Should Florida have passed Amendment 2, Medical Marijuana Initiative?

[DLucia]

Medical Marijuana is becoming more accepted through out the United States with more credible scientific and medical research to support it's claim for medical use. If the law were to be passed in Florida it would have allowed patients to use medical marijuana without criminal liability, a licensed physician would not be charged for issuing medical marijuana, and medical marijuana centers would be able to dispense it's products with out breaking the law. This information is in this link Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative Amendment 2 2014 - Ballotpedia
It was defeated.
Should it have been defeated though? With all the new information and technology given to society and all the knowledge that was found from the depths of research, people still believe marijuana could kill... but how, why, what for ?

 

[Mr. President]

How well regulated would this be? Would it be like the other states where 100,00 new cases of glaucoma pop up?

 

[Katzndogz]

Medical research just proved that marijuana results in brain shrinkage. How is that beneficial?

 

[depotoo]

Since a fda approved purer thc is available for pain in pill form, which works better and lasts longer than smoking it, I see no need. I personally see it as something which would be abused thru clinics just as opiods have been here in Fl in the past.

 

[September]

Medical research just proved that marijuana results in brain shrinkage. How is that beneficial?

Medical research has proved that Marijuana helps people recover quicker from concussions and brain injuries.

​

 

[Darlene]

FDA also approves of hundreds of deadly and highly addictive medicines including, but not limited to: Morphine, Tylenol, and many others. Marijuana has never, in recorded history, caused a death. Sure, like any herb, people can be allergic but no deaths have occurred directly from marijuana use.
Smoking marijuana can cause some harm, but that's because you're inhaling carcinogens from burnt plant matter--not the psychoactive properties in marijuana.

DrugFacts Is Marijuana Medicine National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA

What Are Cannabinoids and How Might They Be Useful Medically?
Cannabinoids are a large family of chemicals related to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana’s main psychoactive (mind-altering) ingredient. Besides THC, the marijuana plant contains over 100 other cannabinoids. Scientists and manufacturers of “designer” drugs have also synthesized numerous cannabinoids in the laboratory (some of which are extremely potent and, when abused, have led to serious health consequences). The body also produces its own cannabinoid chemicals (called endocannabinoids), which play a role in regulating pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, movement, coordination, sensory and time perception, appetite, and pain.
Currently the two main cannabinoids of interest therapeutically are THC and cannabidiol (CBD), found in varying ratios in the marijuana plant. THC stimulates appetite and reduces nausea (and there are already approved THC-based medications for these purposes), but it may also decrease pain, inflammation, and spasticity. CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that may also be useful in reducing pain and inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures, and possibly even treating psychosis and addictions.
Research funded by the NIH is actively investigating the possible therapeutic uses of THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids to treat autoimmune diseases, cancer, inflammation, pain, seizures, substance use disorders, and other psychiatric disorders.

This is inaccurate. The FDA hasn't performed studies on pregnant women and their babies to determine anything.

There is also some evidence that marijuana use during pregnancy may be associated with neurological problems in babies and impaired school performance later in childhood.

Dr. Melanie Dreher, however, has personally performed a long-term study on women who used marijuana during pregnancy.


Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica An Ethnographic Study

Dr. Melanie Dreher Patients for Medical Cannabis

The 30-day test showed that children of ganja-using mothers were superior to children of non-ganja mothers in two ways: the children had better organization and modulation of sleeping and waking, and they were less prone to stress-related anxiety.

A quotation from Dreher’s testimony – “You know, people ask me all the time whether I think marijuana should be legalized, and I have been of the opinion for a long time that this is much ado about nothing. It is, compared to tobacco and alcohol, this is such a benign substance.
“It does not seem to make a difference in either the productivity of the people in Jamaica… it seems to make no difference in terms of exposure during pregnancy …We looked at these children again at age five, both groups of children, and could find absolutely nothing that linked their development with their exposure during pregnancy.
“I …would strongly support the decriminalization of cannabis, and now that we understand about the endocannabinoid system that this is documented, it’s researched… now that we have knowledge of why cannabis is good medicine, something that Jamaicans have known for years, I think it’s time to seriously revisit this product, to understand and be able to dispense is as medicine legally and to decriminalize the other uses of marijuana.”
The presenter following her turned to the Pharmacy Board members and said, “Did you hear that? What she is saying is that marijuana is so safe, it doesn’t even hurt a fetus!”
No signs of birth defects
A landmark study conducted in the 1990s by medical anthropologist Dr. Dreher, (co-author of the book Women and Cannabis: Medicine, Science, and Sociology), gave the medical world a different insight into the use of marijuana by pregnant women in Jamaica. Dreher found that marijuana was being used in a cultural and medical context, as a way to relieve morning sickness or nausea, prevent depression and fatigue, and improve appetites. Her team observed both the mothers who used marijuana and their infants; they reported that there were no signs of birth defects or of behavioral problems in the marijuana-exposed children either during the month after birth or even several years after.
This is not to say that women should have no compunctions about using marijuana regularly and in large amounts during pregnancy. Rather, as scientists like Dreher argue, the medical community should improve its research methodologies, be more thorough, conduct more cross-cultural studies, and refrain from being so quick to conclude without solid evidence that any amount of marijuana use–no matter how slight–during pregnancy will do lasting harm to both mother and child. – Source

Melanie Dreher, RN, PhD, FAAN explains her cannabis and pregnancy research study in Jamaica. Pregnant women and their children were studied for over ten plus years, both marijuana smokers and non-smokers were included in the study – one of the first scientific studies of the effects that cannabis may have on pregnancy and the child’s development thereafter.
Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica:
An Ethnographic Study
“Although no positive or negative neurobehavioral effects of prenatal exposure were found at 3 days of life using the Brazelton examination,there were significant differences between the exposed and non-exposed neonates at the end of the first month.
Comparing the two groups, the neonates of mothers who used marijuana showed better physiological stability at 1 month and required less examiner facilitation to reach an organized state and become available for social stimulation.
The results of the comparison of neonates of the heavy-marijuana-using mothers and those of the non-using mothers were even more striking…

• The heavily exposed neonates were more socially responsive and were more autonomically stable at 30 days than their matched counterparts.
• quality of their alertness was higher;
• their motor and autonomic systems were more robust;
• they were less irritable;
• they were less likely to demonstrate any imbalance of tone;
• they needed less examiner facilitation to become organized;
• they had better self-regulation;
• judged to be more rewarding for caregivers than the neonates of non-using mothers at 1 month of age

 

[TheOldSchool]

Florida is full of old shrivs that are terrified of the modern world.

Frankly I'm shocked this was even put to a vote.

 

[Darlene]

Florida is full of old shrivs that are terrified of the modern world.

Frankly I'm shocked this was even put to a vote.

I agree.
Marijuana use isn't exclusive to the modern world though. It has been used for thousands of years for spiritual, medicinal, and recreational use.

 

[Claudette]

I voted for it in Florida because I could care if folks smoke marijuana and I could also care if it helps folks.

Regulate it and tax it like cigarettes. Money would pore into the state coffers.

 

[mudwhistle]

Medical Marijuana is becoming more accepted through out the United States with more credible scientific and medical research to support it's claim for medical use. If the law were to be passed in Florida it would have allowed patients to use medical marijuana without criminal liability, a licensed physician would not be charged for issuing medical marijuana, and medical marijuana centers would be able to dispense it's products with out breaking the law. This information is in this link Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative Amendment 2 2014 - Ballotpedia
It was defeated.
Should it have been defeated though? With all the new information and technology given to society and all the knowledge that was found from the depths of research, people still believe marijuana could kill... but how, why, what for ?

It's part of that incremental process of teaching acceptance.

It's like saying "Just the tip, that's all I'll put in".

I don't understand why pot is illegal in the first place, but I think passing medical use laws is a sham intended to proceed onto full legalization.

 

[Anathema]

Medical Research cannot show the irreversible damage to the Soul which is done by the use of marijuana, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

 

[Desperado]

Florida legislation that would legalize medical marijuana was well on its way to passing until Las Vegas casino money stepped in. Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul and GOP super donor, has reportedly poured millions into an anti-medical marijuana campaign in the state. That turned into scare ads that turned the table.
The majority in South Florida voted in favor of the proposed legislation but it was the north Florida crowd that was against it.

Sheldon Adelson Funds Florida Anti-Medical Marijuana Campaign

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Medical Marijuana is becoming more accepted through out the United States with more credible scientific and medical research to support it's claim for medical use. If the law were to be passed in Florida it would have allowed patients to use medical marijuana without criminal liability, a licensed physician would not be charged for issuing medical marijuana, and medical marijuana centers would be able to dispense it's products with out breaking the law. This information is in this link Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative Amendment 2 2014 - Ballotpedia
It was defeated.
Should it have been defeated though? With all the new information and technology given to society and all the knowledge that was found from the depths of research, people still believe marijuana could kill... but how, why, what for ?

Safer than acetominophen. Nothing's 'safe.' But even water can kill if you consume too much too quickly.

 

[Darlene]

FDA also approves of hundreds of deadly and highly addictive medicines including, but not limited to: Morphine, Tylenol, and many others. Marijuana has never, in recorded history, caused a death. Sure, like any herb, people can be allergic but no deaths have occurred directly from marijuana use.
Smoking marijuana can cause some harm, but that's because you're inhaling carcinogens from burnt plant matter--not the psychoactive properties in marijuana.

DrugFacts Is Marijuana Medicine National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA

What Are Cannabinoids and How Might They Be Useful Medically?
Cannabinoids are a large family of chemicals related to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana’s main psychoactive (mind-altering) ingredient. Besides THC, the marijuana plant contains over 100 other cannabinoids. Scientists and manufacturers of “designer” drugs have also synthesized numerous cannabinoids in the laboratory (some of which are extremely potent and, when abused, have led to serious health consequences). The body also produces its own cannabinoid chemicals (called endocannabinoids), which play a role in regulating pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, movement, coordination, sensory and time perception, appetite, and pain.
Currently the two main cannabinoids of interest therapeutically are THC and cannabidiol (CBD), found in varying ratios in the marijuana plant. THC stimulates appetite and reduces nausea (and there are already approved THC-based medications for these purposes), but it may also decrease pain, inflammation, and spasticity. CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that may also be useful in reducing pain and inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures, and possibly even treating psychosis and addictions.
Research funded by the NIH is actively investigating the possible therapeutic uses of THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids to treat autoimmune diseases, cancer, inflammation, pain, seizures, substance use disorders, and other psychiatric disorders.

This is inaccurate. The FDA hasn't performed studies on pregnant women and their babies to determine anything.

There is also some evidence that marijuana use during pregnancy may be associated with neurological problems in babies and impaired school performance later in childhood.

Dr. Melanie Dreher, however, has personally performed a long-term study on women who used marijuana during pregnancy.


Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica An Ethnographic Study

Dr. Melanie Dreher Patients for Medical Cannabis

The 30-day test showed that children of ganja-using mothers were superior to children of non-ganja mothers in two ways: the children had better organization and modulation of sleeping and waking, and they were less prone to stress-related anxiety.

A quotation from Dreher’s testimony – “You know, people ask me all the time whether I think marijuana should be legalized, and I have been of the opinion for a long time that this is much ado about nothing. It is, compared to tobacco and alcohol, this is such a benign substance.
“It does not seem to make a difference in either the productivity of the people in Jamaica… it seems to make no difference in terms of exposure during pregnancy …We looked at these children again at age five, both groups of children, and could find absolutely nothing that linked their development with their exposure during pregnancy.
“I …would strongly support the decriminalization of cannabis, and now that we understand about the endocannabinoid system that this is documented, it’s researched… now that we have knowledge of why cannabis is good medicine, something that Jamaicans have known for years, I think it’s time to seriously revisit this product, to understand and be able to dispense is as medicine legally and to decriminalize the other uses of marijuana.”
The presenter following her turned to the Pharmacy Board members and said, “Did you hear that? What she is saying is that marijuana is so safe, it doesn’t even hurt a fetus!”
No signs of birth defects
A landmark study conducted in the 1990s by medical anthropologist Dr. Dreher, (co-author of the book Women and Cannabis: Medicine, Science, and Sociology), gave the medical world a different insight into the use of marijuana by pregnant women in Jamaica. Dreher found that marijuana was being used in a cultural and medical context, as a way to relieve morning sickness or nausea, prevent depression and fatigue, and improve appetites. Her team observed both the mothers who used marijuana and their infants; they reported that there were no signs of birth defects or of behavioral problems in the marijuana-exposed children either during the month after birth or even several years after.
This is not to say that women should have no compunctions about using marijuana regularly and in large amounts during pregnancy. Rather, as scientists like Dreher argue, the medical community should improve its research methodologies, be more thorough, conduct more cross-cultural studies, and refrain from being so quick to conclude without solid evidence that any amount of marijuana use–no matter how slight–during pregnancy will do lasting harm to both mother and child. – Source

