela’s Invictus.
Medical Marijuana Tangles Up Florida Supreme Court Justices In Weeds of Words
The idea of medical marijuana technically isn’t at issue in the case. Instead, Attorney General Pam Bondi, legislative leaders and medical, law enforcement and business groups argue that the ballot title and summary that would appear on the ballot could deceive voters about the scope of the amendment.
Crist 7 Points Ahead of Scott in Latest Quinnipiac Poll; Floridians Overwhelmingly Favor Medical Marijuana
If the election for Florida governor were held today, Charlie Crist would be the likely winner over Rick Scott by a 47 to 40 percent advantage, a Quinnipiac poll released this morning found, and Scott’s negative ratings continue to weigh heavily on his chances. Florida voters support 82-16 percent allowing adults to legally use marijuana for medical use if it is prescribed by a doctor.
As High Court Takes On Medical Marijuana Proposal in Florida, Politics Muddy Merits
The Florida Supreme Court will try to sort through the conflicting arguments between Attorney General Pam Bondi, who opposes legalization, and proponents of the measure. The court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5, a key step in deciding whether voters will get to have their say next fall.
Don Fleming: Private Dick, Scott’s Millions, California’s Excellent Marijuana Adventure
Ex-Sheriff Don Fleming turns private investigator, Rick Scott Rakes in the re-election millions, California’s medicinal pot legalization is working wonders, a Saudi comic drives Bob Marley through the Saudi ban on women drivers, Suzanne Somers on Obamacare, and West Virginia’s red turn.
Attorney General Wants Florida Supreme Court To Bump Off Medical Marijuana Referendum
In a filing required because the group pushing the initiative has triggered an automatic review by the high court, Bondi wrote that the ballot language could deceive voters about the extent of marijuana use that would be allowed, a claim the measure’s proponents reject.
Shawn Dyer, 38, Accused of Growing Pot for a Year in Seminole Woods House; 20 lb Seized
Shawn Dyer had allegedly bypassed the house on 2nd Path’s electric meter to keep an elaborate marijuana growing operation going. An estimated 6.5 pounds of packaged marijuana, worth $19,500, was found in the house, among other related items.
Prescription-Pill and Alcohol Deaths in Flagler Far Outpace Those From Illegal Drugs
The annual medical examiners’ report for Florida, including Flagler’s numbers, put in sharp perspective common misconceptions and exaggerations—by media, police and lawmakers—about the nature and extent of the drug problem, highlighting the relatively minor part played by illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, and the virtually nonexistent part played by marijuana or synthetic pot.
High Times Ahead: The Political Side Effects of Tolerating Legal Pot
A nascent civil war is brewing between the social conservative and the libertarian wings of the Republican party, with legalized pot now another issue that could add to the divisions, and Attorney general Eric Holder’s decision not to prosecute marijuana possession in much of the nation lighting new fuses, argues Sanho Tree.
Flagler 911: Pot-Dumping on Colbert Lane; Commissioner’s Son Presses Charges Against Inmate
Two teens arrested after eluding a cop on Colbert Lane and allegedly dumping pot on the road; Bunnell City Commissioner John Roger’s son, in jail on a minor charge, is allegedly attacked by another inmate, who is charged with battery; the bomb squad is called out on Princess Geraldine Place; and more, including jail bookings.
110 Pot Plants Removed from Grow House on Fleming Ct., 4th Palm Coast Bust in 10 Months
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Shaune Lawrence of 5 Fleming Court in Palm Coast earlier today on marijuana cultivation charges, after he reported his house was being robbed.
Growth Industry: Cops Bust Third Palm Coast Pot Grow House in 9 Months, on Wheatfield
Authorities arrested Jorge Rodriguez, 61, and charged him with marijuana cultivation at 15 Wheatfield Drive in Palm Coast, where some 48 plants with a potential street value of $86,000 were discovered Monday.
A Wife’s Suspicion About Her Husband Leads to a Marijuana Grow House on Birchwood Drive
Kevin Fitzgerald of Flagler Beach and Michael Menear of Palm Coast were arrested as cops seized 91 marijuana pl;ants from Birchwood Drive, where his then-wife, who tipped off deputies, had discovered the plants while suspecting her husband of infidelity.
Sheriff’s Office Plays Up Minor Pot-Growing Bust at a Home in Palm Coast’s P Section
The house at 20 Princeton Lane in Palm Coast had 24 young marijuana plants. Florida is still among the states with the harshest anti-pot laws in the county, though some 20 states have either decriminalized pot possession or legalized its medical uses.
Medical Marijuana in Florida: Legislators File Long-Shot Proposal to Amend the Constitution
Although a 57 percent majority of Florida voters are ready to inhale (the proposal, anyway), the staunchly conservative Legislature is unlikely to let the proposed constitutional amendment on medical marijuana go forward.