A.G. Gancarski
During the past couple of weeks, a controversial (to some) ordinance (2015-436) issuing a moratorium on medical marijuana distribution was passed in Jacksonville’s City Council and signed into law.
Local activists are concerned.
The strong expectation is that the city council meeting Tuesday night will be full of discussion about the medical marijuana moratorium during the public comment period. However, to Ben Pollara of United For Care, the MMJ moratorium actually is more legitimate than it might seem on the surface, as said in an interview Tuesday morning.
“It’s not totally out of left field,” he said, adding that the measure is within the “scope of what local governments have done in the last year.”
That said, he added, there usually is more attention to sunshine provisions, making this unique.
Pollara’s efforts, of course, are on the statewide level. “Our scope is getting on the ballot in 2016, not local scrimmages. I’m looking at this stuff, but we don’t get into local battles.”
He did mention that patients and volunteers have expressed “dismay” over this latest setback, but Pollara asserts that it’s “just a moratorium, not a ban,” and that the best course of action is to continue educating the new city council members and new mayor on the subject.
Pollara asserts that there were “major problems” with Senate Bill 1030, a “poorly written law,” which makes moratoriums such as Jacksonville’s to take time to figure out local implications “not an invalid concern.”
The “law’s got a lot of problems with it,” he added, saying that it was passed in a “get it done and get it done quickly.”
Given the vast number of medical marijuana programs now in the United States, Florida Politics asked Pollara what might be the best model for Florida. He said that Florida is “pretty unique,” but that California provides an “example of what not to do.”
More positive examples: Colorado, which he said was “good,” and Arizona, which is “good but severely restrictive.”
“When it comes time to implement a law here, hopefully in early 2017,” Pollara’s hope is to “come up with the gold standard for Florida.”
Pollara finds optimism in the actions of certain Republicans on the state level.
“Look at what happened in the legislature,” Pollara said about MMJ bills introduced by Republicans, which he cited as “organic growth and movement from Republicans on this issue.”
The more that people talk about it, describing their “personal connections” to the issue concerning people and loved ones who need the unique palliative care that cannabis confers, the more evolution there will be on this issue, he said.