Melanie Dreher, RN, PhD, FAAN explains her cannabis and pregnancy research study in Jamaica. Pregnant women and their children were studied for over ten plus years, both marijuana smokers and non-smokers were included in the study – one of the first scientific studies of the effects that cannabis may have on pregnancy and the child’s development thereafter.
Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica:
An Ethnographic Study
“Although no positive or negative neurobehavioral effects of prenatal exposure were found at 3 days of life using the Brazelton examination,there were significant differences between the exposed and non-exposed neonates at the end of the first month.
Comparing the two groups, the neonates of mothers who used marijuana showed better physiological stability at 1 month and required less examiner facilitation to reach an organized state and become available for social stimulation.
The results of the comparison of neonates of the heavy-marijuana-using mothers and those of the non-using mothers were even more striking…

• The heavily exposed neonates were more socially responsive and were more autonomically stable at 30 days than their matched counterparts.
• quality of their alertness was higher;
• their motor and autonomic systems were more robust;
• they were less irritable;
• they were less likely to demonstrate any imbalance of tone;
• they needed less examiner facilitation to become organized;
• they had better self-regulation;
• judged to be more rewarding for caregivers than the neonates of non-using mothers at 1 month of age

 

[DLucia]

Since a fda approved purer thc is available for pain in pill form, which works better and lasts longer than smoking it, I see no need. I personally see it as something which would be abused thru clinics just as opiods have been here in Fl in the past.

But, then again, many other prescription drugs are being abused. Kids get a hold of parent's medicines through the med- cabinets, or they would find a way to get it. Any one will go as far as they want to go, and they would get what ever they want; whether that is a car, a puppy, some cash, or some pills...

 

[RoshanNair]

Would be a nice initiative. Next time I go to the family cottage in Pensacola, Mary-Jane would be a worthy accessory.

 

[RoshanNair]

Medical Marijuana is becoming more accepted through out the United States with more credible scientific and medical research to support it's claim for medical use. If the law were to be passed in Florida it would have allowed patients to use medical marijuana without criminal liability, a licensed physician would not be charged for issuing medical marijuana, and medical marijuana centers would be able to dispense it's products with out breaking the law. This information is in this link Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative Amendment 2 2014 - Ballotpedia
It was defeated.
Should it have been defeated though? With all the new information and technology given to society and all the knowledge that was found from the depths of research, people still believe marijuana could kill... but how, why, what for ?

Safer than acetominophen. Nothing's 'safe.' But even water can kill if you consume too much too quickly.

True that. Painkillers are more deleterious than small amounts of weed, and actually have an addictive component to them in addition.

 

[Darlene]

Since a fda approved purer thc is available for pain in pill form, which works better and lasts longer than smoking it, I see no need. I personally see it as something which would be abused thru clinics just as opiods have been here in Fl in the past.

I would not fully trust that the THC pills the FDA has approved are more pure than what comes from the actual plant. There are probably additives and preservatives that aren't naturally in marijuana, rendering it "less pure" than using the buds from the plants. There are many different ways of ingesting marijuana. There are edibles, vaporizers, teas, and even suppositories (made the same way edibles are but for rear entry). The easiest way is just to smoke it.

 

[depotoo]

Study Fatal Car Crashes Involving Marijuana Have Tripled CBS Seattle
More Colorado drivers in fatal crashes positive for pot study says - The Denver Post

I can just imagine what it does to auto insurance rates in places where it is legal.