TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) –
Florida state legislators introduced identical bills on Monday to
legalize medical marijuana treatment in the 2014 legislative session, in
a bid to win approval before a constitutional amendment on the issue
comes up for a public vote in November.
Senators Jeff Clemens and Joe
Saunders, both Democrats, brought numerous patients and their family
members to the unveiling of their bill, which would effectively
implement by statute the constitutional amendment that is on the
November ballot
“This bill puts patients before
politics,” said Cathy Jordan of Parrish, president of the Florida
Cannabis Action Network, who has lived 28 years with ALS, also known as
Lou Gehrig Disease.
Jordan, whose speech is slurred
by her illness, sat in her wheelchair next to her husband, Robert, who
read her statement at a news conference in front of the Florida Senate.
The amendment, and the newly
introduced legislation, would specify tight state regulation for doctors
to prescribe marijuana for treatment of conditions like cancer,
HIV/AIDS, ALS and other severe afflictions.
Identically worded bills were introduced in both houses of the state legislature on Monday, offering greater ease of passage.
The session starting March 4 will
mark the fourth year such a bill has been introduced. Republican
legislative leaders, along with Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General
Pam Bondi, vigorously oppose the constitutional amendment.
The Florida Supreme Court
approved the ballot language on the amendment, though, and it will
become law if 60 percent of the voters approve it next November.
Polls show the ballot proposal
has a strong chance of success. If the amendment passes, Saunders said
the 2015 Legislature will have to pass implementing legislation
specifying “how will we grow it, how will people who need it get access
to it and how will those who are seeking to abuse it receive
consequences?
While Republican leaders oppose
the medical marijuana amendment, a separate bill allowing use of a
non-euphoric marijuana extract known as “Charlotte’s Web” is also making
progress in the Florida House. The derivative is drawn from a portion
of the marijuana plant that does not get users high, but has shown
results in treating seizures.
The constitutional amendment is
seen as a driver for Democratic voter turnout at the polls in November.
The petition campaign that put it on the ballot was bankrolled by
Orlando attorney John Morgan, a close ally of former Governor Charlie
Crist, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for another term as
governor.
Crist supports the amendment and political observers expect the
referendum will draw more young and minority voters, who tend to vote
Democratic.
(Reporting by David Adams; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Original story http://news.yahoo.com/bills-legalize-medical-marijuana-introduced-florida-000202340–finance.html
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