Both sides ramped up the rhetoric in recent days as the fight over Amendment 2, a proposal to expand medical marijuana use in the Sunshine State, enters its final weeks.
Opponents of Amendment 2 came out swinging on Tuesday, warning that Florida children who go door to door for candy on Halloween may one day be at risk of receiving edible marijuana products if Amendment 2 comes to pass in a call with the media. The Dont Let Florida Go to Pot coalition insisted that edible marijuana could surface in the Sunshine State if Amendment 2 passes.
Allowing edible marijuana products to fall into the hands of kids is an unintended consequence of not only legalized marijuana use but also highly unregulated marijuana use, said Dr. Alexander Garrard, the clinical managing director of the Washington Poison Control Center. One of the major factors why we've had a spike in exposures is due to the lack of tight regulation in Washington state.
Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger insisted the same problem could arise in Florida if Amendment 2 passes.
Edible marijuana products pose substantial challenges for law enforcement officers as we have seen in states where voters have legalized marijuana, said Eslinger. While parents should always be vigilant about the candy their children receive on Halloween, dealing with edible marijuana adds a new level of concern in states where it is legal. Florida parents do not need one more issue to cause concern.
The challenges presented by legalizing marijuana have been widely noted across the country, said Calvina Fay, the executive director of Drug Free America. If you are a parent of a child, you should be aware that Amendment 2 will open the floodgates and expose our children to an enormous risk in the form of edible marijuana.
Supporters of Amendment 2 continue to push back, arguing that Drug Free Florida and other opponents of the proposal are running misleading ads. On Monday, Ben Pollara, the campaign manager of United for Care which supports Amendment 2, announced his group was sending a letter to TV stations across Florida to prevent false and misleading advertising from being broadcast on their stations, specifically targeting a recent commercial against the proposal.
The latest No on 2 advertisement showcases the greatest hits of all the falsehoods medical marijuana opponents have perpetuated throughout the campaign, said Pollara on Monday. If medical marijuana opponents want to try to scare Floridians and run a completely false advertisement, they will be held accountable.
Since the No on 2 campaign refuses to act responsibly, we are hoping that TV broadcasters will, Pollara added. By law, television broadcasters have a public obligation to refuse to run demonstrably false advertisements. We strongly believe that No on 2s most recent ad violates this standard.
As the Florida Supreme Court has reaffirmed, Amendment 2 is only for patients with truly debilitating diseases or conditions, Pollara said. Absurdly, the No on 2 campaign pretends to care about our states Constitution, yet they completely ignore the institution that is responsible for protecting it.
United for Care has also been trotting out endorsements from the likes of U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., TV host Montel Williams and rock musician Melissa Ethridge for the proposal.
Even as most polls show support for Amendment 2 sinking, United for Care released a poll on Tuesday showing the measure with its nose above water.
With both sides competitive in outreach and advertising, this continues to be a tight race to watch over the final week, United for Care insisted on Tuesday.
The poll from Anzalone List Grove Research shows Amendment 2 at 62 percent support. To pass, Amendment 2 needs 60 percent support at the ballot. More than a third of those surveyed -- 35 percent -- oppose Amendment 2 while 5 percent are undecided.
The poll of 834 likely voters was taken from Oct. 22-27 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.
"This poll demonstrates a continued upward swing -- attributable to recent endorsements by major papers across the state as well as a substantial increase in our outreach to voters," said Pollara on Tuesday.
Pollara sounded an optimistic note earlier this week as well.
Amendment 2 will pass this November because Floridians are far more intelligent than the No on 2 campaign believes, Pollara added. Voters will choose compassion over fear-mongering.
A Gravis poll released on Monday showed 50 percent backing Amendment 2 and 42 percent against it.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
