Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Bradenton - Although more than 71 percent of Florida's voters legalized medical marijuana in the November election, uncertainties remain about how the state will regulate it and whether, in the long term, those 6.4 million residents made the right call.
At a Manatee Tiger Bay Club forum on Thursday, a proponent of medical marijuana and an addictions specialist who opposes it debated about the potential aftermath of the electorate's decision.
Bill Monroe, president of Advocate Inc., said he got involved in the issue about five years ago when he researched potential medications to help his elderly mother ease her tremors from Parkinson's Disease and increase her appetite.
He noted that numerous states and nations have legalized medical marijuana without dire consequences.
"Be a free thinker," he said. "Use your logical thinking. Are you seeing global chaos?"
Advocates do not object to regulations regarding labeling, security and keeping cannabis out of the hands of children, Monroe said. He personally wants the state to adopt a requirement that the marijuana from licensed growers be tested by independent labs to ensure it is "free of heavy metals and pesticides."
"We also want the doctor-patient relationship," Monroe said. "Let the doctors decide what the patients need."
He noted that synthetic THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects) has been legal since 1985 and is available from pharmacies. "Now we're talking about organic THC."
He regards the reported dangers associated with marijuana to be exaggerated.
While people overdose or die from sleeping pills, pain pills and opiates, "you cannot die, you cannot overdose from cannabis," Monroe said.
Jessica Spencer - policy director of Vote No on 2, a group that opposed the constitutional amendment - emphasized that physicians still cannot legally prescribe marijuana because it is not a federally approved drug.
The amendment allows doctors to "recommend" it, Spencer said - and their patients will get it from approved dispensaries rather than pharmacies.
This week, the Manatee County Commission and the Bradenton City Council adopted six-month moratoriums on considering applications for dispensaries until they can adopt land use regulations about where the businesses should be allowed and prohibited.
Other jurisdictions throughout the Sarasota-Manatee area and across Florida have adopted similar measures.
During that same period, the state Legislature must adopt statutes and the Florida Department of Health must adopt regulations about how the dispensaries are to function.
Until those laws and rules are in place, Floridians do not know whether promises made by Amendment 2 advocates will be kept, Spencer said, such as whether there will be a ban on "pot candy" that children may be tempted to eat.
Spencer said the Department of Health has estimated that medical marijuana dispensaries in Florida could eventually total 1,993. "That would outnumber the amount of McDonald's, Starbucks and 7-Elevens in our state combined."
She called the wording of the amendment "very crafty."
Although it listed several medical conditions for which doctors could authorize medical marijuana - such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis - the ballot question remained open ended by stating physicians could also recommend it for any other ailments with similar symptoms, Spencer said.
"Any 18-year-old can complain about test anxiety, an athletic injury or a migraine and receive a medical marijuana recommendation without their parent's consent," Spencer said.
She noted that Keith Stroup, former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), has reportedly gone on the record as saying efforts to legalize medical marijuana are "a red herring to give marijuana a good name" so its recreational use can be eventually legalized as well.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Debate Continues As Lawmakers Consider Rules
Author: Dale White
Contact: (941) 361-4800
Photo Credit: Dale White
Website: Herald-Tribune
At a Manatee Tiger Bay Club forum on Thursday, a proponent of medical marijuana and an addictions specialist who opposes it debated about the potential aftermath of the electorate's decision.
Bill Monroe, president of Advocate Inc., said he got involved in the issue about five years ago when he researched potential medications to help his elderly mother ease her tremors from Parkinson's Disease and increase her appetite.
He noted that numerous states and nations have legalized medical marijuana without dire consequences.
"Be a free thinker," he said. "Use your logical thinking. Are you seeing global chaos?"
Advocates do not object to regulations regarding labeling, security and keeping cannabis out of the hands of children, Monroe said. He personally wants the state to adopt a requirement that the marijuana from licensed growers be tested by independent labs to ensure it is "free of heavy metals and pesticides."
"We also want the doctor-patient relationship," Monroe said. "Let the doctors decide what the patients need."
He noted that synthetic THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects) has been legal since 1985 and is available from pharmacies. "Now we're talking about organic THC."
He regards the reported dangers associated with marijuana to be exaggerated.
While people overdose or die from sleeping pills, pain pills and opiates, "you cannot die, you cannot overdose from cannabis," Monroe said.
Jessica Spencer - policy director of Vote No on 2, a group that opposed the constitutional amendment - emphasized that physicians still cannot legally prescribe marijuana because it is not a federally approved drug.
The amendment allows doctors to "recommend" it, Spencer said - and their patients will get it from approved dispensaries rather than pharmacies.
This week, the Manatee County Commission and the Bradenton City Council adopted six-month moratoriums on considering applications for dispensaries until they can adopt land use regulations about where the businesses should be allowed and prohibited.
Other jurisdictions throughout the Sarasota-Manatee area and across Florida have adopted similar measures.
During that same period, the state Legislature must adopt statutes and the Florida Department of Health must adopt regulations about how the dispensaries are to function.
Until those laws and rules are in place, Floridians do not know whether promises made by Amendment 2 advocates will be kept, Spencer said, such as whether there will be a ban on "pot candy" that children may be tempted to eat.
Spencer said the Department of Health has estimated that medical marijuana dispensaries in Florida could eventually total 1,993. "That would outnumber the amount of McDonald's, Starbucks and 7-Elevens in our state combined."
She called the wording of the amendment "very crafty."
Although it listed several medical conditions for which doctors could authorize medical marijuana - such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis - the ballot question remained open ended by stating physicians could also recommend it for any other ailments with similar symptoms, Spencer said.
"Any 18-year-old can complain about test anxiety, an athletic injury or a migraine and receive a medical marijuana recommendation without their parent's consent," Spencer said.
She noted that Keith Stroup, former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), has reportedly gone on the record as saying efforts to legalize medical marijuana are "a red herring to give marijuana a good name" so its recreational use can be eventually legalized as well.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Debate Continues As Lawmakers Consider Rules
Author: Dale White
Contact: (941) 361-4800
Photo Credit: Dale White
Website: Herald-Tribune
