Guest AuthorOn March 31, three legislators representing several ideological stripes attended a forum to discuss medical marijuana.
Unfortunately, the one-sided discussion did little more than serve as a platform to promote passage of the issue in the Legislature and on the ballot in November.
Democratic strategists hope that this initiative will bring young Dems to the polls in November. But University of South Florida’s Susan McManus, one of the state’s top political scientist, indicated at a luncheon the same day that she’s not sure the issue will lure young and minority voters to the polls for a midterm election.
Proponents of medical marijuana make these arguments: parents of children with epilepsy need Charlotte’s Web (a special strain of marijuana) to stop the seizures; they need to go to other states to get it; the amendment is going to pass anyway so we need to prepare for it now; foreign countries are ahead of the U.S. in weed research; Florida can regulate it properly.
Proponents say there is voluminous research showing the value of marijuana. But in fact, the research is weak. There have been no “real” trials where objective scientists have gathered the data to document the efficacy of marijuana. As admitted at the forum, the evidence is mostly “anecdotes and stories.”
Quoting from a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in November, Justin Sayfie cited as fact that 82 percent of Floridians support the amendment while only 16 percent oppose. But that poll is laughable because it did not use the actual ballot language in its question, which would have produced a different result. Also, advertising opposing the amendment has not started.
As for the contention that marijuana is not available for patients, that’s not entirely true. It is for a limited few that can get a doctor’s prescription. Should it be available for more? Perhaps. But that raises the question of how can society make marijuana available for those who need it while insuring that it doesn’t get into the hands of those who would use it for recreation?
More importantly, there is nothing in the proposed legislation that will make medical marijuana available anytime soon because it takes two years to grow CBD in Florida.
At the forum, we heard about citizens growing their own marijuana in their homes or backyards. We heard that certain strains will be needed for different kinds of medical issues. We heard that that the list of medical conditions that can be treated with marijuana should be amended as research evolves.
Are you kidding me? We already know that doctors are eager to write scripts. Now, we’re prepared to allow pot shops, dispensaries and home-grown ganja because patients need easy access?
If we really want to do justice to this issue, then the Legislature should make medical marijuana legal for research purposes. Legislators need to fund studies at hospitals across the state so that the administration of medical weed can be developed, tested for consistency, procured, and distributed in clinical tests to parents who are willing to let their child partake. Only then will we get beyond anecdotal evidence and into scientifically valid outcomes.
Rep. Gayle Harrell, Chair of the House Healthy Families Subcommittee, proposed just such an idea. Yet her idea has never been considered in a workshop or in committee hearings. Why?
In a Legislature that demands accountability on just about every policy matter, how can legislators push through a matter this delicate without convincing evidence that we won’t make med weed as accessible as diet pills?
To hear proponents tell it, we won’t make that mistake. But the truth is, once we legalize medical marijuana, we won’t be able to stop its proliferation. We won’t be able to regulate it fairly. And the list of medical purposes for weed will grow.
If parents want access, then Florida should give it to them, but in a controlled environment, not through backyard pot farms.
Barney Bishop III is the President & CEO of Barney Bishop Consulting, LLC and also serves as the President & CEO of the Florida Smart Justice Alliance. Barney can be reached at [email protected] Column courtesy of Context Florida.
