Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorJanuary 30, 2014

Any closed door can be opened. Such is the case of medical marijuana and the State of Florida. Twenty states have legalized medical marijuana in the past few years, while the conservative Florida Legislature ramped up its war against the drug. It is ironic that Florida is known throughout the country as THE destination for […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 29, 2014

First of two parts. Florida is not known as an early adapter. Perhaps that is why it is one of only 15 states left that have not ratified the ERA after 41 years. But the hard work of several legislators and interested parties outside of Tallahassee are looking to get Florida into a new era […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 19, 2014

Supporters of a medical marijuana initiative had two big reasons to cheer last week. But the real good news might not be what you suspect. The group People United for Care, which is leading the drive to get the medical marijuana question on the November ballot, announced last week that it had collected more than […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 14, 2014

The other day I heard Jim Stafford’s seminal 1974 song “Wildwood Weed” while listening to the radio. About the same time, the Florida House subcommittee on Criminal Justice was debating the merits of medical marijuana. This is a Republican-led House and a very conservative committee chairman. Many were shocked to see it happening, but I […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 5, 2014

Political prognostication is not an exact science despite what forecasters and pundits would have readers believe. Many fall somewhere between the obvious and the inane, and often take a familiar and non-threatening shape. “The race for (insert candidate here) comes down to which campaign turns out their voters,” or some similar form. Imagine a sports […]

Guest AuthorDecember 26, 2013

Second of two parts. Most Floridians support the legalization of medical marijuana, an issue that voters may decide in a referendum next year. However, we need to heed the objections of the 18 percent of Florida residents who oppose the measure. One congressional candidate confided in me that a family member who had been a […]

Guest AuthorDecember 25, 2013

First of two parts. We value our First Amendment rights, so I was surprised at the reactions I received when I mentioned the topic of this piece to colleagues, friends and family. They had suggested that I pick a different subject so that I would not offend potential employers and contractors. I suspect proponents of […]

Bob SparksDecember 2, 2013

On Thursday the Florida Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would legalize medical marijuana in this state. Attorney General Pam Bondi and others are asking the court to throw the amendment off the ballot because the title and summary “do not convey the Amendment’s true […]

Peter SchorschNovember 24, 2013

Pardon me while I channel my inner David Simon… Can’t Congressman Trey Radel find some measure of political comfort in last week’s Quinnipiac poll showing overwhelming support by Floridians for the medical use of marijuana? By now you know the tragic story of Radel and his arrest on possession of cocaine. The freshman lawmaker is now on his […]

Guest AuthorNovember 6, 2013

How many examples can you think of where Florida law is unnecessarily complex? Where loopholes — intended or not — undermine a goal? Where a fix ends up worse than the problem? For instance, take casinos. It took years of patchwork lawmaking to create the identity confusion Florida has today with gaming regulations. You can […]

Tag: Medical marijuana

Gary J. Stein: Legislation, a constitutional amendment open door to medical marijuana in Florida

Gary Stein: Key legislators are supporting medical marijuana bill

Andrew Skerritt: Good news for supporters of medical marijuana

Henry Kelley: This Tea Partier supports legalizing medical marijuana

Peter Schorsch: Five bold predictions for Florida politics in 2014

Gary Stein: Most Floridians support legalisation of medical marijuana

Gary Stein: Deadline near for voters to sign medical marijuana petition

Bob Sparks: Medical marijuana issue now front and center

Peter Schorsch: Radel’s arrest more evidence that ‘War on Drugs’ is lost

Karen Cyphers: Sensible pot laws are needed, but amendment is flawed