Florida voters will get the chance to vote for medical marijuana in November during the 2014 Election. The battle to legalize medical marijuana in Florida has been no easy task. Just to get on the ballot took a tremendous amount of signatures, and from specific districts in Florida. States like my home State of Oregon don’t have district requirements. After gaining ballot approval, the Florida medical marijuana campaign faced almost immediate, well funded opposition from medical marijuana opponents.
These opponents have claimed numerous times that ‘big marijuana’ is ‘invading Florida’ in an attempt to bamboozle Florida voters into approving medical marijuana. These opponents try very hard to make it seem like a small group of individuals are funding the campaign, and trying to get medical marijuana approved so that they can degrade society and line their pockets. I have always been a fan of letting math speak for itself.
So if we look at the numbers and follow the money, what does it say? The campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Florida (United for Care), has received $5.5 million dollars from 5,659 donations. The opposition led by Drug Free Florida Committee has received $2.7 million dollars from only 15 donors. When you look at the math, and ignore the rhetoric, it’s blatantly obvious which side is a small group of individuals trying to thrust their political beliefs onto Florida voters.
Florida voters will no doubt be bombarded by anti-medical marijuana propaganda from now until Election Day. I’m hopeful that voters don’t believe the opposition, and do their own research. They will see that marijuana is medicine, and that medical marijuana supporters are the majority, not the minority. I’m hopeful that, for the sake of suffering patients, that Florida gets a REAL medical marijuana program passed in November.
