Parents lobby Florida lawmakers on medical marijuana

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Parents lobby Florida lawmakers on medical marijuana
Source: Reuters - Thu, 9 Jan 2014 11:48 PM

By Bill Cotterrell

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan 9 (Reuters) - Parents of children suffering from severe epilepsy and other illnesses got a sympathetic reaction on Thursday from Florida lawmakers considering the legalization of a new marijuana strain that shows promising results for controlling seizures.

"We don't have time to wait," said Paige Figi, the mother of a 7-year-old girl for whom the strain "Charlotte's Web" is named.

Figi, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, told lawmakers during a three-hour committee hearing that her daughter could not leave Colorado, where "Charlotte's Web" is legal, because of her dependence on the specialized strain, which does not get users high.

Its use has helped reduce her daughter's seizures to one or two a month, compared with hundreds previously, she said.


Read more: http://www.trust.org/item/20140109233126-xxe4g/

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. This comes as an initiative campaign has gathered close to a million signatures.

They only need 637,000 to make the ballot.

Two obstacles:

State officials still have to verify the signatures, and some will be found invalid. But this is a pretty big cushion.

The Republican attorney general has challenged the language of the initiative at the state Supreme Court, which could kill it.

[ChiciB1]

2. Just A Bit Of Info About MJ In Florida

and the drive to get it on the ballot. Even in my very RED county there are people in parking lots, clip boards in hand asking for signatures.

Was a jaw dropping sight to me, but made me very happy! NEVER thought I would see boots on the ground even though many petitions have been online. Morgan & Morgan et al seem to have finally gotten some action going full force. This whole movement was actually started by an (R) woman when she saw how it helped one of her grandparents before they passed away. They've been fighting for years now, but never got much support until recently.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. That Morgan guy is bankrolling it. I hear some talk it's a ploy to help Christ.

The idea being that a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot will bring more liberal voters to the polls.

But that's okay.

[Dustlawyer]

4. Morgan is the biggest plaintiffs attorney in Florida. 95% of plaintiff attorneys are Democrats.

Most are by necessity since Republicans are always pushing Tort Reform and are pro business. Some like me just believe in Progressive causes and are so weary of the corruption which has steadily risen past 3rd world levels in this country. Our firm has worked with Morgan in the past on a few things. I met him a few times but have no sense of his politics.