Petition drives are just part of Florida’s debate over medical marijuana, media across the state report.
Supporters of a constitutional amendment for medical marijuana tell The Tampa Tribune and Palm Beach Post they expect to successfully collect the required 683,149 valid signatures by the February deadline. However, a state Supreme Court challenge on the ballot language from Attorney General Pam Bondi still stands in the way, according to The News Herald.
Also, separate legislation is being considered for a form of marijuana found to help children who suffer from seizures, according to the Miami Herald and the Pensacola News Journal. Families in Weston, Plantation and Gulf Breeze are among those pushing legislators to approve a liquid derivative of marijuana called cannabidiol. The drug, known as Charlotte’s Web, provides a low concentration of THC, and little of the high often associated with marijuana. Peyton and Holley Mosely, parents of an epileptic child, are among those expected to testify Thursday at a House Criminal Justice Subcommittee hearing, led by state Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach.
The News Herald reports on Florida’s historical role in the medical marijuana debate. In 1991, a state appellate court heard the case of a Panama City couple who grew marijuana to stave off the nausea and pain related to their AIDS diagnoses. Though the couple died before the case ended, their doctors said they needed the strain of cannabis called sativa.
