Efforts to getting medical marijuana legalized in Florida recently received a huge boost. Two important political fundraisers  in Florida decided to get behind an effort to put medical marijuana on the ballot in 2014. From Reuters:

“I’m prepared to keep raising money and writing checks until I get the signatures to put it on the ballot,” attorney John Morgan said late on Tuesday.

Morgan, who routinely hosts presidents and national political figures at his Orlando-area home, recently signed on as chairman of People United for Medical Marijuana-Florida, a grassroots campaign that operated on a shoestring until now.

Morgan was recruited by Ben Pollara, a lobbyist and fundraiser for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Pollara recently became treasurer of the medical marijuana campaign.

There are only two real hurdles in the way of medical marijuana in Florida.

The first is that it is very hard to get on the ballot in the state. Placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot requires roughly 680,000 valid signatures. While that is a difficult goal, it is one that can easily be overcome with enough money to fund a large campaign and hire a signature gathering operation. Having these two proven political fundraisers behind the efforts means the chances of making the ballot improved dramatically.

The second hurdle is that Florida law only allows citizens to put constitutional amendments on the ballot. Unlike many other states that only require a simple majority for victory, in Florida a constitutional ballot measure must get 60 percent of the vote to be approved. Fortunately, polling from last month found that medical marijuana currently has 70 percent support among Florida voters. If a measure qualifies for the ballot, it currently stands a good chance of getting enough votes to be adopted.

At the moment, getting medical marijuana approved in Florida next year is looking very promising.

Photo by Coaster420 under Creative Commons license

The people of Florida overwhelmingly back allowing medical marijuana in the state. A new poll conducted for People United for Medical Marijuana and obtained by the Miami Herald found 70 percent of Florida voters would back an amendment to legalize medical marijuana and only 24 percent would oppose it. From the Miami Herald:

As many as seven in 10 Florida voters support a state constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana — more than enough to ensure passage and possibly affect the governor’s race — according to a new poll from a group trying to put the measure on the 2104 ballot.

Medical pot’s sky-high approval cuts across party and demographic lines, with Republican support the lowest at a still-strong 56 percent, the poll conducted for People United for Medical Marijuana, or PUFMM, shows.

The outsized support of Democrats and independents brings overall backing of the amendment to 70 percent; with only 24 percent opposed, according to the poll obtained by The Miami Herald.

Florida has unusual laws when it comes to the initiative process. It does not allow citizens to put initiatives on the ballot but it does allow citizens to put constitutional amendments on the ballot. For an amendment to be adopted though it needs to be approved by 3/5th of the voters in that election.

The fact that medical marijuana currently has such overwhelming support in Florida means there is a good chance an amendment could clear this high threshold if it did get put on the ballot. Getting on the ballot in Florida is no easy task. It requires just over 675,000 valid signatures.

Photo by Coaster420 under Creative Commons license

A survey conducted by GOP pollster Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates — the same firm that conducted polls for Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s campaign — found that 57 percent of Floridians support legalization of medicinal marijuana.

This news comes as sources say there is a serious movement afoot to bring the issue to the Florida ballot in 2012. Such a referendum would require 60 percent of voters to legalize the green stuff so long as it is prescribed by a doctor.

The poll found that young and self-identified liberals were most supportive of a constitutional amendment ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana, while older people and conservatives were the least supportive.

Despite the strong poll numbers, prospects for medical marijuana in Florida don’t look great. Getting the 60 percent super-majority requirement for any constitutional ballot measure is very difficult. And 60 percent Especially problematic for medical marijuana in Florida given that demographically it is one of the oldest states in the country and old people tend to vote in disproportionally high numbers.

It would be great if the Florida legislature would just fulfill the wishes of the electorate and pass a medical marijuana law, but, on both a local and federal level, politicians have been very reluctant to support reform despite the strong poll numbers.

In a recent interview with Mike Stark, Florida Senator George LeMieux came down squarely against the rights of individual states to regulate marijuana, indicating that he was against both legalizing medical use and ending prohibition in general.  He also believes that it’s the appropriate role of the criminal justice system to deal with marijuana users (Youtube above).

“I don’t think we should legalize it, and I think the criminal justice system should have to make sure that you’re treating….you’re also understanding that this is an addiction,” said Lemieux.

Kyle Vogt strongly disagrees with Lemieux’s position. Vogt is a Florida resident and former US Army MP, as well as a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.  The group is part of the Just Say Now campaign, a trans-partisan effort to encourage a national discussion about ending marijuana prohibition.

“As a former military police officer, I take issue with Senator LeMieux’s claim that the criminal justice system has an appropriate role to play in keeping adults from using marijuana” says Vogt, who served in the military police corps as a beat cop, armorer, weapons instructor, combat lifesaver, and body guard. “While working on patrol, I neither saw nor observed how any of the current laws and penalties against marijuana prevented anyone from using it; they just simply punished those who were caught.”

Lemieux supports the DEA’s continued enforcement federal laws prohibiting the use of marijuana, even in states that have legalized medical marijuana.

“My position is that you shouldn’t take a patchwork approach,” said Lemieux.  “It shouldn’t be one state versus another on an issue of crime and punishment.”

Vogt, however,  calls Lemieux’s approach “misguided” and says that “by making marijuana illegal, we have created an ironic situation that has turned regulation and control over to the cartels and gangs which directly make our cities more dangerous by putting money into their pockets through a thriving black market.”

“Al Capone would be envious of the situation, and we all know how we got rid of gangsters like him, through legalization and regulation of alcohol,” says Vogt.

Although Lemieux believes federal drug laws should trump states’ rights to regulate marijuana, he thinks “states should be given the ability to fashion remedies for how you deal with people who break the law.”

“That’s what we’ve done in Florida with our diversion course which has been very successful in getting people the help they need and so that they don’t break the law again,” says Lemieux.

While the program may have successfully kept some out of jail, claims that it has been effective in making sure people “don’t break the law again” are dubious.  In 2008, the FBI reports that police arrested 847,864 people for marijuana violations, down only slightly from the previous year’s record high total.  Of those, approximately 89% were charged with possession only.  The report also  indicates that Florida had 159,916 arrests for drug abuse violations in 2008, second only to California.

Vogt argues that the efforts of the prohibitionists have been ineffective.  “Arresting 800,000 Americans a year on marijuana charges has squandered scarce resources that could be used to actually protect our general public and make our communities a safer place, rather than breaking our communities apart and empowering drug dealers,” he says.

Lemieux, however, wants to expand the war on drugs.  He told Stark about his recent letter to the administration regarding cannabinoid herbal blends, which are currently legal.  “In light of the surge in adverse reports associated with the use of these products, efforts by multiple states to ban its sale and an overall lack of information regarding the extent of use and illicit distribution, expedited analysis by DEA and HHS is warranted,” said Lemieux in the letter.

Vogt has  retired from the military police. He is now a Florida small business owner who is active in his church.  He believes that “this is not a crime issue, but a health and spiritual issue.”

He says he would welcome the opportunity to meet with Lemieux and discuss his experience as a law enforcement officer.

“I’d love to have the opportunity to meet with Senator LeMieux to help him understand that only by legalizing and regulating marijuana can we actually take control of it and thereby put the violent thugs who sell it out of business,” says Vogt.

“How many more lives must we allow to be destroyed or lost before we actually do something that will end this madness once and for all?”