Petition Filed to Allow Medical Marijuana in Florida

Last week, the grassroots organization People United for Medical Marijuana filed a petition to allow medical marijuana for seriously ill patients in Florida.

The petition proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would permit the cultivation, purchase, and use of marijuana to treat a number of specified and severe diseases, including cancer, AIDS, and Crohn’s disease. Petition-gatherers will need to collect 683, 149 signatures from registered voters in order to make it onto next year’s ballot. If the signatures are collected and approved on time, the measure would require 60% of the vote to become law.

Although the petition has yet to garner a significant vote count, the group is optimistic that the recent addition of a wealthy donor to the organization will aid their efforts.

[caption id="attachment_6678" align="alignright" width="157"] John Morgan[/caption]

John Morgan, a personal injury attorney and business owner whose father used cannabis to cope with the pain of esophageal cancer, recently joined the advocacy group. In addition to his position as a committee member, he donated $100,000 to the campaign. Morgan has said that he will contribute $1 million if necessary. “I’ve seen people in pain who end up on oxycodone,” Morgan said. “And 16,000 people die from that every year. It’s highly addictive. Legalizing marijuana is a no brainer.”

In a recent poll, 61% of Floridians supported medical marijuana. That number rose to 70% when ballot language listed specific qualifying diseases like cancer.