Pubdate: Sun, 09 Nov 2014
Source: News-Press (Fort Myers, FL)
Copyright: 2014 The News-Press
Contact:  http://www.news-press.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1133
Author: Jon Larsen Shudlick

WRONG ON MARIJUANA

Those self-righteous voters across the state of Florida who have 
denied access to relief for those who have debilitating medical 
conditions from a variety of maladies including: epileptic seizures, 
cancer (which I have had), multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, hepatitis C, 
HIV, AIDS, ALS, Crohn's disease and Parkinson's disease are in my 
opinion totally hypocritical.

I know of very few people who have not taken some form of 
prescription drugs during their lifetime or even on a permanent basis 
to alleviate their own pain and suffering (please step forward).

The war on drugs is one of the worst political mantras that has ever 
happened to our country. It has filled our prisons and destroyed our 
Constitution. Legalizing medical marijuana would be a giant step in 
the right direction. So far, 23 states and the District of Columbia 
have some form of legal medical marijuana programs.

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson contributed $5.5 million to Drug Free 
Florida, the political action committee funding Vote No on 2. 
Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp, opposed the measure even 
though his medical research organization produced a study in 2013 
(huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/13/sheldon-adelson-medical-marijuana_n_5492894.html) 
which showed that medical marijuana has the potential to help people 
with multiple sclerosis.

Voters in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. on Nov. 4, added to the 
number of those entities voting yes, for the liberation of laws on marijuana.

For those already suffering, having to wait until 2016 for an 
empathetic electorate to arise should not be an option. Florida's 
Republican controlled Legislature could rewrite the laws pertaining 
to medical marijuana during their next session in Tallahassee. After 
all, 57 percent of their constituents voted in favor of legalizing 
medical marijuana.

Jon Larsen Shudlick, Fort Myers
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom