Could Medical Marijuana Be Coming To Florida?
A recent poll showed that 57% of Floridians want access to therapeutic cannabis 
Back in the spring of 2010, I was on the phone with Irv Rosenfeld, a Florida stockbroker and federal cannabis patient. He is on the Board of Patients Out of Time (POT) as am I, and we were discussing where our 2012 clinical cannabis conference should be held. I was all for Florida, the capital Tallahassee more specifically.
“No way Al," Irv responded. "Florida is not anywhere near accepting medical cannabis.” But that's not necessarily the case.
On March 10 of this year, freshman Representative Jeff Clemens, Democrat from the Lake Worth area, held a press conference to announce his bill number HJR-1407, the first legislation ever offered in Florida to allow the medical use of cannabis. HJR-1407 would put the question of medicinal cannabis up for vote before the people of Florida.
Representative Clemens came to his decision to submit a positive therapeutic cannabis bill rather easily I suspect. A recent poll taken state wide showed that 57% of Floridians want access to therapeutic cannabis through the existing medical systems. In Representative Clemens district, home to some of the wealthiest folks on the planet, 87% were in favor. If I were a politician, such percentages would be a “no brainer.”
Fortunately, Mr. Clemens has his brain working and sees what is in front of his eyes—his constituents. And what they want—access to medical cannabis. The Florida medical cannabis bill didn't make it out of committee, but the dialogue has started.
There's now talk of a “Cannabis Silver Tour” through Florida in 2011. An educational foray into the hearts and minds of the elderly, who vote, and who know that their bridge partner uses cannabis medically and they want some too, but legally, and clean, and with medical supervision. Right now in Florida, no one except Irv and Elvy Musikka (another Director of POT), can legally use cannabis.
Irv and Elvy use cannabis because they were two of the lucky few who got into the Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program in which they are provided medicinal cannabis from the federal government. That access closed to additional patients in 1992. Representative Clemens wants all Florida patients to be treated with such respect, without being called a criminal or forced into a courtroom to defend a personal medical decision.
Maybe other Florida Representatives will react to their constituents instead of backdoor pressure, political consultants, money and the feds. Maybe not, but Representative Clemens has shown leadership, compassion and intelligence and it is possible that other Florida legislators will react to the will of their constituents. We can certainly hope.
Al Byrne for Patients Out of Time
Patients Out of Time will hold its next conference in Tuscon, AZ in April of 2012.
