Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

James CallJanuary 26, 2015

State Sen. Jeff Brandes is the first out of the gate with a medical marijuana bill for the 2015 legislative session. Brandes filed Monday the Florida Medical Marijuana, Act which authorizes physicians to use marijuana to treat patients afflicted with one of 14 specific illnesses. Brandes’ proposal creates two licensing processes, one for the cultivation […]

James CallJanuary 15, 2015

Medical marijuana advocates will gather in Coral Gables next month to plan their next step in changing Florida law. Florida for Care, the legislative branch of a grassroots effort that grew out of the People United for Medical Marijuana campaign for last year’s failed Amendment 2 initiative, is scheduling a two-day meeting to discuss policy […]

Associated PressJanuary 10, 2015

Proponents of medical marijuana began an encore campaign for legalization Friday, filing a rewritten ballot measure just two months after one narrowly failed to pass. Backers of the initial constitutional amendment appeared to have a wave of support on their side, but fell short of the 60 percent threshold needed as a surge of ads […]

Guest AuthorDecember 22, 2014

Clinton and a Bush are gearing up for a run at the White House. Is it 1990 or 2014? Congress is under Republican control with a Democrat in the White House. Is it 1946, 1994 or 2014? A Republican is heading to Florida’s Governor’s Mansion after just half of registered voters turned out to vote. […]

Peter SchorschDecember 11, 2014

As the official list of 2015 legislative chairs rolls out, the lion’s share of the attention often goes to those slated to lead high profile, influential committees such as Appropriations and Rules. Yet, the upcoming session will likely be highlighted by a broad range of issues – gaming and the new Seminole Compact, growlers, generic […]

Guest AuthorDecember 7, 2014

In November, Amendment 2, which would have allowed the use of medical marijuana in Florida, garnered just under 58 percent support. It needed 60 percent to pass. While falling short of passage, medical marijuana received a larger share of the vote than has decided the previous eight gubernatorial elections in Florida. The proposal got more […]

Guest AuthorNovember 10, 2014

When I debated Barney Bishop a few weeks ago in Miami, he claimed that he had “smoked more marijuana than everyone in the crowd – combined.” Well, he must have fried his brain doing so, because he can’t even put together a coherent thought in a “victory lap” piece like the one published on “Politics […]

Guest AuthorNovember 6, 2014

Now that Amendment 2 on medical marijuana has been defeated and relegated to the trash pile of poorly worded constitutional amendments, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Well, not really. You see, John Morgan, the lawyer who spearheaded the drive to adopt Amendment 2, can’t stay silent even for a nano-minute. It’s just […]

Guest AuthorOctober 24, 2014

This past year has been a real learning curve on the whole topic of medical marijuana. Thanks to a good friend of mine, who is a respected physician, I learned there really are some valid and legitimate medical uses for marijuana. Prior to this, I thought most of the medical marijuana talk was just an […]

Guest AuthorOctober 1, 2014

Barney Bishop’s column in Context Florida opposing Amendment 2 was as rambling and incoherent as it was wrong. One might suspect he’s gotten his hands on some of this “high THC” weed he’s so terrified about. I generally do the sensible thing and ignore Bishop’s paranoid screeds, but his latest missive not only contains the […]

Tag: Medical marijuana

Jeff Brandes files to expand medicinal marijuana law; increases eligible patients, splits licensing

Florida for Care to hold strategy session in Coral Gables

Medical marijuana drive resumes with revised measure

Mark Pafford: Florida Democrats will stay focused on our key issues

Led by Sen. Rob Bradley, Regulated Industries is the committee to watch in 2015

Ben Pollara: If Legislature fails, Amendment 2 will be back on ballot in 2016

Ben Pollara: The battle to legalize medical marijuana moves to the Legislature

Barney Bishop: Some unsolicited advice for Amendment 2 crusader John Morgan

John Stemberger:  Why I am for medical marijuana but against  Amendment 2

Ben Pollara: One more time, here are the reasons to pass Amendment 2