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Florida - Orlando super-donor and trial lawyer John Morgan has now pumped nearly $1 million into his crusade to ask Florida voters to legalize medical marijuana next year. Campaign-finance reports for November show his Morgan & Morgan law firm and family poured over $500,000 into the signature-gathering People United for Medical Marijuana campaign last month -- boosting his total give over the last year to $972,125, or three-fourths of the total $1.3 million the organization has raised.
The only other major donor has been Coral Gables philanthropist and Democratic fundraiser Barbara A. Stiefel, who kicked in $100,000. Morgan, a longtime Democratic fundraiser who is backing former Gov. Charlie Crist for governor, has been making speeches around the state in support of the ballot measure that would de-criminalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Morgan has said he is pushing the issue in part due to his own family's experiences: both his father and brother had suffered from cancer and injuries and turned to marijuana to find relief from their pain. Critics from Attorney General Pam Bondi to legislative leaders -- argued last week before the Florida Supreme Court that the ballot question was deceptive and would lead to a greater expansion of marijuana than just for serious medical conditions. The court has to rule on whether the constitutional question is misleading or not.
The amendment summary says it would authorize "the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician." The actual ballot language defines "debilitating medical condition" as diseases such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C or "other conditions for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient."
That could allow medical marijuana to be prescribed for anything, critics say. The group is also still short the 683,000 signatures it needed to get on the 2014 ballot. As of Wednesday, the Department of State listed 144,287 valid signatures, although the People United group has now turned to California-based paid signature-gathering business PCI Consultants Inc. PCI is the major signature-drive company that managed the 2010 Fair Districts constitutional amendments which passed, and also worked on the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment, which failed to gather the required 60 percent voter majority.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Orlandosentinel.com
Author: Aaron Deslatte
Contact: Contact OrlandoSentinel.com and the Orlando Sentinel - Orlando Sentinel
Website: John Morgan's medical marijuana investment nears $1 million - Orlando Sentinel
The only other major donor has been Coral Gables philanthropist and Democratic fundraiser Barbara A. Stiefel, who kicked in $100,000. Morgan, a longtime Democratic fundraiser who is backing former Gov. Charlie Crist for governor, has been making speeches around the state in support of the ballot measure that would de-criminalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Morgan has said he is pushing the issue in part due to his own family's experiences: both his father and brother had suffered from cancer and injuries and turned to marijuana to find relief from their pain. Critics from Attorney General Pam Bondi to legislative leaders -- argued last week before the Florida Supreme Court that the ballot question was deceptive and would lead to a greater expansion of marijuana than just for serious medical conditions. The court has to rule on whether the constitutional question is misleading or not.
The amendment summary says it would authorize "the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician." The actual ballot language defines "debilitating medical condition" as diseases such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C or "other conditions for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient."
That could allow medical marijuana to be prescribed for anything, critics say. The group is also still short the 683,000 signatures it needed to get on the 2014 ballot. As of Wednesday, the Department of State listed 144,287 valid signatures, although the People United group has now turned to California-based paid signature-gathering business PCI Consultants Inc. PCI is the major signature-drive company that managed the 2010 Fair Districts constitutional amendments which passed, and also worked on the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment, which failed to gather the required 60 percent voter majority.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Orlandosentinel.com
Author: Aaron Deslatte
Contact: Contact OrlandoSentinel.com and the Orlando Sentinel - Orlando Sentinel
Website: John Morgan's medical marijuana investment nears $1 million - Orlando Sentinel
